A thin line between ordinary and extraordinary
Excel |
Mapbox | Chart.js | GitHub
(graphics are interactive and best viewed on a desktop)
MY 2020
I collected personal data from one year - starting March 12, 2020 (the first day my office
transitioned to working from home, due to the COVID-19 pandemic). Although day to day life
appeared excessively monotonous, I recognize that the year was profoundly unique. My aim was to
create of snapshot of this time using life's everyday, seemingly mundane data.
DATA COLLECTION
I pieced together my personal data from multiple sources: iPhone photos, fitness apps, emails,
text messages, slack chats, receipts, bank statements, and recounting days with the few people I
interacted with in real life. Data was ultimately condensed into one excel table. I captured
both quantitative and qualitative data. I documented grim New York City milestones, alongside my
frivolous day-to-day activities - my discovery of the joys of birdwatching... my rediscovery of
the joys of overalls.
VISUALIZATIONS
The amount of data generated by one, very uneventful year was surprisingly daunting. I opted to
limit the visualizations to my personal data. City mandates and case counts, worthy of their own
story, distracted from the year's repetitive banality. A map best captured my limited travels
and the geographic smallness of the year. As 366 visualizations would be overwhelming, and 12
months not quite granular enough, I chose to visualize 52 weeks, using a series of small
multiples. Their simplicity and redundancy aptly portrayed my 2020.