2055
Connie Chu
Oftentimes, I have a hard time communicating a concept to my parents. No matter how hard I try with my words, I won’t be able to get through.
From this personal experience, I began to think about how communication works outside of language, as words alone are not enough. People are exposed to words and facts every day, but how much do they actually understand what is being conveyed? How might we communicate concepts without relying solely on words?
This led me to think about people’s relationship with data. Mass amounts of data in the form of numbers and statistics are embedded within the news and stories that people absorb daily, but how could this relationship be more engaging and more emotionally connective? Facts alone cannot convey the whole story. Using a specific data set from Pew Research Center ranging from the years 1965 through 2065, I’m exploring the numbers that make up the projections of racial and ethnic composition within the United States in two cases: with and without immigration. Through a risograph print series and a digital interface, people can see how, over time, American identity changes. By 2055, the country will have no racial or ethnic majority group.
Ultimately the framing of facts and numbers helps people understand their underlying narrative. By communicating complex concepts without relying only on language, information becomes more accessible to others.