We See You: Visualizing the Afropunk Festival with Real-Time Data

There was an opportunity in this project to not just simply visualize survey data, but also build a living, visual profile of each of the festivals as they progressed in real time for attendees. The Afropunk and Graphicacy teams devised a plan which had groups of trained volunteers engaging with the crowds at each location (Brooklyn, Atlanta, Paris, Johannesburg) to collect answers to these survey questions on digital tablets. The data collected was then frequently refreshed, via an API, and brought to life through engaging data visualizations on screens throughout the event grounds. The graphics helped people understand the similarities and differences between themselves and fellow attendees, both in terms of demographics and what motivated people to attend.

Graphicacy created a bold and colorful design that was in line with the Afropunk organization brand as a whole, as well as the aesthetic of the festivals that are a key part of their brand. Various visual approaches (see below) were explored in discovery and early design phases that played off the musical aspect of the festivals with imagery suggesting sound waves, volume displays and audio tech dials and discs. A lively, easy-to-read animation sequence, that periodically refreshed the grid of 16 data visualizations and highlighted survey questions, was built into the application to keep people interested and engaged.