Over the past few weeks, this project slowly evolved into something that brings together a lot of different inspirations—some intentional, some accidental. Looking back, it really started during the VR project we worked on at the beginning of the design week. We were thinking about implementing NFC tags, and there was something fascinating about the idea that just placing an object somewhere could trigger an action. That kind of physical interaction stuck with me.
Around the same time, we got a VR headset to develop and test our game. While browsing games, I ended up playing this wizard game—and one small detail in it fascinated me. You could lay magical cards onto a rune-like platform, and depending on the card, different things would happen. It reminded me exactly of those NFC interactions in the real world. It was playful, physical, and smart. That moment clicked for me, I really like the idea that placing something down could unlock or reveal something.
Closing the Circle
That’s the energy I want to carry forward into the final version of this project. I’m imagining an interactive desk where you can place cards representing different countries and instantly see their CO2 emission data visualized. For this prototype, I’m keeping it simple and focused—Austria only, using the dataset I already processed. But this vision could easily scale: more countries, more visual styles, more ways to explore and compare. Alongside developing the interaction concept, I also took time to refine the visualization itself. In earlier versions, the particle behavior and data mapping were more abstract and experimental—interesting, but sometimes a bit chaotic. For this version, I wanted it to be more clear and readable without losing that expressive quality. I adjusted the look of the CO2 particles to feel more alive and organic, giving them color variation, slight flickering, and softer movement. These small changes helped shift the visual language from a data sketch to something that feels more atmospheric and intentional. It’s still messy in a good way, but now it communicates more directly what’s at stake.
Image Reference
Image 1 (NFC Tag): https://www.als-uk.com/news-and-blog/the-future-of-nfc-tags/
Image 2 (Wizard Game): https://www.roadtovr.com/the-wizards-spellcasting-vr-combat-game-early-access-launch-trailer-release-date/
