Annika Felder

Department: Information Design
Website: www.annikafelder.com

SEARCHING UNIVERSALITY

WHAT
‘Encyclopaedia on the Human Obsession with Absolute Knowledge’. That’s the subtitle of these reference books. Their content shows that — even with contemporary knowledge tools like Google — it’s hard to find and present information in a universal way.

WHY
Google seems to have all the answers, but did you know that search results differ per person? The information on your screen is personalised according to your location, language and time.

HOW
Each of the five volumes offers the same 100 Google references on paper. Yet they are completely different, due to changed settings during the search. It becomes clear that our most popular search engine presents a pre-edited world. Which leaves us with a new question: does universal knowledge even exist?

QUOTE
The books reveal the problematics of the politics of search.