I forget how I stumbled upon this, but it’s one of my favorite things to have discovered this year. Dear Data is a year-long drawing project between two women, who get to know one another by exchanging postcards with hand-drawn data visualizations.
Each week they choose a new topic, from a week of complaints or compliments to a week of desires or smiling at strangers. They begin collecting the data, it’s slow, methodical, detailed, insightful and often bringing to life hidden patterns.
Every postcard includes a drawing on the front, while the back includes the key to reading and deciphering it. What makes this all the more fun is that each of them also keeps a record of the entire process from that week. You’ll find notes, initial sketches, photos and plenty more.
They’ve just completed 52 full weeks, so there’s plenty to see. You’ll quickly discover that the data reveals a beautiful collection of aesthetic patterns, lines, and scribbles. The fact that there’s a purpose behind each mark is all the more impressive.
