Truth & Beauty

Design und Künstliche Intelligenz

Wed, 01 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000

My work on Einstein Designer was featured in a full book chapter for the German language book "Design und Künstliche Intelligenz", covering the relationship of design and artificial intelligence.

Lilienthal Solargraphy

Thu, 22 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

I create images of the sunlight using pinhole cameras at my home in Lilienthal, Germany. This image presents a graphical recording of the sun’s position and strength over the course of 6 months in the second half of 2022.

Climate & Conflict Analysis

Fri, 01 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

What is the relation between climate change and violent conflicts? Which role do socio-economic scope conditions play in exacerbating climate impact? How can we allow analysts and policymaker to make better decisions — based on heterogenous, multi-faceted information sources?

Eurovis keynote 2022

Mon, 13 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000

As invited keynote speaker for the EUROVIS conference, I talked about the iconic power of data visualization, the role of emotions, culture, symbols and how we read "between the lines" of data visualizations.

WHO Data Design Language

Wed, 01 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Developed for the data.who.int — the new home for WHO's public health data — the WHO Data Design Language defines building blocks and techniques for creating rich, informative, accessible and equitable information experiences.

Visual Rhetorics / Data Art for Climate Action

Thu, 24 Feb 2022 00:00:00 +0000

I my keynote at DACA 2022, I presented my perspective on climate visualization — from data sculptures over dashboards for beehives to Ed Hawkins' warming stripes.

Designing the official German COVID-19 vaccination dashboard

Sun, 14 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

A concise, remote presentation on the design rationale and process behind the Impfdashboard — the official German COVID-19 vaccination dashboard.

The dataviz mindset

Thu, 02 Sep 2021 00:00:00 +0000

This (German language) talk from the Solutions conference summarizes my thoughts on what constitutes the unique dataviz mindset. Enjoy!

Silver at Malofiej 2021

Fri, 18 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0000

The Language of Science won a silver medal at the Malofiej awards, the (self-proclaimed) "Pulitzers of infographics". This project visualizes word usage trends over the 175 year history of the Scientific American magazine.

Interview on Andy Kirk's Explore Explain

Tue, 15 Dec 2020 00:00:00 +0000

It was an honour to be featured in Andy Kirk's series "Explore Explain". Together with Scientific American's art director Jen Christiansen, we tell the story how our visualization project of word trends in the rich 175 year history of the magazine came about.

Zukunftsfragen Interview

Sun, 15 Nov 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Goethe Institute Italy invited me to contribute to their German / Italian Zukunftsfragen" interview series.

Waves of Interest

Mon, 26 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Which topics capture the attention of Americans during US election years? And how have our interests shifted from one election cycle to the next? This project investigates these questions with the help of Google Search Trends data.

"It's a process"

Tue, 22 Sep 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Here me talk about my design process at Datavis Lisboa.

Fast Company’s 2020 Innovation by Design Awards

Tue, 01 Sep 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Einstein Designer — Powered by Deep Learning UX was a finalist in the Data Design category and received an honorable mention in the General Excellence category in Fast Company’s 2020 Innovation by Design Awards. Read more here.

Deep Learning UX

Thu, 27 Aug 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Einstein Designer is a generative design solution for delivering personalized design at scale. I helped the team at Salesforce to analyze, visualize and synthesize design features like layout, color and typography.

The Language of Science

Fri, 21 Aug 2020 00:00:00 +0000

On the occasion of the 175th anniversary of the magazine, Scientific American invited me to explore their archive of 5'107 print issues. The results are a fascinating glimpse into how the language of science reporting has evolved.

Humanities, Arts and Society Magazine features Multiplicity

Mon, 01 Jun 2020 00:00:00 +0000

"Humanities, Arts and Society Magazine" features the Multiplicity project.

Impfdashboard

Wed, 15 Jan 2020 00:00:00 +0000

How can we visualize the progress of COVID-19 vaccinations in Germany in a concise, appealing and accessible way? Our mobile-first solution for the official vaccination dashboard sets a new standard for governmental data communication around the pandemic.

Winner at National Geographic Innovation Challenge

Wed, 04 Dec 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Perpetual Plastic — a 46ft data sculpture made from beach debris, showing the fate of all plastic ever produced — won Gold at the National Geographic Ocean Plastic Innovation Challenge 2019. Thanks to my art activist Liina Klauss and marine scientist and designer Skye Morét for the great collaboration!

Perpetual Plastic

Wed, 04 Dec 2019 00:00:00 +0000

What is the fate of all plastic ever produced? This 14m diameter data art sculpture, made from beach debris, provides the answer.

Data Cuisine exhibited in Zürich

Fri, 20 Sep 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Happy to announce that photo and video material from the Data Cuisine workshops will be on display at "Wissen in Bildern – Informationsdesign heute" in Zürich! Opening: Sep 20, 2019.

Rhythm of Food in Breda

Fri, 20 Sep 2019 00:00:00 +0000

The Rhythm of Food project was selected to be part of the Graphic Matters: Information Superpower exhibition, Sep 20 to Oct 27, 2019.

GROW Soil Moisture Maps

Mon, 16 Sep 2019 00:00:00 +0000

The GROW Observatory is a European-wide project engaging thousands of growers, scientists and others passionate about the land. We developed the Dynamic Soil Moisture Map as a demonstration of an information service which could be used by farmers, scientists and policy makers for applications in agriculture and climate forecasting. These maps use GROW sensor data combined with satellite data to generate a continuous estimation of water content over a terrain.

dataviz : ecologies

Mon, 03 Jun 2019 00:00:00 +0000

At this year’s eyeo festival, I talked about visual strategies for data visualization in the realm of ecology and climate change. Contents may include data sculptures, bee data dashboards, hyperobjects.

Keynote at VIZBI 2019

Fri, 15 Mar 2019 00:00:00 +0000

I was invited to give a keynote at VIZBI, the scientific conference for visualizing biological data. I talked about "The art and science of data visualization" — reaching from data legibility to data art, and bigger questions in the relation of the arts and the sciences.

Watch it on youtube.

Beyond heatmaps — Data visualization for a warming planet

Mon, 11 Mar 2019 00:00:00 +0000

As it seems, we have hit a wall in the visual rhetorics surrounding climate change. How can data visualization help to make global warming more graspable? We investigated this question in the course "Beyond heatmaps" at HfK Bremen.

Information is Beautiful Awards 2018

Tue, 04 Dec 2018 00:00:00 +0000

M U L T I P L I C I T Y won Gold in the "Unusual" category at the Information is Beautiful Awards 2018. For me, this marks award number eleven in a winning streak of seven consecutive years. Wow!

Truth & Beauty for Science!

Tue, 21 Aug 2018 00:00:00 +0000

I taught a training course for data visualization for scientists in Utrecht, Netherlands, August 2018. For more information, check out this interview I did with the organizers from Graphic Hunters.

Food & Drink Infographics

Mon, 09 Jul 2018 00:00:00 +0000

"Food & Drink Infographics" (TASCHEN, Simone Klabin, ed. Julius Wiedemann) features my Muesli Ingredient Network.

Rhythm of Food at Places & Spaces

Sun, 01 Jul 2018 00:00:00 +0000

I am very happy to announce that the Rhythm of Food project was selected to be part of the Places and Spaces exhibition, curated by the Cyberinfrastructure for Network Science Center at Indiana University. I am very excited to bring our work to many young people around the world — so far the exhibit has been shown at over 375 venues in 28 countries on 6 continents!

World Economic Forum

Sun, 01 Jul 2018 00:00:00 +0000

I am a long-term consultant for the World Economic Forum. My tasks range from strategic consultations to the design of interactive information visualization and print graphics.

Under the Sun

Fri, 08 Jun 2018 00:00:00 +0000

There's exactly one point where the sun is at zenith, right now. A trip around the world in 24 hours — everyday anew, never quite the same. A nod to the beauty of nature, the passing of time, and a heating planet.

Keynote at OpenVisConf 2018

Mon, 14 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000

It was a huge honor for me to keynote the first European edition of one of my favorite conferences: OpenVisConf in Paris, May 14-16, 2018.

→ Watch the video on youtube

123 data at Fondation EDF, Paris

Thu, 03 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000

1 2 3 data at Fondation EDF Paris (open May to September 2018) features five of my projects: from Projekt Ukko, On Broadway, Selfiecity to a first-ever physical exhibit of Data Cuisine and finally, a brand new commission specifically for the exhibition: Multiplicity — a collective photographic portrait of the city of Paris, with the help of machine learning techniques.

Multiplicity

Tue, 03 Apr 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Today, we collectively and continuously document our city experience on social media platforms, shaping a virtual city image. Multiplicity reveals a novel view of this photographic landscape of attention and interests. How does Paris look as seen through the lens of thousands of photographers? What are the hotspots of attraction, what are the neglected corners? What are recurring poses and tropes? And how well do the published pictures reflect your personal view of the city?

Information is Beautiful Awards 2017

Thu, 30 Nov 2017 00:00:00 +0000

I won Gold for Rhythm of Food and Bronze for Peak Spotting at the Information is Beautiful Awards 2017.

This marks awards number 9 and 10 from a winning streak of 6 consecutive years(!). It's an incredible honor to receive such amazing ongoing support and recognition. Huge thanks and hi-fives also to my numerous collaborators on these projects!

"The Data Viz That’s Helping Transform A $45 Billion Company"

Wed, 18 Oct 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Fast Company features our work for Deutsche Bahn, describing it as "Not only is it pretty to look at, but it’s affecting change in ways that are easy to measure, but also profound."

Wahl 2Q17

Fri, 04 Aug 2017 00:00:00 +0000

How do people search for candidates and political topics? And what are they really interested in? Wahl 2Q17 uses Google Trends data to visualize the Google Search interest in the top candidates of the seven most searched political parties in the German general election 2017. From near real-time to long-term search interest, the project provides a rich overview over the search activity of millions of people.

Peak Spotting

Thu, 20 Jul 2017 00:00:00 +0000

More and more people travel by train in Germany. How can we combine machine learning and visual analytics methods to help manage the passenger loads?

Peak Spotting provides yield and capacity managers with rich visual tools to identify potential bottlenecks early on and react through price management, communications or logistic solutions.

There be dragons: dataviz in the industry

Thu, 23 Mar 2017 00:00:00 +0000

There be dragons: dataviz in the industry

Thu, 23 Mar 2017 00:00:00 +0000

The Rhythm of Food

Wed, 30 Nov 2016 00:00:00 +0000

What can we learn about food culture by looking at Google search data? When do people search for smoothies, soup, or fruit salad? The Rhythm of Food, a visualization project in collaboration with Google News Lab, sheds light on the many facets of food seasonality, based on twelve years of Google search data.

EPFL Data Monolith

Fri, 04 Nov 2016 00:00:00 +0000

The EPFL Data Monolith presents an immersive data perspective on the complex microcosmos that constitutes university life. It is on display at the Data Square exhibition in the ArtLab building at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). Structured along three main themes, visitors can explore the university “superorganism” from a variety of data angles in an interactive data experience.

Information is Beautiful Awards 2016

Wed, 02 Nov 2016 00:00:00 +0000

I am thrilled to have been awarded three Information is Beautiful Awards 2016.

Dataviz Project Gold for Data Cuisine
Data Visualization Silver for Projekt Ukko
Special price for Outstanding Individual

Data Cuisine talk at eyeo 2016

Fri, 10 Jun 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Can we use food as a medium for information? This talk from eyeo 2016 presents the Data Cuisine project, which turns abstract data into delicious experiences.

Project Ukko exhibitions

Sun, 01 May 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Project Ukko was exhibited at Future Everything, Manchester, 2016 (Multitouch installation and ambient loop) as well as Information+ exhibition, Vancouver, 2016.

Project Ukko

Fri, 15 Jan 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Project Ukko presents a novel way to spot patterns in seasonal wind prediction data. Understanding future wind conditions can become a crucial component block in supporting clean energy sources and climate change resilience.

Our visualization allows energy traders, wind farm managers and others to spot global patterns and trends in future wind conditions, and drill into detailed prediction breakdowns on a regional level.

Little boxes

Tue, 12 Jan 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Little boxes

Tue, 12 Jan 2016 00:00:00 +0000

-ach, -ingen, -zell

Mon, 11 Jan 2016 00:00:00 +0000