Interview with Michael Hermann on NEXPLORER

NEXPLORER is the only survey that creates a personalised Swiss cross for you! What I find particularly unique is the creative interaction of science, art and technology. It’s not just a survey, but a process that ties in with Expo 64 and has the aim of inviting the Swiss population to grapple with their own values over the next few years.

The four arms of the cross stand for the four points of the compass: Here, There, Me and Us. Each point of the compass consists of two axes, which represent values. “Here” stands for origin and nature, “There” for curiosity and technology, “Me” for freedom and power and, finally, “Us” for equality and loyalty.

The configuration of the 4x2 value axes of the cross is calculated on the basis of the individual answers given in the survey. Each of the eight individual axes shows a value between 0 and 100. Therefore, if you look closely, you will see a compass of your own values reflected in the shape of your personal Swiss cross.

The individual questions are used to configure the dimensions of the Swiss cross. Depending on the answer selected, points are distributed to individual or multiple dimensions. A value of 100 means that you have reached the maximum number of points for the dimension in question (e.g. “freedom”). 0, on the other hand, means that you have not collected any points for this dimension. For example, if someone attains a value of 50 for “freedom”, this corresponds to half of the possible points. This means that “freedom” is of medium importance for that person.

“Are you a friend to yourself?” (A question that originally appeared in a Max Frisch survey)

Time and again, it has given me something to think about when working with NEXPLORER. It’s a really basic concept, and something I try to be more and more.

I’m looking forward to reading the answers to individual questions. One day, I’d really love to have enough respondents to be able to create a Swiss cross for every canton and every city.

I’d really like to see the population itself contribute some interesting questions.

I used to have a colleague who had a severe stutter. I never had the courage to ask him about it. A friend of mine then asked and it released a huge amount of tension. Since then I’ve thought it’s better to just ask any question straight out.

Michael Hermann, Director of the Sotomo Research Institute and Co-Author of NEXPLORER

He studied geography, economics and history at the University of Zurich and received a doctorate from the Department of Geography at the University of Zurich for the topic “Values, change and space” (“Werte, Wandel und Raum”).