An ambitious vision for design based on the premise that data is
material, not abstract.
Data analysis and visualization are crucial tools in today's society,
and digital representations have steadily become the default. Yet, more
and more often, we find that citizen scientists, environmental
activists, and forensic amateurs are using analog methods to present
evidence of pollution, climate change, and the spread of disinformation.
In this illuminating book, Dietmar Offenhuber presents a model for these
practices, a model to make data generation accountable: autographic
design.
Autographic refers to the notion that every event inscribes itself in
countless ways. Think of a sundial, for example, a perfectly autographic
device that displays information on itself. Inspired by such
post-digital practices of visualization and evidence construction,
Offenhuber describes an approach to visualization based on the premise
that data is a material entity rather than an abstract representation.
Emerson wrote, "Every act of the man inscribes itself in the memories of
his fellows, and in his own manners and face." In Autographic Design,
Offenhuber introduces a model for design that emphasizes traces,
imprints, and self-inscriptions, turning them into sensory displays.
In an age where misinformation is harder and harder to identify,
Autographic Design makes an urgent and persuasive case for a different
approach that calls attention to the production of data and its
connection to the material world.
