Loupe is a project that seeks to explore the ways in which visualisation techniques can be used to extract implicit knowledge from online social environments such as email, wikis, blogs, social networks and forums. The project is undertaking extensive research into the way in which people use these social networks, the effectiveness of visualisation techniques, and the ways in which users might collaborate around visualisation.
This brief has taken the project in a number of different directions that it is currently exploring:
The project is exploring the informational affordances of various social environments, as well as the affordances of various visualisation techniques that might aid in the online knowledge management process. We are also researching how online social environments, such as email, can impact upon organisational workflow.
Loupe is also exploring the user experience aspect of online social environments, particularly looking at the different ways that sites can build affinity with their audience and encourage participation.
The project also explored the various aspects of a social network, and how these might shape the way an online experience based around collaborative visualisation is designed.
The team is also looking at the nuances of collaboration around visualisation, particularly how to create a social and collaborative environment around the visualisation of data, using interaction design techniques.
