On Data Portraits: An analysis of creative approaches to the visualisation of personal data

The portrait, as a symbolic representation of personal identity, tends to reflect the social, cultural and technical context in which it is created. At a moment where technological mediation is omnipresent, data portraits appear as forms of portraiture that evocatively represent the identity of individuals based on the visualisation of their personal data, resulting from their daily activities that are digitally registered by technological devices of everyday use. This paper discusses the conceptual and creative possibilities associated with the concept of data portrait, through the description and analysis of artefacts that imply this notion. In order to understand the diversity of these artefacts, we propose a framework for their analysis focused on their concepts, mechanics and on the elements of their experience. In particular, we address their expressive functions, the types of data sources they use and how that data is collected. We then consider the data visualisation processes involved and, finally, describe the resulting sensory manifestations. By focusing on these forms of portraiture, as devised with the aid of computational means, this analysis also reflects on how portraiture can be reconceptualised to become more attuned with our contemporary mode of living immersed in data.