Victoria Reiter – Looking Outwards – 08

Moritz Stefaner “Truth and Beauty”

Moritz Stefaner is a German data visualization specialist. He used to work in the weapons industry, before changing careers to work in cognitive science. He now focuses on data visualization. Among his notable projects is creating a data visualization for nations of the OECD. He focuses on how to best represent how people interact with and can better understand data.

I am very interested in Moritz’s contributions to the Better Life Index, which helps to visually demonstrate which countries are the most livable in the world based upon 11 criteria. I think this is interesting particularly in contrast to his background in weaponry. For one thing, “Better Life” just sounds like a peaceful thing. For another thing, design conceptually draws heavily upon art and aesthetics as well as functionality, which to me, in such design as data visualization which is intangible and thus not physically destructive, I think these aspects juxtapose his background work.

I like Stefaner’s demeanor in his presentation, as he seems very comfortable and friendly with the crowd. He seems very humble, and took time to think about what aspects of his work the audience would be most interested in hearing about, rather than just praising his own accomplishments on stage. I think it is important to remember to let your work speak for itself when you are presenting it.

You can find more information on Stefaner at his website here.

Full video of his lecture below:

Stefaner presenting at Eyeo “Truth and Beauty”