VisFutures

Fast forward

Abstract

Welcome to Vis Futures! ... where YOU have a say in how people use data in the Future! Vis Futures is a card-based sketching game where players think critically (and playfully) about the future of data and visualization. Players deal a set of cards that hint at a possible future, and a possible dataset in that future. Players then use those prompts to imagine and sketch new visualization designs and imagine ways that future people from a particular audience might encounter, interact with, or utilize data (quirks and all). At the end of each round, players share their visualizations, discuss, and vote on which scenarios and visualizations are the most creative! Our goal is to include more people (including visualization students, researchers, and practitioners, as well as clients and collaborators) in discussions of critical data issues that have implications for the future of data, visualization, and technology. This game encourages players to engage in future-forward design thinking, examining the increasingly complex implications of our relationships with data and technology, and considering how, where, and why visual representations of data might play a role. It can be pretty fun too! This submission consists of the instruction booklet that accompanies the game. The provided link contains as supplemental material the cards for the game as well as the optional creator pack. These will later be uploaded and available at the game's website provided in the instructions.