Representing information trough moving patterns

How to represent information trough the most unobtrusive moving pattern was the goal of this project. In particular it was required to use moving pattern to represent the emotional state of 5 best friends.

It was decided to implement the design as an interactive background image for smartphone.

A base moving grid is affected in five fixed points by forces that are representative of friends’ emotional states

Slow and smooth movements are associated with relaxed and calm states while faster, noisier and more energetic are associated with more negative emotional states; those are also more visible and demand the user for intervention in taking care of his/her friends.

In order to get to a final design several experiments were carried out and tested. Once the basic idea of the moving grid was decided, a Processing app was developed that would allow the design team to change the style and details of the visualization on the fly. The parameters of pulse speed, noise level and dynamic of the movement where used as minimal element to produce a congruent set of expressive moving patterns.