Digital Climate - Chaos
2021 – INTERACTIVE DESIGN GRAPHIC DESIGN
Research
Our group project ‘Chaos’ set out to transform the esoteric concept of data into a palpable experience, underscoring its material footprint within data centers. Anchoring our design in comprehensive research, we delved into the physical aspects of data—its spatial demands and energy consumption—to raise awareness that data is not merely a digital abstraction but a real-world entity. This venture was underpinned by service design methodologies, driving home the importance of data’s physicality through an interactive, sensory-rich installation. Each visitor to our installation became an active participant, embarking on a multi-sensory journey where climbing, touching, and listening were not just allowed but encouraged, embodying the kinetic and often overlooked reality of data’s physical landscape. Below there are pictures of the real-life space we have been inspired by and planned to create the exhibition in – Kalmar Art Museum.
Interactive Experience and Service Design
Our commitment to interactive design was manifest in every detail of the installation. The experience was multisensorial: sequential, visual, auditory, tactile, kinestethic, reflective/logical. Designed to stimulate and educate, we created a space where neon colors pulsed under black lights, temperatures varied to mimic data center conditions, and hushed sounds beckoned visitors closer to discover more. Each structural element, representing companies such as SnapChat, Facebook, and Apple, varied in form—echoing the uniqueness of each company’s data footprint. This environment was meticulously curated to foster engagement, drawing visitors into a deeper conversation about the energy narrative of the digital age. The setup was designed to be adaptable, capable of existing anywhere that didn’t explicitly ban the internet or the specific tech companies represented.
Prototyping and Team Dynamics
The project’s success was a testament to the dynamic collaboration and skill-sharing within our team. Clara took the helm in the digital realm, crafting precise models that served as the blueprint for our physical space. Meanwhile, I translated these digital concepts into a scale model that became the heart of our prototyping phase. This iterative process was crucial, enabling us to refine our ideas and embody them within the physical model and promotional visuals. Together, our efforts culminated in an experiential design that not only informed but also intrigued, urging visitors to reconsider their understanding of data and its tangible impact on our world. Through this collaborative effort, we each expanded our skill set, interweaving elements of research, service design, and interactive prototyping into a unified, compelling narrative.
The voices of cubes
Netflix – 3 blocks, warm (43 degrees Celsius)
◆ Hi, I’m Netflix, and my data is stored in Amazon data centers. I don’t disclose my energy usage, but Amazon operates on 50% renewable energy and aims to reach 100%—the timeline, however, is unclear. Previously, I attempted to build my own data centers, but it wasn’t successful.
Google – 5 blocks, cool (30 degrees)
◆ Hello, I’m Google. I use 100% renewable energy and am the world’s largest corporate purchaser of renewable power. Annually, I consume 10.6 billion kilowatt-hours of energy, equivalent to Sri Lanka’s usage, and operate 20 data centers globally.
Snapchat – 3 blocks, cool (30 degrees)
◆ Hi, I’m Snapchat. My data is stored in Google facilities. While I don’t reveal my energy consumption or specific locations, Google uses 100% renewable energy.V
Voices of cubes
Apple – 5 blocks, cool (30 degrees)
◆ Hi, I’m Apple. My facilities are powered by 100% renewable energy. I use about 2.8 billion kilowatt-hours of energy annually, matching Jamaica’s yearly energy consumption. I own and rent space in data centers from Google and Amazon, but specific storage locations remain undisclosed.
Facebook – 5 blocks, body temperature (37 degrees)
◆ Hi, I’m Facebook. I’ve committed to using 100% renewable energy this year. I consume approximately 3.4 billion kilowatt-hours of energy annually—slightly more than Botswana’s annual consumption. I manage 12 data centers covering nearly 1.5 million square meters.
WhatsApp – 4 blocks, body temperature (37 degrees)
◆ Hello, I’m WhatsApp. I store local data on your mobile or computer, eliminating the need for data centers. However, your data may be backed up to iCloud. I don’t disclose my energy usage, but Facebook, my parent company, provides total energy figures.
Experience description – Storytelling
You walk into one of the rooms at Kalmar Konstmuseum. It is a big neutral room with many meters up to the ceiling. There is another room constructed inside this huge room, it takes up about half of the floor space. Maybe the constructed room is the only thing in the museum room, maybe it is a part of a bigger exhibition. Either way the walls are painted black and the 3x3m door is covered with black curtains, over the door it is written DIGITAL CLIMATE and on the sides of the door there are posters, but you can not read them from distance. You walk closer and read that in this exhibition you are free to touch, climb, move, listen and analyze as you wish, you can also read that the exhibition is about data storage and is made by two design students. You walk through the curtain and enter a sparsely lit room filled with huge constructions looking like they are made of cubes, the corners of the constructions are painted in one colour per construction and on the walls there are blue drawings and writings. While your eyes adjust you notice that the floor is a little soft and that there is a constant sound of airconditioning and some other sounds you are not sure what are, but it seems like they are coming from the constructions. You notice that the light source is a blacklight, making the painted corners on the constructions and the writings and drawings on the walls pop towards you. There are six constructions in the room, they all have the same volume and 90degrees corners, but the shape varies. The constructions vary in hight and with between 1,5 and 2,5 meters. You walk closer to the red one and yes, one of those indistinct sounds is getting louder. You find a circular hole in the construction painted with the same colour as the corners and place your ear closer to it and hear a voice telling you about that this construction represents Netflix, where they store their data and what type of energy they consume. You see another hole in the same construction, it is higher up and you climb the construction to hear if there is a different sound, it is the same. But you notice that the construction is very warm, it is starting to get uncomfortable, so you climb down and and walk over to the green one. This one is a little colder, you climb up to a hole and hear the same type of information, but this time from the company WhatsApp. You look around, you can see the walls better from here, and there on one of the walls you see a drawing of a thermometer and from the text you understand that the heat indicates what type of energy the company use. On another wall you see lines in the different colours that the constructions have, and at the end of each line it says a word, you recognize them as different digital companies. You climb down WhatsApp and up Facebook, from here you can see everything! You can even see over to the wall explaining that the height symbolize the companies transparency around energy and location, the taller the construction, the more transparent. You continue walking, climbing and listening around the room. At the wall over at Snapchat you can read that data centers consume 1% of the world’s electricity. After climbing all the constructions, even taking a little break in a private corner over at Apple, you walk out thinking about how your phone is connected to these huge electrical constructions all over the world and how cool it is that many of them are powered by renewable energy. You decide that you will check at the end of this year if Facebook actually kept its promise and how Netflix is doing, maybe HBO is better than Netflix? You’ll check.