Unlike digital visualization, physicalization design introduces structural and material uncertainties, which require immediate feedback and often rapid iteration. This makes physicalization design a speculative, labor-intensive, and expertise-dependent activity. While speculative reasoning can be central to physicalization, authoring tools remain scarce and there is a lack of computational support that can help in anticipating physicalization outcomes. We explore how feedforward mechanisms (predictive features) might help physicalization designers anticipate post-fabrication qualities like tactile feel and expandability before fabrication by iteratively developing and studying DataCuts, a physicalization authoring tool for designing Kirigami-based data physicalizations. Our study findings show that DataCuts’ simple feedforward functionalities can inform design decisions, shape people’s understanding of physical properties and encourage tactile representation over conventional mappings. Building on these results, we discuss implications for designing data physicalization support tools that integrate feedforward.

There is a growing interest in representing data physically across various domains. However, our understanding of the physicalization design process is minimal, posing barriers to supporting designers and wider utilization of physicalization. In this work, we studied the dynamics of the physicalization design process, to understand how data physicalization designers navigate, iterate, and make decisions throughout their creative workflows. We employed a technology probe approach that facilitates designing KiriPhys – Kirigami-inspired physicalizations. We conducted an exploratory qualitative study, observing physicalization experts design KiriPhys freely and using the probe. From analysing the gathered data, we discovered an interactive data physicalization design process formed of six activities, characterized by non-linear and highly iterative movements between them. A key observed activity within this process is the concept of feedforward, which highlights the designer’s proactive forward-thinking when making design choices, considering the physical aspects of the results. Our findings suggest strategies for digitally supporting the interactive data physicalization process.

There is a growing interest in representing data physically across various domains. However, our understanding of the physicalization design process is minimal, posing barriers to supporting designers and wider utilization of physicalization. In this work, we studied the dynamics of the physicalization design process, to understand how data physicalization designers navigate, iterate, and make decisions throughout their creative workflows. We employed a technology probe approach that facilitates designing KiriPhys – Kirigami-inspired physicalizations. We conducted an exploratory qualitative study, observing physicalization experts design KiriPhys freely and using the probe. From analysing the gathered data, we discovered an interactive data physicalization design process formed of six activities, characterized by non-linear and highly iterative movements between them. A key observed activity within this process is the concept of feedforward, which highlights the designer’s proactive forward-thinking when making design choices, considering the physical aspects of the results. Our findings suggest strategies for digitally supporting the interactive data physicalization process.