Move&Find: The Value of Kinaesthetic Experience in a Casual Data Representation

IEEE Comput Graph Appl. 2020 Nov-Dec;40(6):61-75. doi: 10.1109/MCG.2020.3025385. Epub 2020 Sep 21.

Abstract

The value of a data representation is traditionally judged based on aspects like effectiveness and efficiency that are important in utilitarian or work-related contexts. Most multisensory data representations, however, are employed in casual contexts where creativity, affective, physical, intellectual, and social engagement might be of greater value. We introduce Move&Find, a multisensory data representation in which people pedalled on a bicycle to exert the energy required to power a search query on Google's servers. To evaluate Move&Find, we operationalized a framework suitable to evaluate the value of data representations in casual contexts and experimentally compared Move&Find to a corresponding visualization. With Move&Find, participants achieved a higher understanding of the data. Move&Find was judged to be more creative and encouraged more physical and social engagement-components of value that would have been missed using more traditional evaluation frameworks.