From the project
The visualization
An exploratory visualization that used metaphor and interaction to turn a dataset of musicians' early deaths into a reflective, awareness-building experience — letting people find their own stories.
Statistics about musicians who died at 27 (often tied to substance use and other hard causes) are easy to scroll past — the human weight gets lost in the numbers.
How can an exploratory visualization make people feel the human story behind the data, and surface their own insights rather than being told a single conclusion?
A metaphor-driven, interactive 'vinyl' visualization that builds empathy and lets users explore by cause, year, and genre — turning a dataset into reflection.
While exploring socially-stigmatized topics like depression, I found the '27 Club' — a statistical spike of musicians dying at that age. The challenge was holding two truths at once: glorified, yet tragically short-lived.
Rather than the usual encodings, I chose a metaphorical visual language — a rotating vinyl record and gramophone panel — so the form itself carried the subject's emotional weight.
For mostly categorical data (cause, year, genre, instrument) where the goal is empathy and personal discovery, a conventional chart would inform but not move anyone. Metaphor plus reader-driven filtering invites people to find their own stories — the emotional point of the piece.
Constraints I balanced: Four weeks, solo; I prototyped several timeline forms (linear, vertical flow) and deliberately rejected the 'correct' ones because they didn't build empathy.
What I'd change: I'd test the empathy goal explicitly — does the metaphor actually move people more than a control chart? I assumed it; I'd measure it.
What I'd keep: Choosing metaphor over the 'correct' timeline. For an affective goal, the conventional answer was the wrong one.
What I learned: 'Let the user explore' is never free — reader-driven design is some of the most authored work there is.