Introduction

Imagine diving into over a century of movie data — not by squinting at charts or scrolling through endless graphs, but by stacking wooden blocks, feeling textured surfaces, and exploring a tactile map littered with coins. We’ve reimagined digital visualizations as physical, interactive objects, turning data exploration into an adventure that’s as engaging for the hands as it is for the mind. Our project doesn’t just tell the story of global film trends — it lets you feel it, combining accessibility and creativity to ensure that everyone, regardless of ability, can experience the fascinating world of movie production and profitability firsthand.

Re-designing data visualizations as physical objects can be an important step toward greater accessibility and engagement. While digital visualizations are highly efficient, they often overlook the needs of those who experience information differently. Physical visualizations allow us to think beyond the visual-only experience and include tactile and auditory dimensions, opening up new opportunities for learning and exploration.

In re-designing this data visualization, our aim is to move beyond the screen to create a physical, tactile experience that invites interaction in new ways. By transforming digital data into a tangible form, we hope to make information more accessible and engaging for a wider audience, including those who may be unable to access digital resources. Specifically, our design incorporates usage of Braille and tangible textures, enabling people with visual impairments to access the visualization through touch as needed. Our goal is not only to present data but to foster an inclusive, multisensory encounter that brings the story behind the data to life.

Dataset Selection

Based on the dataset options of our group members, we decided to select the data visualizations from Taylor’s movie dataset. James and Devon analyzed a synthetic bike sales dataset and Yumna’s wildfires dataset seemed more complex to effectively convert into a physicalization format, so we were left with an easy decision.

Given its focus on movie genres, budgets, and global production trends, we felt it offered a more manageable scope for creating interactive and tactile representations while still providing meaningful insight.

Specifically, we worked on reevaluating the digital visualizations below created from this dataset (by Taylor’s previous group).

Observed Issues and Feedback

Based on user feedback for the original visualizations, a common problem we found across all visualizations was issues with the cartesian positioning of each data item. For example, in the bubble chart, there is no significance to the height (y-value) each circle is positioned at — the bubbles could be arranged horizontally on the same line. Meanwhile, for the small multiples, it is difficult to to estimate x and y-values of data items for each chart. We realized that without proper scaling or baselines to refer to, it was difficult to dig deeper into the data and estimate specific values beyond those mentioned (for example, years besides 1950 and 2000 on the x-axis).

Other issues included faults with the visual effects. For the vis displaying budget comparison across countries, we found that sometimes the money bag was either too big and overlapped surrounding text, or was too small to spot on the screen. The vis failed to properly signify if no data (i.e. no budget value) was recorded for a country — when user testing, users were often confused if a money bag simply didn’t appear or was too small to be seen without zooming in. For the bubble chart, a popular clarifying question was whether the color (or the size) of circles displayed something special that the users were missing out on. However, this was not the case. The color and size show the same data attributes (genre popularity) and having two encodings proved to be confusing.

Re-Design for Analysis

Reevaluation

For the analytical framing portion of Taylor’s dataset, we were curious to unpack the “Trends in Movie Production by Genre” line graph. This data visualization consists of all trends from 1910–2024, but we felt it would be more feasible to include the decades from 1980–2020 in order to convert into a data physicalization that is not too overcrowded with information. From our usability testing, we realized that the primary struggle with the digital graph was comparing movies made across the different genres. The challenge our group was mainly inclined to solve was creating an interactive data physicalization. In terms of a line graph, we could not think of a way to manipulate line data to tell a larger story.

Ideas and Prototypes

Instead, we thought a stacked bar graph using individual wooden blocks that we could maneuver/stack by genre or by year could allow us to uncover trends that were otherwise not discovered in the original data visualization. Our plan was to create two distinct physicalization graphs based on timeline and genre trends in movie production. One graph will target the total production using decade blocks from 1980–2020 and the other will target total production using genre blocks. In this way, we can compare genre blocks side by side or stacked on one another, and similarly, compare decade blocks side by side or stacked.

Prototype: Usability Test

We explained our ideas and showcased our sketches to users. Respondents found both proposed physicalized data visualizations engaging but noted distinct strengths. They appreciated the interactive appeal of wooden block bar graphs and the clarity of the global map with coins for illustrating distribution, though they felt the revenue-based argument might seem self-evident. They supported color-coding and texturing the wooden blocks, emphasizing that distinct textures (e.g., playdough or string) could enhance accessibility and engagement.

Regarding simplifying the time span for trends, they agreed that focusing on 1980–2020 would make the visualization clearer and more impactful, as the original 1920–2020 range risked overcrowding the display and hindering usability.

Assembly Process

The building process for our wooden block visualization required careful planning and execution. We started by calculating the exact lengths for each block based on the data, ensuring each piece accurately represented its value. Once measured, the blocks were meticulously cut to size, requiring precision to maintain consistency across the set.

Painting was a significant step, as each block needed two coats to achieve a smooth, vibrant finish — because one coat just wasn’t good enough to bring the data to life. After the blocks were ready, we moved on to creating the backboard, drilling two pieces of plywood together to create a sturdy base. Finally, we applied velcro adhesive to both the blocks and the backboard, allowing the pieces to stick securely while remaining easy to rearrange. The end result was a visualization ready for interactive exploration.

Full Construction

The physical version reimagines this data as stacked bar graphs composed of color-coded wooden blocks. Each block represents the number of films made per decade within a specific genre, offering both visual and tactile information. Users can interact with the blocks by rearranging them to display either the total number of films made in each decade or by organizing them by genre, allowing for flexible exploration of the data.

Re-Design for Persuasion

Reevaluation

Initially, after observing the persuasive data visualizations from Taylor’s group, we felt that the “Genre Popularity Visualization” bubble chart could be easy to replicate physically through the creation of papier-mâché balloons. We could inflate the size of the balloon depending on the popularity of the genre and signal to each genre through the use of images, emojis, or color coordination. The volume of the sphere/ balloon would be the encoding to depict popularity.

However, after observing the other persuasive data visualization, the “Country Movie Budgets” global map, we felt that it offered an even more intuitive opportunity for conversion into a physicalization. Similarly, a visualization more similar to this would allow us to make a clearer persuasive argument. In this digital visualization, when you hover your mouse over a particular country, a money bag icon appears in the bottom right hand side of the screen, which shrinks or enlarges based on the average budget spent in that country.

While the digital version might work well for a detailed analysis of each specific country, as a group we felt that it would be more effective to focus on a broader level for our physicalization, in this case, the seven continents rather than individual countries.

Ideas and Prototypes

For our data physicalization, we planned to print a global map poster where we could place fake coins on each continent. We would use the quantity of coins to indicate the average revenue to budget ratio for each continent where a higher number of coins would represent a larger average ratio and fewer coins represent a smaller average ratio.

Meanwhile, color encoding would be used to indicate ratios for specific genres in each continent, allowing insights into how a region may focus on particular genres. For example, it could show if Hollywood movies benefit more from action movies, while Asia/ Bollywood/ East Asian movies may profit off comedy movies.

Prototype: Usability Test

When showcasing our ideas, respondents found the fake coins on the global map a creative way to represent movie budgets but suggested including a key or legend to prevent confusion if the coin quantities became overwhelming. They also supported exploring the budget-to-revenue ratio idea, noting its potential to challenge assumptions about profitability, particularly the dominance of North America. This perspective, highlighting surprising profitability trends, could create a more compelling and thought-provoking narrative.

Assembly Process

Our building process started off with first figuring out appropriate dimensions for the world map and scaling for numeric values. To display the world map, we decided to simply print out a 2D map outlining continents. We considered 3D printing the map to add more texture, however, due to time constraints we would be unable since it would involve a steep learning curve figuring out scales and 3D modelling.

To scale the ratio amounts, we decided to use real pennies (cents). For our purposes, we scaled it such that 1 real penny would represent 10 cents of profit earned. For stability purposes of the physicalization, only 10 pennies were stacked together, and then these stacks grouped accordingly for each continent’s ratio. As such, a stack of 10 pennies equals $1. Had we not capped the stack height at 10 pennies, the paper and cardboard could not handle the weight and the glue would not hold if we had 1 tall stack for each continent.

We encoded genre using multi hue colors, and added further texture to the vis by using thread for this purpose. Blue thread, for example, represents the family genre. Provided the thread was thicker than the printed continent borders, and accounting for human error, the thread boundaries should not be considered an accurate representation of geographical size and area of each continent.

Indeed, our physicalization does not have thread around regions like Greenland, Ireland and Wales due to how intricate and small these borders were. Including thread here would require more time and caution since we used liquid glue. However, this does not mean that these regions are not accounted for in the data and our final statistics.

Full Construction

Our physicalization accurately showcases the average revenue to budget ratio for each continents’ top genre, successfully communicating what movie genre would be best produced in each region. This visualization is not interactive in the sense that coins and thread cannot be moved around, however, the inclusion of textures through mediums like coins, thread and paper allows for a sensory interaction. Visually, this communicates the persuasive elements to viewers without necessarily requiring them to take up a cognitive load of reading statistical values or inferring budget amounts, often in the millions.

Demo Video

Our demo video can be found here. It highlights interactivity and accessibility features of our physicalizations.

Accessibility Considerations

Across both our physicalizations, dimensions and textures used were carefully selected to accommodate for a diverse range of users and incorporate accessibility. We also selected color palettes and materials that would be user friendly.

Textures

Besides using wood, coins and thread to add 3D effects, we selected these mediums to allow for interactive experiences. The raised portions of the wood blocks, threads around continents and coin stacks allow us to communicate numerical information without necessarily requiring users to read values across scales. This allows us to cater to user groups with visual impairments, such as low vision. Users unable to interact visually with the physicalization can use the sense of touch to estimate values by interpreting bar (wood blocks) and coin stack heights.

Size

Dimensions of the wooden blocks were carefully calculated and cut accordingly, in order to allow users to sense and compare numerical value differences if they are unable to visually comprehend the physicalization. The bigger a block, the more movies for that genre or decade.

Meanwhile, we kept sizing consistent for coins by using only pennies and setting a maximum height of ten pennies for a stack. This removes the cognitive load of trying to sense different coin diameters (or, paper bills) and using a scale to translate the values.Through this, a viewer makes use of one scale (1 real penny is equivalent to 10 cents) and can still estimate ratios. Provided the aim is to persuade, the visualization communicates main key points, for example that South America has the best revenue earned per dollar spent.

Color Choices

For both physicalizations, we chose multi-hue color palettes to encode each genre through contrasting colors. Colors selected contrast well with the base colors (brown for analytical; light grey/ white for persuasive) allowing the colors to be visible from a distance. Usage of contrasting colors caters to color-blindness and other visual impairments.

Challenges

It is worth noting that the considerations above were not the only mediums we planned to incorporate accessibility with. Issues involved lack of technical support/ understanding, delivery delays and time constraints.

Initially, we planned to include Braille labels as an accessibility priority. For this we worked with the AADR office at Davidson to use the Braille labelling device (Braille Labeler BL-1000 LINK) they have. However, due to incompatible software requirements, language issues (software primarily developed in Japanese), lack of staff support within our timeline, and outdated/ incomplete documentation for the product prevented us from including Braille in our final products. We spent time troubleshooting the device but were unable to work with it to produce worthwhile results within our deadline.

Meanwhile, we also intended to add more textures, such as fabric and playdough/ clay to our analytical physicalization, however were unable to incorporate these in a timely manner. Issues included delays with material delivery, a lot more time taken than anticipated to cut wood and additional time spent to stabilize the physicalizations (making cardboard/ wood task board sturdy enough to hold material weights).

As such, we were unable to include everything we had in mind. However, by prioritizing our features we were able to produce final products that suitably communicate all data as intended, and cater to majority user groups.

Feedback

Analytical Physicalization Feedback:

After presenting our physical data visualization of the stacked wooden blocks, we received positive feedback on its interactivity and flexibility. People appreciated how the design allowed them to physically engage with the data, rearranging the blocks to uncover trends and comparisons between decades and genres. The hands-on nature of the visualization was highlighted as a fun and effective way to explore movie production trends.

However, there were a few suggestions for improvement. Some audience members pointed out that while the numbers on the blocks were helpful, they would have been easier to read if they were larger and placed on the front rather than the sides. Additionally, incorporating Braille labels could have further enhanced accessibility, making the visualization more inclusive for visually impaired users. Overall, the feedback was encouraging, with actionable insights for refining the design.

Persuasive Physicalization Feedback:

Our map visualization was well received as part of the in class showcase. Users appreciated the usage of real coins to depict monetary values as they were able to better relate and connect to the data.

Stacking coins and relying on surface area (as opposed to stack height) also received positive feedback. This allowed the visuals to be scaled very similarly, and allow for comparison across the same height level for each continent. It also appeared to reduce cognitive load, since estimating surface area/ counting the number of stacks appeared to be a much easier visual task rather than estimating stack height differences in the third dimension. The approach was also appreciated since viewers could stand much closer to the physicalization. If we had included a single stack of coins for each region, the stacks would be too tall and viewers would have to stand further away to fully perceive the visuals.

Genre color coding and using thread was also appreciated and invoked curiosity. It clearly indicated that each continent had something different (genre) to show and prompted users to read the attached descriptions.

As always, we also received helpful feedback. Again, users suggested the inclusion of Braille to enhance accessibility. A source of confusion appeared to be whether the coin positions within the continent boundaries mattered or not. For example, a question we had was whether coins for Asia being placed only in Russia depicted something significant. This is not the case, and a solution to this issue would be to remove country borders on the map. Other alternatives include that we color in the entire continent to better showcase that it encompasses over the whole region. Such suggestions show there is still potential for further development of the physicalizations.

Conclusion

In transforming half of a century of movie data into physical, interactive visualizations, we’ve turned abstract numbers and trends into something you can hold, rearrange, and truly experience. Our stacked wooden blocks allowed users to explore movie production by genre and decade in a tangible, hands-on way, while the global map with coins brought to life the financial dynamics of filmmaking across continents. These designs proved that data doesn’t have to live behind a screen — it can be playful, accessible, and engaging for all.

Of course, no production is complete without a sequel. The feedback we received highlighted areas for improvement, like adding Braille for better accessibility and making block labels easier to read. These notes are not setbacks but plot points for the next act of our data physicalization movie — refining the design and expanding its reach. Just like the best films, our project leaves room for a sequel, and we’re already brainstorming ways to make it even better for the encore performance.