Platinum Interface, Interaction and User Experience Design · 2025
Datalense Data Visualization
by Yu Guo
- A' Design Award 2025 Platinum Winner in Interface, Interaction and User Experience Design
- Awarded April 15, 2025
- CLIENT: Alibaba Cloud (Beijing) Technology Co., Ltd.
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 955,165
- Verification code 97F8C0FE91 · Verify this award
About Datalense Data Visualization
This system, integrated with 3D GIS and real-time rendering technology, has constructed a visualization system that combines natural aesthetics with modern design. The 18 meter long interactive large screen, equipped with AI, responds to different solar terms and festivals, changing digital scenes to create an immersive reading experience. The application of 3D simulation and digital twin technology enhances the user interaction experience. This design not only promotes cultural exchange but also reflects the innovation and progress of the library in the process of intelligent development.
Alibaba Cloud's Datalense Data Visualization exemplifies the emerging field of large-scale environmental information design, where digital interfaces transcend the boundaries of personal screens to become architectural elements that shape public experience and collective understanding of complex spaces. This installation demonstrates remarkable sophistication in translating three-dimensional spatial relationships into an immediately comprehensible visual language that serves diverse audiences regardless of linguistic or technical background. The isometric rendering approach references historical traditions of East Asian cartography and architectural illustration while employing contemporary digital precision, creating a visual system that feels simultaneously rooted in cultural heritage and forward-looking in its technological implementation. The chromatic choices reveal careful attention to both functional clarity and aesthetic harmony, with the warm architectural tones suggesting the materiality of traditional construction while the verdant landscape elements evoke living, breathing outdoor spaces. Information panels employ a considered color-coding system where each hue corresponds to distinct content categories, enabling visitors to develop intuitive understanding of the wayfinding system within moments of engagement. The physical installation context, with its rhythmic timber ceiling and generous spatial proportions, creates a contemplative environment that invites extended viewing and exploration. The presence of human figures at varying scales and in motion suggests this interface successfully integrates into the flow of daily institutional life, becoming not merely a static display but an active tool for orientation and discovery. One might consider how such installations reshape our relationship with built environments, transforming passive navigation into active spatial comprehension.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- Datalense is a custom-built intelligent data system for Beijing City Library, showcased on an 18-meter-wide, 3-meter-tall interactive screen. Its UI design integrates natural elements with technology: data panels are shaped like valleys, icons and charts resemble plants, and the color palette is inspired by the changing seasons of mountain landscapes. Functionally, users can interact with biomimetic building models to virtually explore the library, accessing real-time information on exhibitions, collections, air quality, and visitor density.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- 3D GIS, Real-time Rendering, AI Technology, Data Mapping, 3D Simulation, Smart Building Integration, and Multi-Touch Feedback
- Tags
- DataV, CityV, System Design, Multilevel Visualization, AIGC
- Production Technology
- The system software, based on Alibaba Cloud's DataV and built with modular design, uses the in-house CityV engine to create digital twin scenarios with real-time rendering. The hardware features a large physical screen and radar sensors for dynamic data interaction. The design team employed tools like Unreal Engine, C4D, 3DMax, AE, and Sketch to develop UI panels, 3D models, and animations. Additionally, AIGC technology is integrated to display visual effects changes, such as day/night cycles, seasons, and holiday themes.
- Design Challenge
- Based on the Beijing City Library's concept of "reading diligently under trees amidst mountains," the team aimed to create a harmonious "space-data-people" design. Given the screen's location connecting the subway and library entrance, with high and dense foot traffic, the design ensures efficient information delivery within seconds while allowing readers to easily interpret vast macro-data from any angle. It aligns with spatial aesthetics and supports "touch gestures + tablet" operations to meet diverse scenario needs.
- Project Duration
- This project was officially launched on January 16, 2024, and has been running ever since. It will continue to operate and upgrade in line with the development of the library. The project is located in the Beijing City Library, Tongzhou District, Beijing, China.
- Operation Flow
- Readers can remotely switch and view screen content via Pad terminals. Clicking on the screen to select a target module triggers dynamic data scenes on the large display, supporting custom theme and scene transitions. In close-range interaction mode, the system allows multiple users to engage in real-time, with touchscreen actions generating localized data pop-ups and animated feedback. During idle periods, the screen automatically plays preset scripts, showcasing vast dynamic data in a system that blends technology with natural aesthetics.
- Research
- The data visualization system is a key step in the library's digital transformation. By making static data dynamic and spatial, it allows readers to easily connect different data dimensions and gain deeper insights. Developed using DataV, the system was created through collaboration between designers, business experts, and engineers. It brings library information to life, delivering a fresh, interactive reading experience in a more three-dimensional, concise, and innovative way.
- Inspiration
- With the rise of fragmented information on mobile devices, such as short videos, the number of readers engaging in deep reading in libraries has significantly declined. To reshape perceptions of reading and libraries and create a new image for these institutions, the design team has introduced an innovative smart data system at the library entrance. This system, displayed on a massive interactive screen, leverages data visualization and cutting-edge design to attract more visitors and enhance their experience.Inspired by the nostalgic memories of reading under trees, on lawns, and in nature, the system seamlessly integrates information technology with natural landscape elements. For the UI design, seasonal themes such as spring, summer, autumn, and winter, along with natural motifs like valleys and streams, are incorporated. For the UX design, multidimensional data is bound to architectural models, allowing readers to explore highly detailed representations of terraced fields, ginkgo forests, and more. By interacting with the screen, users can access information about various library areas, including themed exhibitions, book collections, lecture events, and special displays, as well as real-time monitoring data such as visitor flow, air quality, temperature, and humidity.
Colors of Datalense Data Visualization
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