You Are What You Eat.
Me Graphically: A creative way of representing my cultural identify through data storytelling
DURATION
Feb 2022 (2 weeks)
TEAM
Individual Project
TOOL
Pen & Paper
Procreate
Figma
FINAL DESIGN
Self Portrait Through Data Storytelling.
BACKGROUND
Kitchen is where the magic happens.
​As an international student studying in the US, cooking food from my home country on a daily basis helps me emotionally connect with my home, since even if my mind may not miss it, my taste buds certainly do. Consequently, I chose to represent myself through the food that I keep in my fridge. Furthermore, I also wanted to convey the frequency of my consumption of this food and the incorporation of different ingredients in my cooking, as it gives a more dynamic representation of my eating habits, culture, and identity.
THOUGHT PROCESS
Drawing inspiration from my own fridge.
I arranged the ingredients into four rows and two columns, mimicking the way they are typically organized in my fridge.​
​The ingredients on each shelf belong to the same category and are ranked by my average frequency of consumption. This frequency is represented through the color of the shelf, with lighter colors indicating lower frequency. It is worth noting that the food in the left and right columns are arranged in reverse order of frequency, mirroring the way I personally organize my fridge - with more frequently consumed food placed in the center.
The various combinations of ingredients and the frequency with which I use them in cooking are conveyed through the use of three types of lines: solid, regularly dashed, and irregularly dashed. I believe this is the most intriguing aspect of the diagram, as it accurately reflects certain aspects of my personality. For example, my love of spicy food is reflected by my frequent use of Chinese red pepper in dishes such as cabbages and tofu. Additionally, my interest in yangsheng (a Chinese term for foods that promote health) is demonstrated through the incorporation of ingredients such as goji berries and mushrooms in my chicken soup. Finally, cooking eggs with tomatoes is a deliberate representation of my cultural background and if you familiar with Chinese cuisine, you probably know where I am from ☺
REFLECTION
Creating this graphic was challenging because I initially struggled with common data visualization constraints, such as identifying two variables and displaying their relationship. After facing difficulties generating interesting ideas, I decided to shift my perspective and focus on my personal interests.
I found inspiration from what I had been studying in school, particularly graph data structures in computer science. I treated each ingredient as nodes, and the frequency of combining two ingredients as edges between those nodes. This approach allowed me to create a visualization that felt more intuitive and meaningful to me.
Overall, I’m satisfied with the final result, as it reflects who I am. However, I acknowledge that I could have been more deliberate in selecting a color palette. While the pastel colors gave the graphic a clean and lively feel, I would like to incorporate more traditional Chinese design colors—such as malachite green and brownish red—in future iterations.