To translate data into textiles, you select different properties of the textile as elements that will convey meaning, and map those properties to the data you want to represent. Not all properties of the textile you create will convey meaning; you need to deliberately choose one or more properties that will represent some part of the data, and come up with a guide for how you want to use it.
- beading: adding beads to a textile to represent data; often combined with other properties (e.g. beads of different colors, with different spacing, in different quantities)
- color: using materials where the color of the material represents some value of data
- fiber: choosing different materials (e.g. different fabric types, different yarn types, or even wool from different breeds of sheep) to convey meaning
- negative space: using emptiness (gaps, holes, unembroidered fabric, etc.) to represent data, or the absence of data
- organization: used for different design elements if doing a representational design. How you juxtapose different aspects of the textile, in a deliberate way to convey meaning (e.g. chronological order).
- proportion: using percentages to map data onto a fixed number of something (e.g. rows, stitches, etc.) in your textile
- quantity: how many of (something) will you include? Used to represent data directly (e.g. a value of 1 = 1 stitch, 1 bead, etc.) rather than adapting it using proportion
- recreating dataviz: not exactly a textile property, but an approach — using a textile medium to create traditional data visualization shapes
- shape: some textile crafts are composed of specific shapes (e.g. circles, triangles, stars) that can be used to carry meaning (e.g. quilt blocks)
- size: making some element(s) of the textile larger or smaller than other element(s) as a way of representing data
- stitch: several textile crafts have distinctive stitch types or styles that can be used to convey meaning
- text: using some textile method to create written text in the textile itself that says something
- texture: texture can be produced by different fiber choices and/or different stitches, but as a property on its own it focuses on how something feels to the touch