Explorations with Small Data: Data Settings and Backstories

As data continues to exist in a world where productivity, capitalism, and surveillance prevail, we turn to the concept of Small Data to reclaim and engage personal data. According to information designer Giorgia Lupi [15] this approach to data acknowledges how data may be imperfect, serendipitous, subjective, and focuses more on quality than quantity. In this provocation, we offer three explorations where we physicalize personal data: handwritten notes, photos of everyday artifacts, and menstrual cycle data. In each data collection and representation set, we focus on the inevitable presence of 'the backstory': the context and setting in which data are collected and materialized. We conclude with a reflection on the power of context as a way to navigate privacy in personal data.