Draw your data: your apps and you

A 1.5-hour workshop on data hygiene and data visualisation

National Library Board

Partner:

National Library Board

Project type:

Data visualisation

Scope:

Data visualisation
Research

See it live

"My phone is listening to me." Most of us have thought it at some point. The apps on our devices know where we go, how long we sleep, what we buy, and what we look up late at night. A workshop on looking at that data honestly, and drawing a picture of what it says about us.

About the project

A 1.5-hour in-person workshop delivered at library@harbourfront as part of the National Library Board's Demystifying Tech series. Forty-four participants looked at the apps installed on their own devices, then created a data visualisation by hand to reflect what those apps collect, what permissions they ask for, and how they shape daily habits.

The challenge

Data and privacy are usually framed as either a dry technical subject or a source of anxiety. Our challenge was to design a session that took data hygiene seriously without lecturing, and that gave participants a way to see their own digital habits clearly. The workshop had to move quickly from concept to hands-on practice, since most of the learning needed to come from participants working with their own devices.

Our creative solution

We structured the workshop in four parts. A short opening grounded participants in data hygiene and the power dynamics behind how tech companies use personal data. Participants then audited the apps on their own phones, tablets, or laptops, noting the types of apps, the permissions granted, and the kinds of information each one collects. From that audit, each participant drew a simple data visualisation with pen and paper. The session closed with a group show-and-tell and reflection, where participants could see how differently their digital lives looked side by side. Using their own devices as the dataset made the abstract idea of data extraction concrete and personal, and drawing by hand slowed the pace enough for participants to notice patterns they would usually scroll past.

Our partners

The National Library Board (NLB) nurtures readers, learners, and discoveries through its network of public libraries and the National Library in Singapore. Draw your data was held as part of NLB's Demystifying Tech programme at library@harbourfront.

You’ve done the work. Now let us make it exceptional.