Over the past few years we have been constantly surrounded by streams of data and statistics, judging what we had a physical experience of but perhaps couldn’t define analytically. No longer is the representation of data solely tied to sad, cold tables, design has helped show the speed of change and gaps between subjects under scrutiny to make the data even more complex yet understandable.
“Average Happiness” is a 2019 project by Maja Gehrig that starts with this very goal, to represent data by making use of animation, to the point of creating weaves of shapes that end up almost defining the landscape of a future city. Starting from a PowerPoint presentation and a classic chart with Cartesian axes, the video enters a climax that begins to take control of the screen and the reading of the statistics.
Maja Gehrig, director, scriptwriter and designer of the video, wants to show the “hidden beauty” of diagrams. A necessity rather than an aesthetic pleasure, since we are now constantly surrounded by charts that aim for clarity and scientific truth.
“Average Happiness” has been presented in recent years at numerous European festivals and is the fourth film of the director, it lasts 7 minutes and you should see it.
