A statistical symphony.

See the official Databells.ca website for more.

(Volume up for the full experience)

The Problem

People struggle to understand statistics when they are buried in tables or raw numbers, making it hard to grasp what the figures mean.

The Goal

Transform complex statistical data into a visually engaging format that make the numbers easy to grasp. Each bell rings every time a specific event occurs.

The Tables

Since we plan on moving this exhibit from city to city, everything has to be modular. The tables fit together in various shapes, allowing the exhibit to shape to the room its in, accommodate users of different heights, and include removable platforms for replacing bells that may need fixing. All of the legs are removable.

One table per sheet of plywood for easy CNC manufacturing

Wavy shape allows for tables to conform to the shape of the given room

Each bell sits on an interchangeable platform

Painted black to enhance the bells

The Bells

I designed mount systems to hang all 100+ bells, ensuring the holders were easy to manufacture in large amounts, replaceable, and secure.

To standardize fabrication, I grouped the bells into three main sizes: Small, Medium, and Large. Each size group shared a common holder design tailored to its scale.

All of the bells use one of the following mechanisms:

Small Bells

I designed a repeatable system that was able to mount and ring 75% of the bells. When ringing 100 bells of different sizes, repeatability, replaceability and modularity are key. Small 5V solenoids are used to strike these bells, ensuring the circuit is not overcharged. These solenoids have a small range of motion, so the bells have to be secured in place with zero movement.

Small Bells Process Video:

Medium Bells

23% of the bells fit into this category. The medium bells are significantly heavier and larger, so I designed sheet metal mounts for them. These holders are 3/16″ mild steel, cut out on a plasma cutter and twice bent 90° on a hydraulic press. These bells are rung using a drum pedal mechanism, modified for control by a 12V solenoid.

Large Bells

2% of the bells fit into this category. These bells are rung using a spinning motor connected to the bell striker on a bearing via a bicycle chain.

Other Bells

Some bells required more individualized ringing mechanisms.

These are all of the individualized CAD models I designed for the bells:

Opening Night

I designed launch-night merchandise and created large-scale illustrations for the venue’s projector screens, shaping the visual identity of the debut event.