Having Fun

Last Thursday I met with a few members of the team from Stantec that worked on a report on Energy Use Intensity of different buildings. We met to discuss their methodology and so that I could get access to their data.

The meeting was productive. I asked a lot of questions and received more answers. I felt excited to dive into the data myself and think about how to represent it in a way that was visually appealing. There was a surprising amount of data. It wasn't just about buildings. They looked at energy use intensity distribution across different zones in Seattle. There was data by neighborhood, data by zoning (single family vs mixed use), data by population density, and so much more. And yet, the deeper I went into the data, the more...bored I got. I thought that maybe it was just me, so I discussed the topic with my partner and not long into the conversation I saw the light go out in her eyes. I probably would've done the same.

It's not that I don't care about this topic. I do! I'm constantly reading about zoning issues, more efficient urban planning, sustainable development, repurposing buildings for new uses, and countless similar issues. But this time, as I worked with the data, I just found it to be rather dry. It was illuminating, but it wasn't exciting. It wasn't fun.

So I looked to others for inspiration. I looked through articles in The Pudding, The Washington Post, I looked through the intricate and delicate visualizations created by Frederica Fragapane, I looked all over until I found something. Anything! I was frustrated at the complete lack of inspiration so I quit. Instead, I devoted the rest of my day to researching a route along the Olympic Mountains in Washington. I couldn't fully concentrate, my attention divided between the article and the sounds of cars rushing down the road next to my window. And then...it hit me!

Silence.

I remembered reading about the quietest place in the US, the Hoh Rain Forest, which is within Olympic National Park. I don't live anywhere close to here. In fact, I live about as far away as I possible can, while still being in the US, from this quiet zone. What this really inspired me to look into, however, was the ambient noise in the city I love. How much noise are our residents exposed to on a daily basis? Which neighborhoods are the loudest? Which neighborhoods are the quietest? It also reminded of a beautiful, playful graphic designed by Nadieh Bremer.

It has so many elements of the type of designs that I aspire to be able to make one day. It's beautiful, it's intricate, it's playful, it's FUN.