The Indian Lockdown Experience (2020): Data-Driven Print Design For Textiles

The Indian Lockdown Experience (2020) Data-Driven Print Design For Textiles By

Pankti Patel

Department of Textile Design National Institute of Fashion Technology, Mumbai Year: 2020-2021

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“ The next revolution in data-viz? Human data as narrative storytelling. ” -AIGA Eye on Design about Accurat

Name of Department: Textile Design Series No. : UDC No. : Name of Document: The Indian Lockdown Experience (Data-Driven Print Design for Textiles) Name of Student: Pankti Patel NIFT, Mumbai Year of Study: 2017 - 2021 Series No. Cover design by Pankti Patel Copyright 2021 National Institute of Fashion Technology, Mumbai

COPYRIGHT STATEMENT: All rights reserved: no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system or transmitted in any form by means of electronic, mechanical, photo copying, recording or otherwise without prior permission from National Institute Fashion Technology, Mumbai, except by a review/reader who wishes to quote brief passage in connection with a paper review/essay written for inclusion in a periodical, newspaper or broadcast.

25th May 2021 Mumbai

JURY CERTIFICATE This is to certify that Pankti Patel, student at National Institute of Fashion Technology, Mumbai has completed her Graduation Project titled ‘The Indian Lockdown Experience: Data-Driven Print Design for Textiles’ within the specified time frame of January 11, 2021 to April 30, 2021.

The Jury has evaluated the work of the student and found the work up to the mark and recommended that the student be awarded with Bachelors of Design (Textile Design).

Jury Members:

Subsequent remarks and follow up if any:

Dr. Mohammad Javed Centre Coordinator - Textile Design Dated: June 21, 2021

The Indian Lockdown Experience (2020) Data-Driven Print Design for Textiles

A Graduation Project submitted in partial fulfilment of Under-Graduate Programme in Textile Design at National Institute of Fashion Technology, Mumbai.

Name of Student: Pankti Patel Faculty guide: Dr. Reena Aggarwal

Department of Textile Design National Institute of Fashion Technology Mumbai Year: 2020-2021

Acknowledgement This project and document is a consolidation and culmination of my learnings from various periods of my life. I owe many thanks to everyone who has supported me, had faith in me, and contributed to my being where I am today.

Having to complete almost half of my undergraduate studies during a global pandemic was not something I had ever imagined. However, I am thankful for everyone who made this experience an innocuous one ( and I do say this with utmost awareness of my privilege).

I take this opportunity to express immense gratitude to: • My mother and father for their unconditional love, support, and efforts to make sure I always get the best of everything.

• My brother, Nikunj, for his constant guidance, encouragement, and inspiration.

• My faculty guide, Dr. Reena Aggarwal. Thank you for believing in my ideas and providing me with the opportunity to pursue this self-sponsored project.

• The continual support and encouragement of the Textile Design Department at NIFT, Mumbai.

• Lastly, everyone who took out some of their precious time to participate in this project, I truly appreciate it!

I am thankful to the National Institute of Fashion Technology, Mumbai, and my time there for all that the institute has taught me academically and personally.

- Pankti Patel

Synopsis This graduation project adopts and explores the concept of Data Humanism through prints and patterns developed using self-collected data on what has been titled by me as ‘The Indian Lockdown Experience (2020).’

Especially in today’s world, data is a powerful tool that goes beyond mere numbers to communicate narratives of human nature, life, and behaviors. By convening the world of data with textiles, one can explore multiple ways to make data more engaging, accessible, friendly, inspiring, interactive, and relatable. The point at which data storytelling meets textiles and fashion is where the human body, in a physical sense, also becomes a storyteller.

This project revolves around the theme of the lockdown imposed by the Government of India on 24 March 2020 to curb the spread of the novel COVID-19 virus, which caused a global pandemic. It aims to understand how Indian’s experienced the lockdown - how they felt, how they spent their time, and how their relationships were affected, to list a few aspects. The insights are further turned into works of art with versatility as independent artworks and repeat prints for textiles.

Table of Contents Prologue

Premise

1.1 National Institute of Fashion Technology / 02 1.2 Introduction to Graduation Project / 03 2.1 Data Meets Design / 06 2.2 Data Humanism / 08 2.3 Literature Review / 12 2.4 Prospective Themes / 18

Project Proposal

3.1 Background / 22 3.2 Objective / 22 3.3. Proposed Methodology / 22 3.4 Deliverables / 22 3.5 Budget / 23 3.6 Timeline / 23

Theme Research

4.1 Introduction / 26 4.2 Brainstorm / 27 4.2.1 Defining Direction / 29

Brief, Scope & Theme

Data Collection

5.1 Project Brief / 32 5.2 Scope of Project / 33 5.3 Methodology: Visualisation / 34 6.1 Drafting Questions / 38 6.2 Final Questionnaire / 42 6.3 Nature of Questionnaire / 45 6.4 Open Call / 46 6.5 Collected Data / 47 6.6 Cleaning Up Raw Data / 48 6.7 Analysis Questions / 49

Table of Contents Design Direction

7.1 Visual Direction / 52 7.2 Design Boards / 53

Data Sketches

8.1 Introduction to Data Sketches / 56 8.2 Sketches / 57

Visualisations

Rejects Application

9.1 Subcontent / 62 9.2 Demographics / 63 9.3 Final Data Prints with Key / 66 10 Rejects / 116 11.1 Introduction / 124 11.2 About Collection 1 - BINGE / 124 11.3 About Collection 2 - SCROLL / 125 I. BINGE / 126 II. SCROLL / 134 11.4 Key Cards / 138

Culmination

12.1 Conclusion / 142 12.2 Reflection / 145

Bibliography

13.1 Image Credits / 148 13.2 References / 150

PROLOGUE 1.1 National Institute of Fashion Technology / 02 1.1.1 About NIFT 1.1.2 Textile Design at NIFT, Mumbai 1.2 Introduction to Graduation Project / 03 1.2.1 About Graduation Project 1.2.2 Nature of Graduation Project

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PROLOGUE

1.1 National Institute of Fashion Technology 1.1.1 About NIFT

National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) is an autonomous institute of fashion education in India set up in 1986 under the Ministry of Textiles, Government of India. In 2006, NIFT became a statutory institute governed by the NIFT Act of the Indian Parliament and was empowered to grant its independent degrees.

With 16 full-fledged campuses across India, NIFT offers Undergraduate, Post-Graduate, and doctoral programs in design, management, and technology.

NIFT also works as a knowledge service provider to the Union and State governments for design development and positioning of handlooms and handicrafts. Former Director-General of NIFT, Sarada Muraleedharan, says“Among the primary objectives NIFT charts out is to make our textile and craft-based industries more contemporary and relevant.”

1.1.2 Textile Design At NIFT,Mumbai

The Mumbai campus of NIFT was established in 1995 and is currently situated in Kharghar, Navi Mumbai. Its Textile Design Department was established in 2009 and currently has 180 students under its wing.

The Textile Design programme provides students with ample opportunities to create, experiment, and innovate.

Consequently, it prepares its students for a wide range of careers in the textile and fashion industries. Core subjects such as Weaving, Print Design and Surface Embellishment are paired with textile technology subjects, thereby providing scope to students to integrate their creative forces with technology.

In terms of infrastructure, NIFT, Mumbai’s Textile Design Department, is equipped with a Weaving Lab, a Surface Design Lab, and a Textile Testing Lab.

above: Entrance to Academic Block-I at NIFT, Mumbai

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PROLOGUE

1.2 Introduction to Graduation Project 1.2.1 About Graduation Project

The Bachelor of Design degree in Textile Design requires a student to undertake a Graduation Project sponsored by export houses, home and apparel retail brands, independent designers, NGOs or self-sponsored.

The Graduation Project is a 16-week project that pushes students to apply their academic learnings in real-life industry situations, resulting in knowledge, skills and confidence as a textile designer.

1.2.2 Nature Of Graduation Project

This particular Graduation Project is a Self- Sponsored Research Project. It involves theoretical and applied research arising out of personal interest in the chosen research topic and results in work that reflects creative freedom and exploration.

The project utilises a standardised research methodology - primary research and data collection form the core of this project. However, the interpretation and analysis of said data is a process of artistic experimentation resulting in an application in the textile design practice.

above: Steps leading to Textile Design Department at NIFT, Mumbai

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PREMISE 2.1 Data Meets Design / 06 2.1.1 What is Data?

2.1.2 Defining Data Visualisation 2.1.3 What is Data Storytelling?

2.1.4 What is Data-Driven Art? 2.2 Data Humanism / 08 2.2.1 Definition 2.2.2 Looking Through The Lens 2.2.3 Why Data Humanism is Important 2.2.4 Practicing Data Humanism 2.3 Literature Review / 12 2.3.1 ‘Being a Millenial Adult’ by Ruta Gokhale 2.3.2 ‘Soumoud: The Thread Back Home’ by Patchil 2.3.3 >>Weaving Data<< 2.3.4 Giorgia Lupi for & Other Stories 2.3.5 ‘Women’s Work’ by Olivia Johnson

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2.4 Prospective Themes / 18 2.4.1 Idea #1 - India: 2020 & Lockdown 2.4.2 Idea #2 - Sustainable Practices In Daily Life 2.4.3 Idea #3 - Artisan-Driven & Craft-Based Data 2.4.4 Chosen Theme

PREMISE

2.1 Data Meets Design 2.1.1 What Is Data?

Data, along with the fields of study assosciated with it, is often perceived as scary, but defined in simple terms, data is units of information collected through observation. It is not always numerical, but it is, almost always, reflective of human behaviour and human nature.

Data Science is a study domain wherein data analysis serves to identify patterns and behaviours further applied to solve real-world problems. Data Science is a highly versatile discipline as it applies to and brings value to practically any field of research.

However, as datasets get extensively large and complicated to interpret and explain, data storytelling becomes more critical for effective communication.

2.1.2 Defining Data Visualisation

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Tableau Software, an American interactive data visualisation software company, defines Data Visualisation as “the graphical representation of information and data. By using visual elements like charts, graphs, and maps, data visualisation tools provide an accessible way to see and understand trends, outliers, and patterns in data.” In other words, Data Visualisation is the sweet spot where information meets design to result in quick, effective and impactful communication.

And how it aids data storytelling

Art history has proved that humans are visual creatures.

And with storytelling being an essential cultural aspect of humanity, the coming together of visual elements and narratives greatly stimulates the human brain.

2.1.3 What Is Data Storytelling?

While data storytelling is often interpreted as effective data visualisation and infographics, it is more than that.

Data Storytelling is a combination of data, visuals and narrative to explain, enlighten and engage an audience with the patterns, outliers and insights gained from analysing a particular data set to influence and drive change. It communicates the story behind numbers and facts and is a structured approach for communicating insights and assigning meaning and giving context to what one may otherwise view as mere digits.

2.1.4 What Is Data Driven Art?

In today’s world, data has become more easily and readily available to the general population.

Consequently, its versatile nature as a material has been discovered and explored in multiple ways: one such form being Data-Driven Art.

PREMISE Also referred to as Information Art, Data Art is an emerging art form that recognizes the ideal characteristics of data that make it an exciting medium to create art - flexibility, malleability, and versatility. Data Art exists virtually and digitally on screens and physically through sculptures, woven tapestries, jewellery, and other mediums.

How is datadriven art different from data visualisation?

Data Art differs from Data Visualisation in that it does not aim to represent and communicate data for better understanding effectively but, like other forms of art, to incite emotions and provide aesthetics. It is important to note that, since Data-Driven Art is rooted in data, a piece of Data Art has objective truth behind it and is not solely born out of the artist’s imagination.

For instance, the following image is a work of data art produced to promote a campaign by Tiger Beer. It encourages patrons to create a unique piece of data art based on the alphabets in their name, their age, and time of day when created.

above: Data-Art for Tiger Beer’s ‘Uncage’ campaign

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PREMISE

2.2 Data Humanism 2.2.1 Definition

Formally termed and defined by Giorgia Lupi, Data Humanism is described as follows:

“ What I [Giorgia Lupi] call Data Humanism is a new approach to the world of data, where we are ready to question the impersonality of a merely technical approach to data and to begin designing ways to connect numbers to what they really stand for -- knowledge, behaviors, people. ” 08

PREMISE 2.2.2 Looking Through The Lens

Giorgia Lupi is an information designer advocating for Data Humanism who reminds us that data is not perfect and absolute - it is a human-made tool used to represent reality and a lens through which one can understand human behavior and human nature. The Data Humanism Manifesto, as drafted

by Giorgia Lupi, is attached on the following page.

The lens of Data Humanism addresses data with sensitivity to give clarity, meaning, and emotion to numbers and statistics. By eliminating an impersonal and solely technical way of understanding data, we reconnect numbers to what they represent human nature. In the same way that a photograph captures a small moment in time, data represents real life and is a snapshot of the world.

above: Giorgia Lupi, Information Designer

2.2.3 Why Data Humanism Is Important

Data Humanism aims to engage an audience in interpreting data by helping them relate to data. It does so by encouraging individuals to connect different aspects of life, understand the relationships between those aspects, and gain better insight and understanding of themselves and humanity. It is important to note that Data Humanism is not an approach that intends to create scientific or technical breakthroughs - it strives to for artistic experimentation.

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PREMISE By questioning the “one size fits all” approach of Business Intelligence tools and softwares, Data Humanism fosters creativity and visuals that promote careful reading and personal engagement to find more real value in data and what it stands for. Visual artists and designers often find ways to communicate abstract and complex concepts; Data Humanism uses design to result in work that communicates narratives, stories, and messages found in and through data.

2.2.4 Practicing Data Humanism

So, how does one adopt Data Humanism in their practice? According to Giorgia Lupi, the key points to keep in mind are to: • Embrace Complexity Human nature is synonymous with complexity. By building complex and multi-layered work, we encourage the audience to dig deeper.

• Move Beyond Standards Currently set standards implore DataViz tools and softwares to create visualizations resulting from blindly throwing technology that allows us to choose charts from suggested lists at a problem that requires more.

• Sneak Context In (Always) For an audience to engage and relate to work that communicates stories, they must have context.

• Finally, Remember that Data is Imperfect.

By acknowledging that data is imperfect and embracing approximation, data can be made to feel more empathetic and true to nature.

Other guidelines that encourage Data Humanism include - creating or collecting data by oneself and using analog methods for data analysis and design.

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PREMISE

above: Data-Humanism Manifesto by Giorgia Lupi

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PREMISE

2.3 Literature Review This section of the document highlights five projects that exist at the intersection of the fields of data art, data humanism and textile design. The following projects guide the direction and nature of this project, and its application and purpose - to make data accessible, tell a story, and inform in a way that makes people truly engage and interact with it on a personal level.

The most compelling aspects of most of the following projects are how they inspire others, support a global cause, and highlight reasons for changing existing social systems. They tell stories with an impact and show how textiles and fashion can be used with a purpose beyond clothing for shelter and social status.

2.3.1 ‘Being A Milenial Adult’ By Ruta Gokhale

‘Being a Millenial Adult’ is a personal project undertaken

by Ruta Gokhale, a UI/UX designer, to explore the concept of Data Humanism. By asking her friends and acquaintances to fill out a simple survey, she created her unique dataset. These questions revolved around personal preferences that revealed small information about the respondent’s personality. The result is a snapshot of millennial adults’ thoughts and preferences.

The visuals on the right present the questions that Ruta Gokhale asked her participants as well as her process behind the resulting artwork. In the lower visual, each motif represents a respondent, and the botanical elements attached to a motif correspond to a respondent’s answer.

The artwork is not meant to pinpoint individual details but to understand the general nature of our thoughts.

This data-driven painting says that we are all alike and different at the same time! >>>

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PREMISE

left: Questionnaire and responses visualised as bar graphs for Ruta Gokhale’s ‘Being a Millenial Adult” bottom: Motifdevelopment system for project and final artwork.

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PREMISE 2.3.2 ‘Soumoud~ The Thread Back Home’ By Patchil

Commissioned by VisualisingPalestine, ‘Soumoud ~ The Thread Back Home’ by Patchil, a multi-disciplinary studio, conceptualizes the answer to the question - “How can we create compelling wearable products that tell a story about Palestine?”. By synthesizing data visualization with factual historical narratives, this particular scarf is inspired by a Palestinian exodus in 1948, causing 700,00 Palestinian Arabs to flee and be expelled from their homes and depopulating over 500 Palestinian villages.

While this scarf remains a prototype, it addresses the role of the human body as a storyteller and utilises textiles and fashion to fight for social justice.

left: Resulting scard styled on a real person.

Data-visualisation represented as textile print.

bottom: Original data-visualisation

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PREMISE 2.3.3 >>Weaving Data<<

>>Weaving Data<< is a data object - a 2m^2 sized textile, to be more specific, which visualizes data sets of future climate scenarios provided by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. The textile will present datasets of the decades from the years 2010 to 2100.

Developed by Samira Akhavan, Anna Heib, and Amelie Kirchmeyer, the final object will be woven on a jacquard loom to result in a data-based tapestry. Pictured below is a prototype of the same.

above: Prototype of data-based tapestry

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PREMISE 2.3.4 Giorgia Lupi For & Other Stories

In collaboration with fashion brand & Other Stories, Giorgia Lupi designed a data-driven fashion collection inspired by three remarkable women in science and their achievements. The three women who inspired the artwork on the garments are Ada Lovelace - The mathematician recognized as the first computer programmer, Rachel Carson - the conservationist who helped pioneer the environmental movement and, Mae Jemison - the astronaut to be the first African-American woman in space.

By visualizing data into patterns that can be used on textiles and garments, this fashion collection inspires women and makes data accessible in a unique way.

above: (left to right) Mae Jemison inspired pattern design, Rachel Carson inspired pattern design and Ada Lovelace inspired patterns. right: Work in progress

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PREMISE 2.3.5 ‘Women’s Work’ By Olivia Johnson

Cross stitch, as a form of Arts & Craft, is more often than not labeled a woman’s hobby. In this project by Olivia Johnson titled ‘Women’s Work,’ the technique of crossstitching is intentionally used to visualize data on the discrimination of women, especially women of color, in the workplace, and at home.

The twelve embroidered artworks, similar to the ones shared below, stand alone as beautiful pieces whose stark realities are only revealed digitally on the dedicated ‘Women’s Work’ website.

right: embroidered data visualisations alongside resulting insights.

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PREMISE

2.4 Prospective Themes 2.4.1 Idea #1

India: 2020 & Lockdown On March 24, 2020, the Govt. of India ordered a nationwide lockdown as a preventive measure against the spread of the COVID-19 virus. The ongoing pandemic is a unique time in the lives of those experiencing it.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused massive economic and social disruption globally and is taking a significant toll on individuals worldwide.

This particular idea proposes to identify and understand various aspects of the Indian lockdown experience by seeking answers to questions such as “How did people spend their time during the lockdown?”, “What activities were popularly engaged in?”, “How was mental and physical health affected by the lockdown?” and “How were relationships affected during the lockdown?”.

2.4.2 Idea #2

Sustainable Practices in Daily Lives While most of us are aware of the negative environmental impact our daily practices have on the planet, not all of us may actively implement change in our daily lives to reduce this personal impact. And when we do aim to bring about a change of habits, they are usually ones that do not highly disturb our state of comfort.

This idea hopes to explore how individuals have implemented bringing about changes in their daily lives to have a lower negative impact on the environment be it through easy swaps such as that of a shower for bucket baths or repurposing items around the house.

Indian culture inherently carries sustainable practices.

For example, passing down an elder sibling’s clothes to a younger sibling, repurposing old saris to make quilts, or cutting up clothes beyond wearability to use as dusters or mops are common practices almost all Indians have witnessed which are also rooted in sustainability.

However, a personal belief is that a large population also seems to have taken to sustainability as a western concept - being vegan, thrifting, using metal straws being some examples. This idea also hopes to understand where perceptions of sustainability and sustainable practices draw roots from for Indian individuals and go a step ahead by using these insights to redefine sustainable practices in the daily lives of Indians.

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PREMISE 2.4.3 Idea #3

Artisan-Driven & Craft-based Data There is more to a craft than just the end product the process results in, and that is - community. More often than not, the average consumer is aware of an artisan’s presence only through brands that actively feature them along with their work. The average consumer is not entirely informed about the textile heritage of India, the nation’s prestigious craft industry, and more so, the people that form the core of it.

This idea intends to use pre-collected data concerning socio-economic aspects of a particular craft (undetermined at this point of ideation) from an authentic source and primary data collected through a survey about the average Indian’s knowledge of the craft to create more awareness and make more information on it available and accessible.

The execution of this idea will involve working with artisans practicing the craft and traditional aspects of the craft itself to communicate data and insights.

2.4.4 Chosen Theme

While ‘Artisan-Driven & Craft-based Data’ was a close contender, the ongoing pandemic made it difficult to travel to craft clusters to pursue this project rightfully to achieve full potential. Further, reliable statistics and data on textile crafts were difficult to source.

Hence, ‘India: 2020 & Lockdown’ was chosen as the theme of this project; The fact that the lockdown put in place to curb the spread of the COVID-19 virus was being lived through while this project was shaping up made it all the more relevant to be pursued as the project theme.

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PROJECT PROPOSAL 3.1 Background / 22 3.2 Objective / 22 3.3. Proposed Methodology / 22 3.4 Deliverables / 22 3.5 Budget / 23 3.6 Timeline / 23

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PROJECT PROPOSAL

3 Project Proposal 3.1 Background

The concept of Data Humanism presents us with an opportunity to focus on human-centered art and design through the unique lens of data. Pursuing a matter as subjective as human nature through a technical medium is sure to introduce and inspire new perspectives of seeing; Having a greater impact when communicated through tangible materials - one such material being textile, a medium continually present in our surroundings.

Textiles are an integral part of human lives - they provide protection and comfort to the human body irrespective of the form in which they are present around us - be it as garments or as home furnishings. By using textile as a means of visual communication, there is a hope to make data, particularly data on human nature, behavior, and experiences, accessible, friendly, and relatable.

3.2 Objective

3.3.

Proposed Methodology

3.4 Deliverables

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This project aims to develop a collection of prints/ artwork with application on textiles, based on data collected on a chosen theme to reflect the concept of Data Humanism; within the stipulated time frame of January 2021-April 2021.

1. Building premise of research + Literature Review 2. Theme Research + Questionnaire Development 3. Data Collection (via an open call survey) 4. Data Analysis 5. Design Development - Boards 6. Design Development - Data Sketches 7. Design Development - Visualisation of Data 8. Design Validation - Viewer Intervention 9. Design Consolidation (if required) 10. Printing of Visualised Data 11. Documentation 12. Share, Showcase, Exhibit.

Artwork and prints that effectively communicate the intended data with application versatility; They can be displayed as individual art pieces, seamlessly printed on fabric, presented digitally, or take form through other applications as seen fitting by a user.

PROJECT PROPOSAL 3.5 Budget PRINTING: ~INR 7,500 (25m, INR 300/m)

FABRIC: ~INR 7,500 (25m, INR 300/m)

BUDGET: ~ INR 20,000

MISCELLANEOUS: ~INR 5,000 (printing, framing, software subscriptions etc) 3.6 Timeline

Week 1 Theme Research & Questions

Week 2 Survey Design & Open Call

Week 3 Design Boards & Direction

Week 4 Cleaning Up of Raw Data

Week 5 Data Analysis & Sketches

Week 6 Data Analysis & Sketches

Week 7 Data Analysis & Sketches

Week 8 Work on FInal Artworks

Week 9 Work on FInal Artworks

Week 10 Work on FInal Artworks

Week 11 Work on FInal Artworks

Week 12 Work on FInal Artworks

Week 13 Work on FInal Artworks

Week 14 Sourcing Fabric for Printing

Week 15 Printing of Fabric (Digital)

Week 16 Framing of Chosen Artworks

January 11, 2021 - April 30, 2021 23

THEME RESEARCH 4.1 Introduction / 26 4.2 Brainstorm / 27 4.2.1 Defining Direction

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THEME RESEARCH

4.1 Introduction On 30 January 2020, The World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, and on 11 March 2020, a pandemic. Furthermore, on 24 March 2020, the Government of India ordered a nationwide lockdown as a preventative measure to curb the spread of the virus.

Since its inception, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has caused massive economic and social disruption globally and is taking a significant toll on individuals worldwide.

Regardless of whether individuals caught the virus themselves or not, the pandemic has and continues to affect everyone on a very personal level.

Many shared and spoke of mental health issues triggered by the pandemic and its effect on every aspect of life - family and relationships, education and careers, physical health and nutrition, to name a few. Of course, the pandemic also affected commerce and business as people’s spending habits and behaviors changed people spent more of their income on essential goods and saved their money for emergencies. The travel and hospitality industries all across the globe were massively hit as countries went into full lockdowns. On the other hand, the use of technology and social media skyrocketed - to connect with family and peers, education and work, and entertainment.

Keeping the above in mind, the secondary research on the chosen theme of ‘India: 2020 & Lockdown’ involved reading articles and spotting trends on a global level focusing on how lifestyles were influenced and reshaped.

In addition, observations and notes were made on specific and particular aspects of individuals’ lifestyles affected by the pandemic. All fact-like statements that were come across during the research were assumed to be mere observations to be explored within the scope of the Indian Lockdown Experience.

4.2 Brainstorm

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>>>

THEME RESEARCH

above: Mindmap of what comprises ‘Lifestyle’

above: Page 1 of brainstorming

above: Page 2 of brainstorming

above: Page 3 of brainstorming

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THEME RESEARCH

above: Page 4 of brainstorming

above: Page 5 of brainstorming

above: Page 6 of brainstorming

above: Page 7 of brainstorming

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THEME RESEARCH 4.2.1 Defining Direction

Once an exhaustive list of prospective topics was made, it became clear and apparent which points could be further explored and which were a dead end. For instance, many listed points steered towards bigger topics such as personal space, work from home, socializing during the lockdown, and mental health, to mention a few.

The direction provided through this exercise guided the questions that were asked to the respondents and the rest of the project. This “direction” is further clarified and listed in detail in the following ‘Defined Project Brief.’ >>>

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BRIEF, SCOPE & METHOD 5.1 Project Brief / 32 5.1.1 Re-defined Objective 5.1.2 Deliverables 5.1.3 Primary Research Methodology 5.2 Scope of Project / 33 5.3 Methodology: Visualisation / 34

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BRIEF, SCOPE & METHOD

5.1 Project Brief 5.1.1 Re-defined Objective

To design within the time frame of January 2021 - April 2021, about 15 artworks and prints based on data collected through questionnaire and online survey of 100 individuals who spent the year 2020 in India, regarding the chosen theme of “2020 & Lockdown” while focusing on the listed aspects: • Overall lockdown mood and feelings • How people spent their time • How company affected experience • How lockdown affected health • Love during lockdown

5.1.2 Deliverables

Approximate 15 artworks. The user may decide on the application of these artworks as the prints can be used independently as framed art or used to create seamlessly repeating patterns for textiles and other suited uses.

5.1.3 Primary Research Methodology

5.1.3.1 Tools

The data to be used in this project will be sourced through primary research and is self-collected data.

Data will be collected via a questionnaire and an online survey. The same will be shared as an open call to participate, and one hundred participants will be chosen on a first-come-first-serve basis.

1. Typeform: An online survey building platform - to collect data 2. Google Suite: Google Drive, Google Sheets - to store data 3. Adobe Illustrator: Vector Design Software - to create visuals

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BRIEF, SCOPE & METHOD

5.2 Scope Of Project As a meme going around the internet during the COVID-19 pandemic says, “As you bingewatch your entire thirteenth series or read a book or sleep to music, remember.

Remember that in the darkest days when everything stopped, you turned to artists.”

Time and time again, art and storytelling have helped humanity come together, cope and heal in the face of grief and loss in inarticulate yet undeniable ways.

We often turn to the arts to understand history and learn about the people who lived through those periods.

Similarly, future generations will look back at the art being created at this time - be it the books being written, the music and movies being produced, or the illustrations being put forth- to understand what it was like to have lived through this particular on-going COVID-19 pandemic and how the sudden imposition of lockdown affected lives.

With that context, this project aims to document the Indian Lockdown Experience.

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BRIEF, SCOPE & METHOD

5.3 Methodology: Visualisation As presented in the following visuals, an old-school analog method of data analysis will be applied to render a visual and graphical representation of the collected data. The visuals below are from information designers - Giorgia Lupi and Stefanie Posavec’s - book titled ‘Observe, Collect, Draw!’. describing the process used in their popular project ‘Dear Data’.

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BRIEF, SCOPE & METHOD

left and above: Scan from personal copy of ‘Observe, Collect, Draw!’ by Giorgia Lupi and Setanie Posavec, explaining their process.

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DATA COLLECTION 6.1 Drafting Questions / 38 6.1.1 Brainstorm 6.1.2 Quantifying the Qualitative 6.2 Final Questionnaire / 42 6.3 Nature of Questionnaire / 45 6.4 Open Call / 46 6.5 Collected Data / 47 6.6 Cleaning Up Raw Data / 48 6.6.1 The need and process 6.6.2 The result 6.7 Analysis Questions / 49

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DATA COLLECTION

6.1 Drafting Questions 6.1.1 Brainstorm

The four rules of Brainstorming are as follows: • Focus on quantity • NO criticism • Encourage wild ideas and, • Combine and improve ideas Keeping that in mind, even before considering the nature of questions and how they would extract important and useful data, an exhaustive list of potential questions was made in coordination with the chosen focusing aspects of this project as described in the project brief.

The following list was then categorized and extensively narrowed down to form the final questionnaire. >>>

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DATA COLLECTION

above: Screengrab of GoogleDoc with potential questions as a result of brainstorming

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DATA COLLECTION

above: Screengrab of GoogleDoc with potential questions as a result of brainstorming

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DATA COLLECTION 6.1.2 Quantifying The Qualitative

One of the challenges of drafting the questionnaire was asking questions that quantified the qualitative character of life experiences. This hurdle made it difficult to delve deep into one particular topic and the project, therefore, touches upon multiple subjects briefly.

While certain aspects of the chosen topics were easy to turn into quantifying questions, some were not.

A solution to tackle the challenge of quantifying the qualitative while still capturing genuine responses was to pose open-ended questions which the respondents could answer using their own words. These responses would then be further categorised within umbrella topics acknowledging the original responses.

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DATA COLLECTION

6.2 Final Questionnaire What is your full name?

What is your age?

What gender do you identify as?

OVERALL LOCKDOWN MOOD AND FEELING: Q1

Which one of these emotions do you associate most to your lockdown experience?

• • • • • • • •

Q2

Happy Stressed Sad Content Frustrated Bored Optimistic Scared

In the following questions, kindly rate the quarters of 2020, on a scale of 1 to 5, based on your experience: 1 being lowest and 5 being highest) • • • •

January 2020- March 2020 April 2020- June 2020 July 2020 -September 2020 October 2020 - December 2020

HOW INDIVIDUALS SPENT THEIR TIME: Q3

When the lockdown was imposed, there was a lot of talk of using the time for self-improvement and upskilling vs. using the time to catch a break. Looking back, how did you use your time during the lockdown?

• As an opportunity to upskill • As an opportunity to take a breather

Q4

Which of these activities, if any, did you learn or pick up due to the lockdown?

• • • • • •

Cooking/Baking Gardening Working Out Arts & Crafts / DIY Playing an instrument None of the above >>>

42

DATA COLLECTION Q5

Which of these pandemic trends did you participate in?

• • • • • • • •

Bake bread (be it banana bread or sourdough) Make Dalgona Coffee Bang plates at the balcony TikTok Challenges Haircut at home Zoom Birthday Party Goa Trip None of the Above

HOW COMPANY AFFECTED EXPERIENCE: Q6

Who did you spend lockdown with?

• Alone • Family • Friends/Flatmates/Roommate/Partner

Q7

Did you get the personal space that you needed?

• Yes/No

Q8

Would you rather: • Work from Home/Remotely • Work from Office/Studio HOW LOCKDOWN AFFECTED HEALTH:

Q9

Would you say you are living a physically healthier lifestyle compared to pre-pandemic?

• Yes/No

Q10

How did lockdown affect your mental health?

• Positively • Negatively

Q11

Do you feel a sense of loss (in terms of time and opportunities) due to the pandemic?

• Yes/No

Q11.1

If yes, What is one thing you feel the pandemic stole from you/ you lost because of COVID-19?

(Please limit yourself to one word/phrase.) >>> 43

DATA COLLECTION Q12

How did you practice self-care during the lockdown?

(Please limit yourself to one word/phrase.)

HOW LOCKDOWN AFFECTED ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS:

Q13

What was your relationship status pre-lockdown?

• Single • Dating/In A Relationship • Married

Q13.1

Q13.2

If Single: • Did you try online dating? (Yes/No) • If yes, can you tell me more?

If Dating/In A Relationship: How did the lockdown affect your relationship?

• It brought us closer together • It lead to a Long Distance Relationship • It caused a break-up GRATITUDE:

Q14

Last one! Reflect on your lockdown experience and complete the following sentence: I am grateful for _________________.

(Please limit yourself to one word/phrase.)

above: Welcome slide of the questionnaire created on Typeform and shared with participants

44

DATA COLLECTION

6.3 Nature of Questionnaire The final questionnaire was a mixed bag of the following type of questions: 6.3.1 General

• Close-Ended Questions Close-ended questions provide the respondent with a predefined list of answer options.

• Open-Ended Questions Open-ended questions ask the respondent to provide an answer in their own words.

• Quantitative Questions Quantitative questions are objective questions.

• Qualitative Questions Qualitative questions give respondents the space to provide detail and reasoning in their own words.

6.3.2 Specific

• Demographic Questions Demographic questions are used to gather information about a respondent’s background.

• Multiple-choice Questions Multiple-choice questions require a respondent to select one or more options from a list of answer options.

• Rating Questions Requires a respondent to select the number on the scale that most accurately represents their response.

• Yes / No Questions Yes / No questions allow respondents to choose either a yes / no option to represent their response.

• Fill-In-The-Blank Questions Fill-in-the-blank questions allow a respondent to type an answer to complete a sentence in their own words.

45

DATA COLLECTION

6.4 Open Call Once the questionnaire was developed and ready to be shared, an open call was put out wherein the questionnaire was open to the public for participation.

6.4.1 Clauses For Participation

6.4.2 Social Media Call To Action

In this case, people of all genders and age groups were welcome to participate.

The only requirement being that the respondent had spent 2020 and the lockdown in India.

Links to the online questionnaire were shared via multiple social media platforms - Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook, to be specific - supported by the graphic attached below. The post was further shared by friends and family, causing the open call to receive a huge response. While the project goal was to obtain a hundred participants, close to three hundred individuals responded within two days!

above: OpenCall post shared on social media to reach potential participants

46

DATA COLLECTION

6.5 Collected Data As participants answered the questionnaire, their data was automatically sorted and stored in the Typeform platform and a Google Sheet (the equivalent of Microsoft Excel), thereby making the raw data easily comprehensible and accessible for further use.

The following screengrabs of Google Sheets give a glimpse of the raw data.

above: Screengrab of collected raw data in Google Sheets

above: Screengrab of collected raw data in Google Sheets

47

DATA COLLECTION

6.6 Cleaning Up Raw Data 6.6.1 The Need & Process

As previously mentioned in the document, one of the challenges of drafting the questionnaire form was making objective the questions that sought qualitative and genuine answers from the respondents. This hurdle was overcome by presenting certain open-ended questions that respondents could answer in their own words (instead of choosing from preset options). Once all data had been collected, the answers to these qualitative questions would then be categorized under broader categories that acknowledged each answer.

Furthermore, the open call aimed to reel in about a hundred participants but managed to get close to three hundred responses in just two days! Since that amount of data was considered too much to handle, it became necessary to narrow down and select only certain participants and their answers; The first 50 men and the first 50 women to respond made the selection.

6.6.2 The Result

The open call also did not have any restrictions on the age of respondents. So, once the final participants were decided upon, the data also revealed age demographic of the respondents - ranging from 19 years to 35 years of age.

above: Screengrab of collected raw data in Google Sheets along with the categories they fall into as a result of clean up.

48

DATA COLLECTION

6.7 Analysis Questions The questions listed below were drawn up as a guide to lead the data art to be created in the following actions and what each specific artwork should communicate.

LOCKDOWN MOODS AND FEELINGS: 1. Which emotion did individuals most commonly associate to their lockdown experience?

2. How did individuals’ experiences vary through the course of 2020?

HOW PEOPLE SPENT THEIR TIME: 3. How did individuals aim to use the lockdown period -to take a break or to upskill?

4. What was the most popular activity learnt or picked up due to the lockdown?

5. What was the most popular “pandemic trend” amongst the respondents?

HOW COMPANY AFFECTED LOCKDOWN: 6. How was personal space affected depending on whom lockdown was spent with: • Of the individuals who spent it with their family, did more people get personal space, or was it invaded?

• Which gender felt more invaded with their personal space?

7. Do individuals prefer to work from home, or would they rather work from the office? And did getting/not getting personal space affect this choice?

LOCKDOWN AND HEALTH: 8. How was physical and mental health affected by the lockdown? Positively or Negatively?

9. Did individuals feel a sense of loss due to the pandemic?

10. Out of the people who felt a sense of loss, what did they feel they lost to the pandemic?

11. How did individuals practice self-care during the lockdown? What were the most common practices?

LOVE DURING LOCKDOWN: 12. Of the people who were in a relationship/dating, how did the lockdown affect their relationship?

13. What was the experience of those that tried online dating and had luck/success with it?

14. WHAT ARE PEOPLE GRATEFUL FOR? 49

DESIGN DIRECTION 7.1 Visual Direction / 52 7.1.1 Importance of Aesthetics 7.1.2 Chosen Direction 7.1.3 Creative Freedom 7.2 Design Boards / 53 .2.1 Visual Inspiration 7.2.2 Color Palette

7

DESIGN DIRECTION

7.1 Visual Direction 7.1.1 Importance Of Aesthetics

Research has demonstrated that aesthetics play an important role in triggering responses and capturing and captivating an individual’s attention. In addition, visual appeal engages the audience, plays an important role in forming credibility and functionality in the viewer’s mind, and incites feelings and emotions that influence how users perceive information. Hence, a great visual combines beauty and functionality to achieve great results by triggering curiosity to know what lies beyond the compelling aesthetic.

“...the idea of making people think, “Oh, that is beautiful.

And strange” in the first place, and then “I want to know what this is about!”

-Girogia Lupi

52

7.1.2 Chosen Direction

Keeping the above in mind, the visual research for this project aimed to work with a simple, clean and clear to understand aesthetic with importance on a bright and engaging colour palette and geometric forms with a certain amount of flow to create appealing and interesting visuals.

7.1.3 Creative Freedom

An important aspect to remember about the concept of Data Humanism is that it does not aim for technical breakthroughs but is more a means of artistic experimentation and exploration. That in itself provides the creator artistic and creative freedom, which is applied in this project via the motifs and elements used to visualize the collected data.

DESIGN DIRECTION

7.2 Design Boards 7.2.1 Visual Inspiration

7.2.2 Color Palette #333333

#EA2627

#CAC22F

#C8C8C8

#F1E0D7

#EE6723

#168944

#639FD5

#F1A6BD

#FFCE34

#1C445D

53

DATA SKETCHES 8.1 Introduction to Data Sketches / 56 8.2 Sketches / 57

8

DATA SKETCHES

8 Data Sketches Data sketches refer to playful and freehand experimentations drawn to explore ideas before finalizing them. Sketching, ideation, and iteration are key elements of any design process as they help generate multiple initial ideas and strengthen the latter ones. Further, this practice leads to unique designs that work specifically for the dataset and the problems being solved.

Data sketches encourage brainstorming and thereby better one’s understanding of the dataset being handled. It allows one to briefly put aside the overwhelm resulting from the size and figures of the dataset and focus more on the organization and opportunities for conceptualization and exploration arising from it. Putting pen to paper helps one understand what the numbers represent and how they can be organized visually to gain meaning.

To quote Giorgia Lupi on how data drawings help her design visualizations: “Drawing becomes design when you start tracing lines, symbols and structures that help rationalize thoughts and envision a possible solution to a design problem, drawing becomes design when it is used as a tool in the process of visual planning and organizing the choices made during the development of a project.” >>>

56

DATA SKETCHES

above: Ideation | Data Sketch 1

above: Ideation | Data Sketch 2

above: Ideation | Data Sketch 3

above: Ideation | Data Sketch 4

57

DATA SKETCHES

above: Ideation | Data Sketch 5

above: Ideation | Data Sketch 6

above: Ideation | Data Sketch 7

above: Ideation | Data Sketch 8

58

DATA SKETCHES

above: Ideation | Data Sketch 9

above: Ideation | Data Sketch 10

above: Ideation | Data Sketch 11

above: Ideation | Data Sketch 12

59

VISUALISATIONS 9.1 Subcontent / 62 9.2 Demographics / 63 9.2.1 Number of Participants 9.2.2 Gender 9.2.3 Relationship Status 9.2.4 Age Demographic 9.3 Final Data Prints with Key / 66

9

VISUALISATIONS

9.1 Subcontent LOCKDOWN MOODS AND FEELINGS: 1. Which emotion did individuals most commonly associate to their lockdown experience?

2. How did individuals’ experiences vary through the course of 2020?

HOW PEOPLE SPENT THEIR TIME: 3. How did individuals aim to use the lockdown period -to take a break or to upskill?

4. What was the most popular activity learnt or picked up due to the lockdown?

5. What was the most popular “pandemic trend” amongst the respondents?

HOW COMPANY AFFECTED LOCKDOWN: 6. How was personal space affected depending on whom lockdown was spent with: • Of the individuals who spent it with their family, did more people get personal space, or was it invaded?

• Which gender felt more invaded with their personal space?

7. Do individuals prefer to work from home, or would they rather work from the office? And did getting/not getting personal space affect this choice?

LOCKDOWN AND HEALTH: 8. How was physical and mental health affected by the lockdown? Positively or Negatively?

9. Did individuals feel a sense of loss due to the pandemic?

10. Out of the people who felt a sense of loss, what did they feel they lost to the pandemic?

11. How did individuals practice self-care during the lockdown? What were the most common practices?

LOVE DURING LOCKDOWN: 12. Of the people who were in a relationship/dating, how did the lockdown affect their relationship?

13. What was the experience of those that tried online dating and had luck/success with it?

14. WHAT ARE PEOPLE GRATEFUL FOR?

62

VISUALISATIONS

9.2 Demographics The demographics specified below are a cumulative representation of the final participants whose responses have been taken into account to create the following artworks.

9.2.1 Number of Participants

TOTAL NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS: 100 PARTICIPANTS

9.2.2 Gender

50 MEN

GENDER

50 WOMEN

>>>

63

VISUALISATIONS

9.2.2 Relationship Status DATING/IN A RELATIONSHIP RELATIONSHIP STATUS pre-lockdown SINGLE MARRIED

AGE DEMOGRAPHIC: 19yrs - 35yrs of age.

Number of Participants

9.2.2

Age of Participants

64

VISUALISATIONS

NOTE TO HELP READ THE FOLLOWING PAGES: The following pages present the resulting artworks and legends with the questions they answer and the artwork in a repeating print; Accompanied by four versions of the artwork in terms of colorways and alternative layouts for the print.

Certain artworks do not allow for a colorway or alternate layout for repeating print; In some cases, they have been left out completely, and in others, extra colorways have been presented.

Furthermore, To stay true to Data Humanism, the concept on which this project is hinged, the following visualizations and their respective keys leave out specific numbers concerning individual responses. In this way, one can acknowledge and celebrate the imperfections of data and learn to look beyond mere numbers and see the underlying narrative.

65

VISUALISATIONS

Q1 Which emotion did individuals most commonly associate to their lockdown experience?

Each triangular form represents one participant.

The visualisation represents the responses of all hundred participants.

Key: (In order of most common answer)

66

content

frustrated

stressed

bored

happy

sad

optimistic

scared

VISUALISATIONS

67

VISUALISATIONS

Q2 How did individuals’ experiences vary through the course of 2020?

Read visualisation top to bottom.

Each row visualises hundred responses.

Colour Key:

Position Key:

(represents rating)

(Represents quarters of 2020)

5; Great 4; Good 3; Okay 2; Bad 1; Terrible

January - March April - June July - September October - December

For the most part, participants seem to have been okay through 2020 - not great but not terrible either. As lockdown was imposed, in the second quarter of the year, their experience of a ‘great quarter’ dramatically reduced along with an increase in an experience that was labeled bad and terrible.

Eventually, though, by the end of 2020, that feeling settled down, and more participants felt that they had a great or good last quarter of 2020.

68

VISUALISATIONS

69

VISUALISATIONS Colorway 1

Colorway 2

70

VISUALISATIONS Alternate Layout 1

Alternate Layout 2

left: Inverted flip of the original print design layout

71

VISUALISATIONS

Q3 How did individuals aim to use the lockdown period -to take a break or to upskill?

Each cross represents one participant.

The visualisation represents the responses of all hundred participants.

Key: to take a breather to upskill

72

VISUALISATIONS

73

VISUALISATIONS Colorway 1

Colorway 2

74

VISUALISATIONS Colorway 3

Alternate Layout 1

left: Criss-crosses in place of a common check pattern.

75

VISUALISATIONS

Q4 What was the most popular activity learnt or picked up due to the lockdown?

Cooking / Baking

Working Out

Arts & Crafts None of the above

Playing an instrument

Gardening

The visualisation represents the responses of all hundred participants.

This question allowed respondents to choose more than one answer.

76

VISUALISATIONS

77

VISUALISATIONS Colorway 1

Colorway 2

78

VISUALISATIONS

Alternate Layout 1

Alternate Layout 2

79

VISUALISATIONS

Q5 What was the most popular pandemic trend?

The visualisation represents the responses of all hundred participants.

This question allowed respondents to choose more than one answer.

Key: (in order of most common answer)

Haircuts at home Zoom Birthday Party Baking Bread Made Dalgona Coffee None of the Options Bang Plates at the Balcony Tik-Tok or Instagram Challenges A Trip to Goa 80

VISUALISATIONS

81

VISUALISATIONS Colorway 1

Colorway 2

82

VISUALISATIONS

Alternate Layout 1

Alternate Layout 2

83

VISUALISATIONS

Q6 How was an individuals’ personal space affected by the lockdown?

Each triangular form represents one participant.

The visualisation represents the responses of all hundred participants.

Key: female participant

male participant no texture: spent the lockdown with family dotted: spent lockdown with friends/flatmates/partner striped: spent the lockdown living alone

indicates that the participant did NOT get their personal space during the lockdown.

84

VISUALISATIONS

85

VISUALISATIONS

Colorway 1

Colorway 2

86

VISUALISATIONS

Colorway 3

Colorway 4

87

VISUALISATIONS

Q7 Do individuals prefer to work from home, or would they rather work from the office? Did personal space affect this choice?

Each unit represents one participant.

The visualisation represents the responses of all hundred participants.

Key: prefers Work from Office prefers Work from Home indicates that the participant did NOT get their personal space during the lockdown.

88

VISUALISATIONS

89

VISUALISATIONS Colorway 1

Colorway 2

90

VISUALISATIONS Alternate Layout 1

Alternate Layout 2

left: The placement of elements in this particular arrangement is dependent on the order of particiapnt’s response time first come, first represented.

91

VISUALISATIONS

Q8 How was physical and mental health affected by the lockdown?

Affected positively

Unhealthier*

Phsyical Health

Health

Healthier*

Mental Health

Affected negatively

* compared to pre-lockdown The visualisation represents the responses of all hundred participants.

92

VISUALISATIONS

93

VISUALISATIONS Colorway 1

Colorway 2

94

VISUALISATIONS Alternate Layout 1

Alternate Layout 2

left: Polka Dot inspired

95

VISUALISATIONS

Q9 Did individuals feel a sense of loss due to the pandemic? If yes, what is it that they feel they lost to the pandemic?

Key: (in order of most common answer)

Work Opportunities College Experience Travel Mental Health Social Life Love Independence A Family Member Did Not Feel Loss

Each unit represents one participant.

The visualisation represents the responses of all hundred participants.

96

VISUALISATIONS

97

VISUALISATIONS

Q10 How did individuals practice self-care during the lockdown?

Music Reading Therapy Journaling Cooking Skincare “did not practice it” Sleep Taking a break when needed

Mindfulness / Meditation

Physical Activity

The visualisation represents the responses of all hundred participants.

The more darker the colour and thicker the stripe, more common the answer..

98

VISUALISATIONS

99

VISUALISATIONS Colorway 1

Colorway 2

100

VISUALISATIONS Alternate Layout 1

left: Vertical Stripes

Alternate Layout 2

left: Matted weave interlacing effect

101

VISUALISATIONS

Q11 Of the people who were in a relationship/dating, how did the lockdown affect their relationship?

Each unit represents one participant.

The visualisation represents the responses of the 42/100 participants who were dating or in a relationship when the lockdown was imposed.

Key: Brought us closer together Lead to a Long Distance Relationship We broke up

102

VISUALISATIONS

103

VISUALISATIONS Colorway 1

Colorway 2

104

VISUALISATIONS Colorway 3

Alternate Layout 1

105

VISUALISATIONS

Q12 What was the experience of those that tried online dating and had luck/ success with it?

We speak everyday and video call each other but haven’t met yet. Dying to meet. We share everything. Music very often. But I feel the spark is dying now, as he's getting impatient because I'm not cool with meeting yet.

We kept in touch through social media since March and met in October.

He fell in love. I got scared.

I talked to a lot of nice people, and met two people in-person. We're still in touch, but I guess I wasn't really looking for anything more than people to talk to.

I found love!

Spoke to many, met few after restrictions ended. Cooking together is a thing now.

We matched on Hinge and kept in touch through Instagram. I’m looking forward to meeting her again.

Also, when we met, she fell asleep while watching a movie.

Serendipity.

Each unit represents one participant.

The visualisation represents the responses of the 9/56 single participants who tried online dating during the lokdown and had luck with it. This is what they had to say about their experience with online dating during the lockdown.

Key: Shared by a male participant.

Shared by a female participant.

106

forward to meeting her again.

Also, when we met, she fell asleep while watching a movie.

VISUALISATIONS

Serendipity.

e speak everyday and video call each other t haven’t met yet. Dying to meet. We share erything. Music very often. But I feel the ark is dying now, as he's getting impatient cause I'm not cool with meeting yet.

e kept in uch rough cial media nce March d met in ctober.

He fell in love. I got scared.

I talked to a lot of nice people, and met two people in-person. We're still in touch, but I guess I wasn't really looking for anything more than people to talk to.

I found love!

We speak everyday and video ca but haven’t met yet. Dying to mee everything. Music very often. But spark is dying now, as he's getting because I'm not cool with meeting

We kept in touch through social media since March and met in October.

Spoke to many, met few after restrictions ended. Cooking together is a thing now.

I foun

Spoke to man restrictions en together is a t

We matched on Hinge and kept in touch through Instagram. I’m looking forward to meeting her again.

Also, when we met, she fell asleep while watching a movie.

Serendipity.

e speak everyday and video call each other t haven’t met yet. Dying to meet. We share erything. Music very often. But I feel the ark is dying now, as he's getting impatient cause I'm not cool with meeting yet.

e kept in uch rough cial media nce March d met in ctober.

He fell in love. I got scared.

I talked to a lot of nice people, and met two people in-person. We're still in touch, but I guess I wasn't really looking for anything more than people to talk to.

I found love!

Spoke to many, met few after restrictions ended. Cooking together is a thing now.

We speak everyday and video ca but haven’t met yet. Dying to mee everything. Music very often. But spark is dying now, as he's getting because I'm not cool with meeting

We kept in touch through social media since March and met in October.

I foun

Spoke to man restrictions en together is a t

We matched on Hinge and kept in touch through Instagram. I’m looking forward to meeting her again.

Also, when we met, she fell asleep while watching a movie.

107

VISUALISATIONS Colorway 1

Colorway 2

108

VISUALISATIONS Colorway 3

Colorway 4

109

VISUALISATIONS

Q13 Looking back at their lockdown experience, what are individuals grateful for?

Family

Time

Privilege Friends Health Pets

The visualisation represents the responses of all hundred participants.

The bigger the unit, the more common the response.

110

VISUALISATIONS

111

VISUALISATIONS Colorway 1

Colorway 2

112

VISUALISATIONS Alternate Layout 1

left: Flower inspired arrangement leading to interesting negative spaces.

Alternate Layout 2

113

114

1

REJECTS 10.1 Reject 1 / 116 10.2 Reject 2 / 117 10.3 Reject 3 / 118 10.4 Reject 4 / 119 10.5 Reject 5 / 120 10.6 Reject 6 / 121

10

REJECTS

10 Rejects Acceptance and rejection and success and failure are two sides of the same coin; One cannot occur or exist without the other. Within the context of art, design and research, rejected work (or work deemed a failure) is an essential and inescapable part of the process because it leads to re-evaluation and successful outcomes.

The following concepts worked on paper as sketches; However, upon attempting to actualise the ideas, these concepts did not work as they failed to communicate the necessary data clearly and effectively.

10.1 Reject 1

Question intended to be answered: Which emotion did individuals most commonly associate to their lockdown experience?

This concept was rejected because: When placed together, the individual motifs merged into each other and were difficult to distinguish at first glance, even if they had different colors.

Furthermore, the fine lines in the motifs did not fit in well with the other prints for a cohesive collection. Hence, it was rejected at its inception.

>>>

116

REJECTS 10.2 Reject 2

Question intended to be answered: How did individuals aim to use the lockdown period -to take a break or to upskill?

This concept was rejected because: The idea behind this concept was to play with color proportion in a manner that allowed the viewer to note the more common answer more easily due to more percentage of the color in the artwork. However, in this visual, it is not as effective and as it needs to be.

57% 43%

117

REJECTS 10.3 Reject 3

Question intended to be answered: How did individuals’ experiences vary through the course of 2020?

This concept was rejected because: The idea of a graph worked on paper, but when individual graphs were put together to create a constellation-like layout, the data became illegible and difficult to extract for a viewer.

118

REJECTS 10.4 Reject 4

Question intended to be answered: How did individuals’ experiences vary through the course of 2020?

This concept was rejected because: This concept was rejected because while it provided effective visualization of an individual’s experience, it did not present the collective answer at a glance.

119

REJECTS 10.5 Reject 5

Question intended to be answered: How was physical and mental health affected by the lockdown?

Positively or Negatively?

This concept was rejected because: Though this matrix made for a compelling visual, it would be extremely difficult for a viewer to understand the data being represented without the axis - an element that would have to be dismissed if the artwork was to be repeated.

Circles also began to overlap and hide smaller circles.

120

REJECTS 10.6 Reject 6

Question intended to be answered: An overall view of relationships and how they were affected during the lockdown.

This concept was rejected because: The legend for this particular artwork became too complex, compared to that of other prints, to be taken forward.

121

APPLICATION 11.1 Introduction / 124 11.1.1 Textiles As A Medium Of Communication 11.1.2 Versatility 11.2 About Collection 1 - BINGE / 124 11.3 About Collection 2 - SCROLL / 125 11.3.1 A Note On The Prototypes I. BINGE / 126 I.i Fabric Specification I.ii Costing ||. SCROLL / 134 11.4 Key Cards / 138

11

APPLICATION

11.1 Introduction 11.1.1 Textiles As A Medium Of Communication

11.1.2 Versatality

As aforementioned, textiles are an integral part of human lives and often go beyond their most obvious function of shelter and protection of the human body.

We, as humans, are constantly surrounded by textiles, whether we are aware of it or not and in a more everyday scenario, we often use textiles to reflect ourselves and our personality as a byproduct of the clothes we choose to wear, how we choose to accessorize ourselves and how we choose to decorate our homes. In that regard, textiles communicate stories and transform the human body into a carrier of that story - the storyteller. So why not go a step further and use the same medium to communicate stories that go beyond first glance stories of personal and shared experiences in today’s world? This project allows for that and aims to inspire individuals to share anecdotes of their experiences; hence, the designed prints’ application is split up into two collections - distinguished primarily by function and display. The titling of the collections also aims to draw attention to the rise of social media usage and reliance on technology during the pandemic.

Before jumping into detailed descriptions about each collection, it is also worth acknowledging the versatility that lies within this project’s scope.

The fact remains that these artworks are a digital asset; thereby, allowing for their presentation to be solely digital while also harnessing their ability to exist in a tangible form of the user’s choosing.

Hence, in this particular scenario, the artworks have been presented through the medium of textiles.

11.2 Collection 1 - Binge The first collection comprises running meters of fabric printed with the designed data-artworks and is titled ‘BINGE,’ meaning to consume in plenty - similar to the way the fabric presents to the audience the artwork in plenty.

Why Running Metres Of Fabric?

The advantage of presenting running meters of fabric to potential buyers, customers and individuals is that they are not restricted to pre-defined products. It leaves the persons on the other end with the free will to create with this fabric what they find needfuçl and valuable - be 124

APPLICATION it garments, fashion accessories or home furnishing accessories. Beneficial aspects that may be added to this form are print-on-demand services, consequently reducing dead stock and waste and print-on-demand on the base fabric of the user’s choice based on their intended use.

Furthermore, since the designed patterns are unisex and do not cater to or favor one gender over another, they provide all potential buyers, users, and individuals complete freedom.

11.3 COLLECTION 2 - SCROLL SUB COLLECTION - PAUSE

The second collection is a series of framed art pieces intended for public and personal spaces and is titled ‘SCROLL’ as each artwork is viewed independently while also contextually belonging to a collective whole. In addition, certain artworks within ‘SCROLL’ fall under a subcollection titled ‘PAUSE’ intended for personal spaces.

‘SCROLL” aims to inspire conversations between individuals that help them share their personal lockdown experience - Was it similar to what is represented in the artwork, or did it differ? If it differed, how so?

The selective art prints that comprise ‘PAUSE’ serve as gentle reminders of gratitude, self-care and the need to take a breather and pause in life when one needs to.

11.3.1 A Note On Prototypes

Due to the circumstances that arose from the acute second wave of COVID-19 that hit India, ‘Scroll’ could not be actualized as a collection; Hence, the following pages present mock-ups of the collection.

Furthermore, these prototypes have been visualized on a plain and neutral coloured wall to represent a universal wall and setting - public or personal, as per the viewer’s choosing. Since the sub-collection is more specifically aimed to belong to personal space, the three artworks that comprise ‘Pause’ have been presented in a setting that reflects the same.

Why Framed Art? Framed art provides boundaries to work being presented within the frame, making it easier for the viewer to get utterly specific with details and understand the work more effectively.

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I. Binge

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I.i Fabric Specification The base fabric for printing used for the samples featured in this document is Poly-rayon fabric. It provides a lustrous look, lifts the colors that make up the prints, and has a weight that allows it to be used for apparel, fashion accessories, or home furnishing accessories.

However, as previously mentioned, the project does not limit the application of these prints to any particular fabric; Poly-rayon fabric was chosen solely for this specific round of printing.

FABRIC: Poly-Rayon (75% Polyester | 25% Rayon) GSM: 120 gsm I.i.i Printing

Furthermore, the fabric swatches displayed in the photographs have been digitally printed.

I.ii Costing

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II. Scroll

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Sub Collection: Pause 136

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A reminder to practice gratitude, take a breather when needed and to practice self-care; Self-Preservation is important in difficult times.

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11.4 Key Cards Both collections -’Binge’ and ‘Scroll’ are accompanied by cards that communicate the legends and keys to read the prints.

With context to ‘Scroll,’ these cards may be presented in public places with the key cards placed as placards to help a viewer effectively understand the artwork.

above: Key Cards for ‘Pause’

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CULMINATION 12.1 Conclusion / 142 12.1.1 Spending Time In Lockdown 12.1.2 Lockdown Moods and Feelings 12.1.3 Health During Lockdown 12.1.4 Company Affects Experience 12.1.5 Love During Lockdown 12.1.6 Lockdown Gratitude 12.2 Reflection / 145

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12.1 Conclusion 12.1.1 Spending Time In Lockdown

As the first lockdown was imposed in India, on March 24, 2020, the country was forced to pause, and everyone was ordered to stay home. In this unprecedented time, individuals were compelled to make the most of their time. There was much talk of using the pause as a time to upskill for when the world opened up again to the new normal; On the other hand, people also advocated for embracing the pause and using it to catch a break from the hectic nature of everyday life before lockdown.

The results of the survey reflect that more individuals chose to, like nature, take a breather (57%) rather than use the time to upskill (43%); To each their own.

However, this did not mean that people did not learn or pick up new skills and activities due to the lockdown.

For example, considering that everybody was forced to stay home and most businesses were closed, everybody was forced to cook at home; and for some, this meant learning to cook from scratch. This basic human need made cooking and baking the most popular activity that was learnt due to the pandemic, followed by workouts - another activity actively pursued to meet basic human needs to fitness and physical activity for good health.

When it came to popular pandemic trends, the most popular trend was celebrations over video call services such as Zoom, followed by self-cut hair.

However, again, these trends are a result of the fact that they met the human needs of socialisation - which could not, at that point, happen in personand basic grooming necessities. These two trends were followed by ‘Baking Bread’ and ‘Dalgona Coffee’, both of which match the tune of cooking and baking being the most popularly learnt activity.

12.1.2 Lockdown Moods And Feelings

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Upon looking at the results of the question, which asked respondents to rate the different quarters of 2020 based on their personal experience, it was a pretty obvious conclusion that, for the most part, the respondents had an ‘okay’ year - not great, but also not terrible. Not to say that the participants did not face hardships through the year, but the fact that things worked out to be okay on the whole, is also reflective of the privileged backgrounds of the participants of this project. This conclusion is further supported by the fact that the most commonly associated emotion with the lockdown experience was ‘Content’ (23%). However, of course, that

CULMINATION is not to overlook that the second and third most popular emotions were frustration (21%) and stress (20%), but boredom was also expressed by 17% of the respondents.

121.3 Health During Lockdown

The ongoing pandemic has played a very impactful role in every individual’s life on the planet right now, regardless of whether or not they caught the virus.

Having to stay cooped up in houses, businesses shutting down, having to adjust to a new way of life and worrying news from all across the globe, to name a few of the anxiety-inducing aspects of the pandemic, leaves one with a feeling of overwhelm, restlessness and anxiety.

On the contrary, however, the pause that was brought in by the lockdown also gave individuals a chance to get in touch with themselves and re-evaluate things in their life. For 55% of participants, the lockdown affected their mental health positively, while the rest felt the opposite.

The onset of the pandemic, considered one of the worst ones to be faced by humanity, led to hopelessness about normalcy and anxiety about the present and future. And to cope with these feelings, self-care became more important than ever. As a result, most participants used physical activities to let out pent-up energy and emotions, followed closely by individuals who took to mindfulness and meditation to cope. Participants also learnt to draw boundaries as they realised the importance of taking a break when needed and getting rest.

However, it is extremely difficult to not think about the what-ifs of the pandemic never occurring. Many felt a loss of great and important opportunities such as the experience of college and further education and work experiences, followed by social life.

Of course, it was not only mental health that was largely affected by the lockdown. One of the biggest aspects of life that came under focus due to the pandemic and re-evaluation of one’s life was good physical health and its importance. As people started to eat homemade meals more often and shifted their physical regimens to at-home workouts, a majority of respondents also felt far healthier than before the lockdown.

12.1.4 Company Affects Experience

It is a well-known truth that the people we are surrounded by influence our being and experiences.

On the same note, consequently, when sharing a living space with other people, it becomes a necessity to draw 143

CULMINATION personal boundaries to attain personal space; And this gets harder to gain when one is forced to stay indoors for long periods of time. Furthermore, Indian families have a stereotypical reputation of lacking these boundaries.

However, this seems to have been challenged by the participants’ responses- Most respondents (89%) spent the lockdown with their families, and the majority of them (59%) got the personal space that they needed.

The pandemic also coerced everyone into working from home, whether they liked it or not; And the participants’ results reveal that 65% of the participants would prefer to work from the office rather than work from home. On further inquiry whether this preference was affected by lack of personal space, it turned out that it was not. Presumably, the inclination towards working from the office arose out of a need for worklife balance, given that working from home makes it difficult to separate work from personal life.

12.1.5 Love During Lockdown

Romantic relationships often form an important part of our lives. The demographic of this project in terms of relationship status presents that most respondents were single (56%), and some were dating or in a relationship (42%) when the lockdown was imposed.

For those dating and in a relationship, love survived the test as most couples took to a long-distance relationship, and some were brought closer together by the lockdown.

For those who were single, despite online dating platforms, only a handful gave it a shot to find love during the lockdown; And for most of them, it resulted in a connection and spark. It must be true what they say about love knowing no boundaries.

12.1.6 Lockdown Gratitude

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To sum it all up, when asked to reflect on their experience and share what they were most grateful for, most people were grateful for the social company they had that helped them get through these trying times (family, friends and pets). Individuals were also grateful for the time that the lockdown provided - to re-evaluate their priorities and reset - and they were thankful for their privilege and good health. Practising gratitude goes a long way and promotes a life that is lived mindfully and intentionally. Knowing that the participants acknowledged the things they valued most in these times shows that they came out stronger with more value for a meaningful and purposeful life.

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12.2 Reflection Having the opportunity to work on this self-sponsored graduation project has been an experience of great learning on both an academic and personal front. On a personal level, it taught me self-discipline; Not having someone who actively pushed me to work every day taught me to show up for myself and put in the work regardless of whether I was in the mood to work or not.

On an academic and professional level, this project has opened my mind and creativity to new and unique avenues. These new avenues are not limited only to exploring textiles, which is my core discipline of study, as a means of communication and storytelling. These paths also urge me to explore how one experiences life and the patterns we practice and exhibit while living life; and how I can turn these stories and observations into art - a lens through which I can look beyond the obvious functions of textiles to see how textiles can be used to communicate more of ourselves - be it our identity, our story and experiences, or the world around us. It is certainly an intriguing path to wander on and one I hope to explore more of it further down the line.

above: My home-desk where countless days and nights were spent working on my project.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY 13.1 References / 148 13.2 Image Credits / 150

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13.1 References BOOKS ‘Observe, Collect, Draw!: A Visual Journal’ by Giorgia Lupi and Stefanie Posavec (2018) WEBSITES Data Visualization Beginner’s Guide: A Definition, Examples, And Learning Resources | https://www. tableau.com/learn/articles/data-visualization What is Data Storytelling? | https://www. nugit.co/what-is-data-storytelling/ Data Storytelling: The Essential Data Science Skill Everyone Needs | https://www.forbes.com/sites/ brentdykes/2016/03/31/data-storytelling-the-essentialdata-science-skill-everyone-needs/?sh=4ef5832a52ad Data Storytelling Has Birthed The Need Of Data Culture In Organizations | https://www. analyticsinsight.net/data-storytelling-has-birthedthe-need-of-data-culture-in-organizations/ What is Data Art? A definition. | https://www. kirellbenzi.com/blog/data-art-definition Information Art | https://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/Information_art Tiger Uncaged - Data Art for Mobile and Print | http://www.kultur.design/portfolio/tiger-uncaged/ Data Humanism, The Revolution will be Visualized. | http://giorgialupi.com/data-humanismmy-manifesto-for-a-new-data-wold ‘Being a Millenial Adult’ by Ruta Gokhale | https://towardsdatascience.com/thedata-is-in-the-art-b97cf2ceda7c ‘Soumoud ~ The Thread Back Home’ by Patchil | http://www.patchil.com/portfolio/ soumoud-the-thread-back-home/ ‘>>Weaving Data<<’ | https://ameliekirchmeyer. de/weavingdata/index.html#

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Giorgia Lupi for & Other Stories | https://www. pentagram.com/work/giorgia-lupi-other-stories/story ‘Women’s Work’ by Olivia Johnson | http://womens-work.info/ Beautiful Reasons. Towards New Aesthetics for Data | https://medium.com/accurat-insight/beautiful-reasons-c1c6926ab7d7 Seeing through Data: Visiting the Museum with the Eyes of an Information Designer | https://medium.com/@giorgialupi/seeing-throughdata-visiting-the-museum-with-the-eyes-ofan-information-designer-4decce292030 Sketching with Data Opens the Mind’s Eye | https://medium.com/accurat-in-sight/sketchingwith-data-opens-the-mind-s-eye-92d78554565

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13.2 Image Credits NIFT Entrance | Pg 03 https://www.careers360.com/colleges/nationalinstitute-of-fashion-technology-mumbai Data-Art for Tiger Beer’s ‘Uncage’ campaign | Pg 08 http://www.kultur.design/portfolio/tiger-uncaged/ Portrait of Giorgia Lupi | Pg 10 https://www.azuremagazine.com/article/ information-designer-giorgia-lupi/ A Manifesto for Data Humanism | Pg 12 https://bio.si/en/program/mainexhibition/34/data-humanism/ ‘Being a Millenial Adult’ by Ruta Gokhale | Pg 14 https://towardsdatascience.com/the-data-is-inthe-art-b97cf2ceda7c?gi=e5b93ec5bb8d ‘Soumoud ~ The Thread Back Home’ by Patchil | Pg 15 http://www.patchil.com/portfolio/ soumoud-the-thread-back-home/ ‘>>Weaving Data<<’ | Pg 16 https://ameliekirchmeyer.de/weavingdata/index.html# Giorgia Lupi for & Other Stories | Pg 17 https://www.pentagram.com/work/ giorgia-lupi-other-stories/story ‘Women’s Work’ by Olivia Johnson | Pg 18 yhttp://womens-work.info/ ‘Crafting Your Visual Language’ from ‘Observe, Collect, Draw!: A Visual Journal’ by Giorgia Lupi and Stefanie Posavec (2018) | Pg 35 - Pg 36 VISUAL INSPIRATION: MOOD BOARD | PG 54 1 Daelim Museum D-PROJECT SPACE by Studio Plat (2015) https://www.behance.net/gallery/24222479/ Daelim-Museum-D-PROJECT-SPACE-2015 2 Herman Miller - A Better World by Moniker SF https://www.behance.net/gallery/30961365/ Herman-Miller-A-Better-World 150

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3 Playpark 02 by The Old Art Studio https://society6.com/product/playpark-02_ print?sku=s6-10888496p4a1v45 4 Network Visualisation by Data Viz Project https://datavizproject.com/datatype/network-visualisation/ 5 Polka Daubs by Ann Marie Coolick https://www.annmariecoolick.com/polka-daubs-1 6 Wavy Retro Marble Pattern https://www.flickr.com/photos/ dennismail_2000/4255393590 7 Hypothetical Poster by George Strouzas https://veerle.duoh.com/inspiration/zurich-2012 All other images included in this document are scans, screenshots and original work of Pankti Patel.

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Thank you for your time!

Pankti Patel Batch of 2017 - 2021 Textile Design

Behance: www.behance.net/papanktipi Instagram: @papanktipi

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