VISUALIZING PITTSBURGH GRAFFITI

Complex communication issues surround graffiti in Pittsburgh. Both graffiti writers and community members have deep-seated reasons for their participation in or opposition to graffiti. However, these reasons often remain tacit. Lack of dialogue causes graffiti writers and community members to create hypothesis as to the motivations of the opposing group. Community members often classify graffiti writers as rebellious youth motivated by a disrespect for societal norms. Graffiti writers tend to view property owners as faceless individuals behind external structures. In reality, many of these assumptions are based upon an incomplete understanding of the issues. This lack of understanding prolongs the struggle to resolve the problem.

Visualizing Pittsburgh Graffiti is an interactive tool that brings about a dialogue between graffiti writers and community members. In the Flash piece created for the project, graffiti writers and community members tell their version of the development of graffiti within Pittsburgh. This information is supplemented by the personal opinions and experiences of members of each group. By displaying their concerns in the same design space our design team aims to bring about greater awareness of opposing perspectives.

> Self-running demo of the interface [quicktime | 53.2 mb]
> Thesis project presentation [pdf | 752 kb]

> Process documentation [pdf | 20.6 mb]
> Poster overviewing the project [pdf | 6 mb]