Navigating futures with data visualization
Name(s) of graduate(s):Vivien Serve
2026
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Description
Today, we understand the world’s future through data, presented as a line extending far into the future. We perceive this line as truth. In reality, data visualization is shaped by uncertainties. In my thesis, I identify and organize these uncertainties into a visual pipeline that demonstrates how uncertainties are interwoven into visualization at every step. A truth that is often concealed by its presenters.
I argue that designers can transform this uncertainty into a productive component for speculating about futures. This expands visualization beyond mere information to a medium of discussion and interpretation. Through a design study, I realized such interpretation visualization for a forest owner. The resulting digital platform communicates potential futures for the forest to those who live with and around it. My goal is to demonstrate that uncertainty can foster collective futures literacy, as well as critical data literacy, ultimately important in our heavily data-driven world.
Link to Video
Credits Video: Vivien Serve
Vivien Serve
2026
Description
Today, we understand the world’s future through data, presented as a line extending far into the future. We perceive this line as truth. In reality, data visualization is shaped by uncertainties. In my thesis, I identify and organize these uncertainties into a visual pipeline that demonstrates how uncertainties are interwoven into visualization at every step. A truth that is often concealed by its presenters.
I argue that designers can transform this uncertainty into a productive component for speculating about futures. This expands visualization beyond mere information to a medium of discussion and interpretation. Through a design study, I realized such interpretation visualization for a forest owner. The resulting digital platform communicates potential futures for the forest to those who live with and around it. My goal is to demonstrate that uncertainty can foster collective futures literacy, as well as critical data literacy, ultimately important in our heavily data-driven world.
Link to Video