The United Nations work with MA Design for Data Visualisation students to visualise the potential for female entrepreneurs in Georgia

Students on MA Design for Data Visualisation at London College of Communication (LCC) worked with the United Nations (UN) Women Georgia to show how women in the country of Georgia contribute to economic activity, challenging perceptions and driving female entrepreneurship in the Eastern European country.  

This work followed on from a collaboration between UN Women Georgia and the International Labour Organisation (ILO), which aimed to understand how women contributed to economic activity in Georgia.

Data from the Women Entrepreneurs Survey (WES) showed the challenges that Georgian women face when starting their own businesses. Georgian women find it harder than men to get funding, with a pay gap of just over 20% based on monthly wages.

The data also showed that training courses for Information and Communications Technology (ICT) aren’t readily available everywhere in the country; most of the time, women don’t even know they are happening.

To illustrate these issues and more, MA Design for Data Visualisation students worked in teams to create visuals for UN Women Georgia to discuss the challenge at hand. These visuals would be included in presentations directed at the public sector and non-governmental organisations, plus financing, credit and business development services.

MA Design for Data Visualisation worked with UN Women Georgia, with 26 students split into groups of 3 or 4. With help from Henrietta Ross, Course Leader for MA Data Visualisation, they brought the WES data to life, working with UN Women Georgia to take their visual concepts even further.

Daniel Ivan Jimenez Prieto was part of one group, teaming up with Anning Song, Peiyu Shen and Wentai Huang. Another group consisted of Weibo Zhou, Eleen Wang Yu-Shan Chiu and Olanrewaju Odunowo.

We caught up with Daniel and Weibo to learn more about the MA Design for Data Visualisation Course, their respective projects with UN Women Georgia and their time at LCC so far.

Weibo: In my creative practice, I often find myself drawn to themes that delve into the subjective human experience. Exploring these themes allows me to connect with audiences on a deeper level, as it resonates with universal emotions and perspectives.

Daniel: I use technology as a medium to address social and environmental problems with an interdisciplinary practice involving data science, AI and design.

Weibo: During my undergraduate studies, I was introduced to the concept of data visualisation. One project that particularly captivated me was Dear Data by Giorgia Lupi and Stefanie Posavec. Their method of translating daily behaviours into data and expressing them through graphics fascinated me.

Daniel: I have a background in science, statistics, and artificial intelligence (AI), but I felt I was lacking in the design and communicative aspects of my work. One of the biggest challenges that we face as a society right now is our collective lack of ability to use advanced technologies such as AI to communicate.

Weibo: I knew ahead of time that this project would be part of the MA Design for Data Visualisation course. I thought that it would be a good opportunity for me to practice my collaboration and design skills.

Daniel: This opportunity to work with United Nations Women Georgia came about thanks to the willingness of University of Arts London (UAL), and our course leader Henrietta. Here, we had to work collaboratively with the people from UN Women Georgia to display and tell a story with the data they had. We wanted to have an impact and use real data to illustrate the problems women might face in different entrepreneurship ecosystems.

Weibo: In this project, my team and I collaborated to complete two briefs. In the first brief, we used data visualisation to encourage the community of female entrepreneurs in Georgia to embrace digital business models. In the second brief, we showcased the ages at which female entrepreneurs started their first businesses at the UN Women Georgia's EXPO through an interactive physical data visualisation installation. We used visual elements such as land, seedlings, and towering trees to represent the data in the installation, symbolising the mutual support and nurturing within the community of female entrepreneurs.

Daniel: During this project, we worked as a group of 4, all with different abilities in design and data visualisation. During this project, we had regular meetings with the people from UN Women Georgia to present our ideas and get feedback. Alongside this, we had design and research session directed by Henrietta Ross, as well as internal development work meetings, where we discussed the finer details of the project. Finally, there were creation sessions at LCC labs – Digital Space, 3D Space and the Creative Technology Lab (CTL) – before the final installation in LCC.

Weibo: One of the most memorable experiences for me was when the team gathered together after completing the two briefs to share our individual growth and insights gained throughout the project. During that process, I gained a deeper understanding of the psychological changes each team member went through during the project, the personal journeys each member embarked on to complete their tasks, and everyone's perceptions of one other.

Daniel: Reflecting on my experience, the most special part was getting to work with a diverse team that included people from UN Women Georgia and our group. This way of working together was like how big companies and events operate, and it helped us make two amazing projects. These projects were complicated to put together but ended up looking great and simple, thanks to our teamwork.

I loved the process of combining the information from UN Women Georgia with our own experiences and our way of showing things visually to make something that truly represented them and engaged the user. We were inspired by patterns from Georgian and Western European embroidery, and we used these patterns in our visual style. This not only made our representation of the data better but also encouraged the UN Women Georgia team to think about new ways to show data.

Weibo: The experience has taught me a lot about collaboration within design work. Engaging with diverse perspectives and ideas has equipped me to refine design outputs in alignment with the needs of our users and themes. I've learned the value of taking input from various stakeholders, enabling our team to iterate and enhance our designs effectively.

Daniel: This collaboration let us use tools and techniques we hadn't previously explored. We discovered laser cutting, 3D sketching, and the integration of physical and digital interactions, alongside extensive design work and the creation of physical displays. This experience also revealed to me the vast potential that lies in overcoming communication barriers among team members who speak different native languages. What we were able to achieve was directly tied to the active communication and collaboration within our team. Without this synergy, none of our work would have been possible.

Weibo: I really enjoy and appreciate the sessions held by our tutor Henrietta Ross. They’re very well-organised and have done a lot to help my development on the course.

Daniel: The access to some facilities that broaden your knowledge in different areas. From printing to virtual reality, the College’s workshops and spaces allow you to explore new areas while working on your projects.

Weibo: I might say "Spend a bit more time in observation" because I think many impressive project subjects are from a special angle of observation, and a great subject will usually result in a more valuable project.

Daniel: My advice would be to embrace a mindset of exploration and curiosity. We live in a world that is undergoing rapid change. Every day, there are new tools that can revolutionise our creative practices. It's very important to push yourself out of your comfort zone. Take advantage of the university setting, where knowledge and resources are at your fingertips in a way that's rarely accessible elsewhere. Where else can you easily walk into a facility and learn how to use a laser cutter or a 3D printer?

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