form follows behavior

Branded communities are an emerging phenomenon. Certainly, the term “branded community” is increasing in popularity. Yet—and this should not come as a surprise—brand has always been an important factor in regard to communities, and not only new communities. In this context, brand is a platform for creating and communicating a sense of place; it is the stated or perceived identity of a community. Branded communities, in their attempt to formalize sense of place, are not only the latest chapter in the ongoing narrative of the ideal or utopian city; they are also the outcome of a changing relationship between identity and community.

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It is almost cliché these days to state that the database is the form of expression of our age. Many have written on this topic, from computer scientists to media theorists, from philosophers to artists. They have examined networks as the means for connecting and accessing related objects from databases, as well as protocol in the structure of the database as undermining the assumed autonomy of the object. In the art world, the separation between content and expression no longer seems controversial—along with protocol, it has become a topic of critique. Yet, despite the growing familiarity with the database, it is perhaps given too much credit as a form of expression. The largest misconception seems to be that the database supplants an author-driven narrative. It is often seen as anti-narrative, anti-hierarchical, when in fact the database itself has inherent narrative qualities.

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Google Maps recently launched its latest feature, a panoramic, street-level view of several major US cities. Despite not being the first of its kind, this is the most satisfying street-level simulation I have seen. In particular, what Google has brilliantly solved is the question of navigation and performance, once again demonstrating the importance of execution. Yet, beyond technical sophistication, my interest lies in the artifact created by this new type of visualization.

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In their paper Artistic Data Visualization: Beyond Visual Analytics, Fernanda B. Viégas and Martin Wattenberg claim that artistic data visualizations “…must be based on actual data, rather than the metaphors or surface appearance of visualization.” What they seem to be saying (though I will admit I may be reading too much into this statement) is that metaphor cannot apply to any ‘artistic’ visualization directly derived from data. While the article is well written and researched, I will try to explain why I fundamentally disagree with this premise. [Note: In writing this it appears I misinterpreted their statement: see comments below.]

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Social constructionism states that the reality we perceive is constructed through social interactions. In education, constructionism has been used to support a curriculum emphasizing learning by doing, with interdisciplinary projects forming the foundation. Students, the theory goes, learn more effectively when they learn on the basis of experimentation, in particular when their gained knowledge finds a direct and immediate application.

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