Life inside the box: 2020 in Lego by Sam Shannon

I spent a lot of time inside in 2020. A lot of people did. But when I started tallying up just how much time, I realized I was on track to spend almost half the year indoors. A bit shocked, a bit entertained, I decided to turn this insight into a data viz project.

I wanted to put a positive spin on it since 2020 was so grim (and so was the year that followed – but I didn’t know that yet). I wanted it to be interesting to other people even though it was a personal project. And I wanted something fun to keep me preoccupied. That’s how I landed on Lego.

Turns out building my lego visualization was the perfect inside activity. It kept me preoccupied during yet another national lockdown in London. And although it was more play than work, I decided to turn this personal project into a submission for my MA in data visualization at London College Communication.

My experience wasn’t representative of everyone’s 2020, but my goal for this project was to offer a light-hearted way to reflect on a hard year. At the very least, to inspire people to remember 2020 and find some silver-linings, instead of actively trying to forget all about it.