VIDAN: Visual and Dynamic Arrangements of Messages

At the interface between data visualisation, digital storytelling and urban infrastructure, the interdisciplinary research project VIDAN ("Visual and Dynamic Arrangements of News") deals with the design, development and evaluation of data-based news formats. The aim of the project is to develop new interaction and visualisation techniques for the presentation and exploration of complex data.

The structure of news reports has hardly changed with the spread of online media. Although some editorial offices have started to invest in so-called longreads and scrollytellings, the majority of published online articles are conventionally designed. Most news is static, linear and isolated, and the increasing role of social media in distribution has done little to change this. The length and type of presentation of news articles is usually fixed and often does not correspond to the temporal and spatial situation of the readers. In order to develop and evaluate innovative techniques for the visualisation of data-supported news articles, the VIDAN research project is experimenting with new forms of article creation and presentation. In close cooperation with experts and analysts, concepts of data-based storytelling are being investigated and developed as functional prototypes using user-centred design, which will be evaluated with authors and readers. The focus is on urban topics in order to investigate the changes in methods for analysing and communicating complex issues caused by data-based narratives.

Cities are complex organisms whose form and rhythm are determined by numerous interest groups and actors. We can perceive a city as residents and visitors by moving through it and navigating its complexity. Advancing digitalisation opens up new possibilities for managing its complexity and enriches city life through newly emerging services. At the same time, the technologies used generate large amounts of data and knowledge that enable a closer examination of the city. Over the course of three years, the areas of mobility, water and waste will be analysed more closely as integral components of urban infrastructure. Together with civity, a consultancy specialising in the public sector, we will use data-based narratives to open up a discussion about the changing appearance of the city and how it is perceived.

Project website Link https://uclab.fh-potsdam.de/vidan/