Data as Experiential Knowledge and Embodied Processes

Over the centuries our understanding of what constitutes data has – and continues today – to shift. In the 18th century, datum, the singular of data, referred to a piece of information through which inferences could be drawn. For the scientific community, the focus shifted from receiving what is given to extracting what is not. Data transitioned from an entity that was previously unknown or unexplored to being the epitome of what scientists strive to uncover via systematic investigation and observation.

More recently, the art and design community’s engagement with data has once again shifted understanding of the term. Data became an experimental medium for artists and designers and data literacy of general audiences began to emerge. These changes have prompted a more nuanced understanding of the term. Beyond the purely quantitative, data are now recognised to carry temporal and emotional qualities that can be meaningful, malleable and evocative.

Making with data is no longer exclusively digital. Data appear in hybrid and physical forms that invite various perspectives, interpretations, and reflections. For example, data can be found in physical forms like 3D-printed models, sculptures, or even tactile exhibits in museums. In addition, users can explore the embodied nature of data in virtual environments, offering unique perspectives on data's virtual materiality and influencing our perception of scale, complexity, and interconnections between humans and data. Data are no longer exclusively a scientific output either, but instead appear in art and design accessible to entirely different publics. The growth of self-tracking technologies now allows anyone to track, experiment with, and explore data in ways that extend what is known about the self and decision-making in everyday life. More recently, artificial intelligence has once again contributed to shaping our understanding of the term through the use of generative technologies. Even design education has shifted in recent years, using data to inspire, support, and expand students' projects.

Thus, the idea of data has expanded beyond its conventional scientific boundaries and has become a versatile and ever-changing medium that influences how we see the world, stimulates creative expression, and enhances our daily lives in new and remarkable ways.

Topics of Interest Include, But Are Not Limited To:

  • What constitutes making when designing with data at various scales?
  • How do the cultural, social and contextual influences of data affect design processes?
  • How might engaging with data shift our understandings of space?
  • What role does data play in speculation?
  • Are data and material practices antithetical?
  • At what points in the design process does data provide inspiration?
  • How can data take the form of new materialities?

Call for Papers

Papers

For EKSIG 2025, we invite the submission of full papers (4000-5000 words excluding references) that offer new or challenging views on the conference theme that have not been previously published. The papers will be selected through a double-blind peer-review process by an international review team.

Workshops

We also invite for workshop submissions that should include:

  • Workshop Description (max 2 pages)
  • Schedule of the Workshop
  • Technical Requirements (including material requirements)
  • Organisers pictures and bios

We invite contributions from creative subjects and other disciplines, e.g. design, architecture, engineering, craft, media, HCI, performance, music, fine art, curation, museology, archaeology, philosophy, knowledge management, education, health, cognitive science, sensory studies and other fields that are concerned with collaboration in research and in creative and professional practice.

Please submit an anonymized version of your full paper of 4000-5000 words or workshop according to this template.

Important Dates for papers and workshops:

Deadline for Paper Submission: 22 November 2024
Review time: 1 December - 31 January
Final Selection Meeting: 1-5 February
Notification of Acceptance: 10 February 2025
Camera-ready Papers Due: 10 March 2025
Conference Date: 11-13 May 2025

SUBMIT YOUR PAPER

Keynote Speakers

Miriah Meyer

Miriah Meyer is a professor in the Department of Science & Technology at Linköping University, supported through the WASP program. Her research focuses on the design of visualization systems for helping people make sense of data, and on the development of methods for helping visualization designers make sense of the world. She obtained her bachelors degree in astronomy and astrophysics at Penn State University, earned a PhD in computer science from the University of Utah, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University. Prior to joining the faculty at LiU she was an associate professor in the School of Computing at the University of Utah and a member of the Vis Design Lab in the Scientific Computing & Imaging Institute. Miriah has received numerous awards and recognitions for her work including being named a University of Utah Distinguished Alumni, both a TED Fellow and a PopTech Science Fellow, a Microsoft Research Faculty Fellow, and included on MIT Technology Review's TR35 list of the top young innovators. She was also awarded an AAAS Mass Media Fellowship that landed her a stint as a science writer for the Chicago Tribune.

Andrew Vande Moere

Andrew Vande Moere is a Professor in Design Informatics at the Department of Architecture at KU Leuven (Belgium). He conducts design-oriented research investigating the designerly potential of various emerging technologies. By combining the methodologies from design science with computer sciences, his research contributes to the fields of human-computer (HCI), human-data (HDI), human-robot (HRI), and human-building (HBI) interaction. As such, he was one of the very first researchers recognising the creative potential of: 'designing' rather than 'developing' data visualisations (i.e. 'information aesthetics'), visualising data in a physical rather than digital formats (i.e. 'data sculptures'), and locating visualisations in the actual physical environment that the data was originally sourced from (i.e. 'public visualisations'). His current research around data work focuses on revealing the uncertainties in data through visualisation, and on uncovering the power imbalances within various data visualisation activities. Several innovations from his academic research have been valorised, among which the university spin-off "Citizen Dialog Kit" (CDK), which allows governmental organisations to open up their collection and presentation of data in any public environment.

Mihály Minkó

Mihály Minkó is a lecturer, design researcher and practitioner at the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design. Mihály investigates the outer reaches of data visualisation. In addition to visual representations of data, he also creates physical art installations. In these, he often goes beyond the use of conventional materials, and experiments with biodegradable, renewable biocomposites. He regularly holds R&D courses, including on the framework of the Balatorium project, students’ work on which he has also presented in an exhibition. In addition to delivering courses and lectures to MOME students and researchers, Mihály is also the professional course leader of MOME Open, specifically of a successful data visualisation training course that has been running for several years. He is a regular speaker at business intelligence conferences in Hungary. Relying on his network of contacts, he also facilitates collaborations between industry players and the university.

Attend

Dates

Sunday-Tuesday, 11-13 May 2025

Venue

Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design Budapest
9-25 Zugligeti Str., H1121, Budapest, Hungary

Registration

Please note that each accepted paper to be published needs to have one paying author. Below are the registration fees. The registration link and more details will be announced soon.

Early Bird Registration (3 March – 31 March)

  • Regular: 390 EUR
  • Concessions*: 320 EUR
  • Workshop only: 50 EUR

Standard Registration (1 April – 21 April)

  • Regular: 490 EUR
  • Concessions*: 420 EUR
  • Workshop only: 75 EUR

*Concessions include confirmed student, PhD student status and DRS members: in the registration you will be required to upload a document, together with your ID, to prove your status.

The conference fee gives you access to the following:

  • Abstract publication
  • Full paper publication (only digital)
  • Presentations
  • Keynote speeches
  • Networking and discussions with other researchers and participants
  • Social dinner

It will also be possible to purchase a guest ticket at an additional cost of 80 euros, which includes participation in the keynote speeches and the social dinner.

You are welcome to attend the conference without presenting a paper; the participation fees are the same as if you had presented a paper.

If, as an author, you have several papers selected for publication, please note that for each paper to be published, it needs to have a unique paying author. This may be one of your co-authors.

If it is the case that no other author is on the second paper or co-authors are not attending, please get in contact with us (mail to: eksig2025@mome.hu) to discuss second paper rates.

Organizing & Program Committee

Mary Karyda, Moholy-Nagy Universtiy of Art and Design
Jessica Hemmings, University of Gothenburg
Renáta Dezső, Moholy-Nagy Universtiy of Art and Design
Damla Çay, Moholy-Nagy Universtiy of Art and Design
Ágnes Karolina Bakk, Moholy-Nagy Universtiy of Art and Design
Nithikul Nimkulrat, OCAD University, Canada

Budapest
11-13 May 2025