Abstract

One of the much-discussed applications of data visualization has been the analysis of personal data extracted primarily from social networking sites for the ultimate goal of understanding user behaviors. From Instagram uploads to Facebook “likes,” the archive of activities that people leave behind on the internet can be organized and analyzed in quantitative fashion in order to reveal behavioral patterns and nuances that may be difficult to detect otherwise. Moving beyond the complex algorithms behind these analytical endeavors are the various artists and designers who have used data as an artistic medium to create novel forms of self-portraiture. From Nicholas Felton to Stefan Sagmeister, the expressive works from these designers have challenged the conventions behind the visual rhetoric and offered new possibilities of representing and disseminating personal data through the formal elements of graphic design. This article expands from these examples to offer organizational strategies for curating personal data as a narrative experience that attempts to reframe the relationship that individuals have with their own digital traces.