Jordan Gilardi, a recent Northeastern College of Arts, Media and Design graduate, has had her thesis project accepted for presentation at the IEEE VIS 2026 Arts Program, with the conference set for November in Boston. Her work, Within Reach – String as a Material for Tactile Data Physicalization, explores how string can be used to make data legible through touch.
Key facts
- Gilardi completed a Master of Fine Arts in Information Design and Data Visualization.
- Her thesis project, Within Reach, was accepted for the IEEE VIS 2026 Arts Program.
- IEEE VIS is described as one of the world’s premier data visualization conferences.
- The conference will take place this November in Boston.
What does this mean for students and design researchers?
The acceptance gives visibility to work emerging from Northeastern’s CAMD program and shows how graduate research in information design can move into an international conference setting. For students in visualization, the project highlights an avenue for combining material experimentation with data communication.
Gilardi’s project focuses on tactile data physicalization, using string as an expressive medium and testing 30 prototypes with participants. The project found that people could identify structural properties and describe emotional and tactile associations without visual input, suggesting a design space for multisensory physicalizations.
- Audience: graduate students and researchers in data visualization and design.
- Setting: IEEE VIS 2026 Arts Program in Boston.
- Project basis: Gilardi’s MFA thesis completed under advisor Dietmar Offenhuber.
What is Within Reach?
Within Reach – String as a Material for Tactile Data Physicalization is a thesis project built around 30 string prototypes. According to the project description, the research examines how tactile affordances can support novel data physicalizations and how participants interpret those forms through touch.
The project’s findings suggest that tactile and visual interpretations may differ in ways that open a productive area for multisensory design. The work is framed as a step toward a vocabulary for string’s tactile affordances in richer data physicalizations.
Who supported the project?
Gilardi completed the thesis under the mentorship of Dietmar Offenhuber, a chair and professor in Northeastern’s Art + Design area. She also said she was grateful to her advisor, professors, classmates, and friends from the program when graduating.
When and where will the presentation happen?
The project is scheduled for presentation at IEEE VIS 2026 Arts Program in Boston in November 2026. IEEE VIS is a major annual gathering for data visualization researchers and practitioners, and the acceptance places Gilardi’s work in that international setting.
