Life Expectancy, part of Shapes of Inequalities | all visualizations courtesy of Federica Fragapane <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n
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DB: Visualizing information can take many forms, from text-based imagery to charts, interactive diagrams, or abstract graphics. Your approach has something unique in the way it employs soft forms, organic shapes, and vibrant colors to deliver hard facts. What kind of data do you mostly work with, and what is the role of aesthetics within your practice?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n FF: <\/strong>There are indeed multiple modes of expression in data visualization, and I\u2019ve worked with different visual languages myself. In some cases, I design simple, geometric charts\u2014both interactive and static\u2014that are more commonly associated with the traditional visual alphabet of data visualization. But as you mentioned, I also often use organic and soft shapes. The choice depends on the context and on the data.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n I\u2019ve worked for decision-makers, scientists, academics, the UN, and the European Union, and in those cases I\u2019ve used the more conventional approach. But from the very beginning of my practice, I also started working on topics that are personally meaningful to me: migration, gender inequality, human rights violations. In those cases, I tend to use a different language.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n I often choose this organic approach when I work with data that has a living presence, the presence of the people, and living beings, behind the numbers. It\u2019s my way of paying homage to those lives and trying to convey that pulsating presence through form. Finally, for me, working with care on the aesthetics of my works is a way to invite people in. A way to encourage them to look closely and read the stories I\u2019m trying to tell through data.<\/p>\n Unpaid care work, part of Shapes of Inequalities<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n DB: One of your projects that embodies this transformation of harsh, ugly numbers into soft, organic forms is Shapes of Inequality, now on view as part of the Triennale. Can you tell us more about it and how it fits into the overall theme of the 24th International Exhibition, Inequalities?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n FF: <\/strong>For Shapes of Inequalities, I created a dedicated series of works: 16 data visualizations exploring 10 topics, some of the many faces of inequality. The visualizations present data on economic disparity, social mobility, gender and ethnic discrimination, the climate crisis, access to resources, life expectancy, and migration. The shapes I traced reflect the deep asymmetries, distances, and shifts in scale revealed by the data.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Over the past months, I\u2019ve worked with harsh, ugly data, telling stories of both familiar and lesser-known realities. Some of the subjects visualized in the exhibition touch me or have touched me personally; others are far from my own experience, and I tried to observe them and give them a shape, conscious of my privileged point of view. My hope is that the forms I\u2019ve created will encourage visitors to read them.\t\n\t<\/p>\n Inequality and Wealth, part of Shapes of Inequalities<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n \t\t<\/p>\n DB: Beyond the visual aspect, what kind of impact do the images you create have? How do they contribute, or you you hope they contribute, to tackling inequality?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n FF: <\/strong>I try to use what I know how to do to talk about topics I care about\u2014that\u2019s an extremely condensed way to describe the reasons behind some of my works. I\u2019m glad when others share them, use them in turn to highlight issues they care about, or when I see people discovering something new through my projects, even if those discoveries make them angry, just as they made me.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Gasa<\/p>\n Barriers<\/p>\n \t<\/p>\n Space Junk, part of MoMa\u2019s permanent collection<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n \t\t<\/p>\n Afghanistan<\/p>\n Iran<\/p>\n Environmental taxes data visualisation<\/p>\n \t<\/p>\n Slums and Inadequate Housing, part of Shapes of Inequalities<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n \t\t<\/p>\n Access to Resources: Literacy, part of Shapes of Inequalities<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n project info:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n name:<\/strong> Shapes of Inequalities<\/p>\n designer:<\/strong> Federica Fragapane<\/a> | @federicafragapane<\/a><\/p>\n exhibition:<\/strong> 24th Triennale Milano International Exhibition<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0@triennalemilano<\/a> 24th International Exhibition<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 24th International Exhibition theme:<\/strong> Inequalities<\/p>\n dates:<\/strong>\u00a0May 13 \u2013 November 9, 2025<\/p>\n location: <\/strong>Milan, Italy<\/p>\n The post \u2018data is not neutral\u2019: federica fragapane\u2019s soft forms visualize hard facts on inequalities<\/a> appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" SHAPES OF INEQUALITIES at triennale milano \u00a0 At first glance, the 16 visuals that make up Shapes of Inequalities\u2014a new installation by the Italian information designer Federica Fragapane\u2014don\u2019t look like data. There are no bar … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[142],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n