Group D

This project investigates how visual structure shapes the meaning of time within data visualisation. Beginning with historical research into different representations of time — from cyclical calendars to linear industrial charts and geological timelines — we observed that form does not merely organise information but constructs distinct temporal logics. Circular systems embed time within ecological cycles, linear grids frame time as measurable progress, and layered diagrams decentre human agency within deep time.

From this observation, we developed a critical question: if a dataset remains constant, how does visual structure reshape temporal meaning?

Using a single commuting emissions dataset, we designed a method to isolate the effect of form. We first developed parallel visual interpretations while keeping the data fixed. Each version was analysed through four shared criteria: aesthetic intensity, readability, metaphor, and knowledge production. We then rewrote one another’s designs under the same conditions to further test how structural shifts alter perception.

Through comparison, we found that identical data can be reframed as accumulation, compression, or collective distribution. Temporal meaning was not embedded in the dataset itself but constructed through hierarchy, orientation, and scale.

This project positions data visualisation not as neutral display, but as an active agent in shaping how urgency, responsibility, and environmental time are understood.

Individual