Materiality
Designs
Impact
We use forensic research methods to map complex systems and their impacts.
Materiality combines spatial mapping, coding and the analysis of large datasets to solve research problems that conventional methods miss. We have used our techniques to track diffuse pollution, expose corporate secrecy and uncover social inequalities. Creative visualisation sits at the heart of our work, enabling us to tell compelling data stories that support movements and drive policy change.

What we do:
 Open Source Investigation
Policy Research
Interactive Maps and Platforms
Exhibitions
Training and WorkshopsSpatial and GIS Analysis
Data Visualisation
Printed Maps
Interactive Models
Talks and Presentations

“Materiality helped us bring a complex issue to life ... their ability to translate technical data into engaging, accessible visuals made the issue easy for the public to understand and played an important role in driving our campaign forward.”

Anthony Field, Head of Compassion In World Farming UK
Projects: Muck Maps, Ammonia Maps, Toxic Trade-Off


Projects:


Project TitleTags    Description

Mapped: Pig and Poultry Farming in Northern Ireland

Agriculture
Supply Chains
PollutionMapping the scale, spread and impact of factory farms in Northern Ireland.

Europe’s New Meat Tycoons

 Agriculture
Supply Chains
Ownership   Revealing the ownership and concentration of the European meat sector.

42,000 Chickens Exhibition

Agriculture
Animal Welfare
PollutionAn interactive exhibition showcasing the scale of intensive poultry farms.

Urban Nature Map Bristol

Cities
Green Space
Active Travel A two-sided, printed map revealing Bristol’s green and growing spaces.

Ammonia Maps

Agriculture
Pollution Revealing the communities that are most at risk from factory farm ammonia pollution.

Who Owns Dartmoor?


Ownership
Access
Transparency Making the ownership and politics of the Dartmoor portable and legible. 

Nitazenes Investigation

Health
Policing Visualising the harms of the synthetic opioid, nitazene.

Muck Maps

Agriculture
Pollution
Rivers Revealing the areas that are most at risk from factory farm nutrient pollution.

River Wye Lawsuit

Agriculture
Supply Chains
Pollution A detailed visualisation of chicken manure spreading along the Wye Valley.

Toxic Trade-Off

Housing
Agriculture
Pollution Modelling the impact of factory farm pollution on housebuilding.

Stink or Swim

Agriculture
Supply Chains
PollutionUncovering the impact and operations of the UK’s biggest meat companies.

Unavoidable Impact

Advertising
Health
Cities Analysing the distribution of advertising against measures of health and wealth. 

Chicken Shit/Cachu Iar

Agriculture
Animal Welfare
Supply Chains
Pollution Tracing harm in factory farm supply chains and their impacts. 

More Room to Perch and Play

Advertising
Agriculture
Animal Welfare
Representing the stocking density of farms in Sainsbury's supply chain.             
Materiality