Information Design and Data Visualization in the ITSERR project

Resilience, as the first European research infrastructure for Religious Sciences, establishes its foundational framework through the collaborative efforts of the ITSERR research team, – Italian Strengthening of the ESFRI RI Resilience. The objective of this project is to develop new visualization tools and systems aimed at providing support to the scientific community engaged in Digital Humanities for Religious Studies. Employing an experimental and interdisciplinary design approach within the ITSERR ecosystem, the research explores visual strategies in Information Design and Data Visualization. The aim is to preserve both tangible and intangible religious corpora’s heritage. To analyze visualization systems created by Christian and Islamic scholars in theological, historiographical, scientific, and graphic-visual contexts, it is necessary to study several infographic representations and their evolution over time. According to the academic perspective, De Christiana Doctrina by St. Augustine emphasizes the necessity of combining exegetical examination of sacred texts with historiographical and scientific pursuits (Brotton, 2017). An essential tool for providing support and guidance through the phases of research and graphic design is a multidisciplinary glossary that can be established as a collaborative space accommodating various disciplines. Within the multidisciplinary milieu of ITSERR, the integration of qualitative techniques in the design process is deemed essential for an exhaustive comprehension of individuals' activities and the influence of environmental factors, as articulated by Norman (2019). Methodologies such as structured interviews, focus groups, and VARK questionnaires serve as guiding tools, steering designers towards creating designs that facilitate a more congenial learning experience for users through dynamic and multichannel audio-visual modalities. As a result, the ITSERR project's amalgamation of concepts from history, theology, and science creates a complex network of data and information. The translation of this intricate web requires the use of strategic communication design methodologies.