Breaking the silence of Data

Traditional presentations of gender gap data—articles, static charts, tables—often fail to capture attention or foster deep understanding. Office Awareness was born from this challenge: how can we make a wealth of data (pay gap, hiring disparities, LGBTQ+ experiences) not only visible but truly felt?

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The Eureka Moment: a virtual office to explore

Rather than “sit and read” charts, users step into a virtual office: each room represents a theme, each object a gateway to dynamic charts and interactive narratives. Here, data comes to life through:

• Gamified interactions: tapping, rotating, zooming office elements
• Visual metaphors: a wall calendar for historical trends, a desk for work-related stats, a whiteboard for violence and health figures

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Behind the scenes with a Desk Research: Data Analysis & Map Insights

Our project kicked off with a thorough UX desk research phase, gathering and scrutinizing datasets from EU agencies (OECD, EUROSTAT, FRA) and Italian sources (ISTAT, beCIVIC, Arcigay). We catalogued indicators—pay gap, employment gap, part-time work, maternity/paternity rates—across both geographies to understand where data aligned and where critical gaps remained.

A key deliverable of this stage was a comparative map overlaying Europe-wide averages against Italian figures for each metric. This visualization immediately revealed two challenges:

• Temporal misalignment: Inconsistent time intervals across sources made direct EU-Italy comparisons unreliable.
• Data scarcity: Particularly for LGBTQIA+ identity and sexuality metrics, there simply weren’t enough studies to plot meaningful trends.

Armed with these insights, we adapted our UX strategy: rather than force misleading side-by-side charts, each themed room presents region-specific snapshots and contextual tooltips. This ensures users explore data in its rightful context—honest, objective, and reflective of the available evidence—while maintaining engagement and trust.

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From Moodboard to 3D Prototype

1. Visual direction: neutral-cool palette (#030D09, #4B5A59, #7C9296, #C2D6D1) and Poppins for clarity
2. 3D wireframes: floor plans for each themed room, placement of symbolic objects
3. Visual narrative storyboard: “office stories” (coming out, maternity, career progression)
4. Interactive prototype: Adobe XD paired with a 3D engine for web deployment

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An immersive User Journey

• Entry point: lobby with an overview of themes
• Free exploration: clicking doors leads to “Health & Wellness,” “Violence,” “Work” rooms…
• Active engagement: opening drawers, moving sticky notes, enlarging charts
• Guided discovery: tooltips contextualize figures (e.g., “In 2020, women left the workforce at 2.5× the rate of men”)

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UI Highlights

• Contextualized charts: line graphs, stacked bars, and donut charts seamlessly integrated into objects
• Visual consistency: unified color scheme across 3D environment and infographics
• Accessibility: high-contrast text, touch-friendly interactions optimized for 16:9 displays

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User Impact: User feedback

I finally see the numbers in action—I feel part of the story.”

“This approach didn’t just list percentages; it created an experience that made me reflect.”

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Sources & References

All data and insights presented in Ufficio Consapevolezza are based on publicly available reports and dataset:

Report BeCIVIC
https://becivic.it/civic-data-2/

Report Arcigay
https://www.arcigay.it/wp-content/uploads/Report-Io-sono-io-lavoro.pdf

European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights
http://fra.europa.eu/en/data-and-maps/2020/lgbti-survey-data-explorer/survey/2.%20Discrimination/DEXover_discr/heatMap/0--All

OECD
https://www.oecd.org/gender/data/

The World Bank
https://www.worldbank.org/en/data/datatopics/gender

Istat
http://dati.istat.it/viewhtml.aspx?il=blank&vh=0000&vf=0&v cq=1100&graph=0&view-metadata=1&lang=it&QueryId=25 771&metadata=DCCV_ASIMMETRIA

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Note: All EU data refer strictly to member-state figures—excluding non-EU countries—to reflect the common legislative framework across the Union, alongside our Italy-specific analysis.

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