Molly Hawthorne, Thesis Presentation 01 August 31, 2009

thesis framewriting #1

This thesis is not comfortable. It is not a patchwork of formal exercises—a security blanket swaddling form. Instead, Data Diving disregards Tufte, objectivity and readability, choosing to celebrate self-expression, storytelling and evidence of its author. The thesis is abstract. Its content harvested from information beyond facts and figures, Data Diving requires formal, conceptual and organizational experimentation. This thesis will not be boring. Its visualizations will not examine only the author’s interests, but will maintain a hook, an appeal, which is universally compelling.

This thesis exists beyond the trappings of paper. Data Diving jumps from the page to visualize its content audibly and spatially. Can sounds summarize data sets? Can spaces transform into information landscapes? The architect of this thesis is not an expert in all media, but will nonetheless attempt to design with data in three and four-dimensional settings.

This thesis is not science. Data Diving does not exist as fact. Information sets may inspire fiction—trompe l’oeil visualizations. Likewise, data may be trivial, seeming insignificant. Though its content can never be truly neutral, Data Diving will avoid being persuasive. This thesis isn’t selling anything.

Data Diving is not clean cut or married to success. This thesis is not a collection of finished pieces, but is a series of experiments. Sketched visualizations, therefore, hold as much validity as calculated computer data models; their prestige is equal.

This thesis is about how things are organized.

data disorderthesis frame: writing #1

Molly Hawthorne, Fall 2009