EmilyW

Which one is better?

Specht_N R12

This article particularly struck me because of the artist's ability to take a complicated physics analysis about the big bang and turn it into a beautiful sculpture that visualized the unattainable. The task to create a distilled visual version of the creation of time and space and the resulting affects, and the amount of measurements and data that needed to be calculated for accuracy is mind-blowing. The use of the lamps to portray the life-cycle of the quasar's was affective because of the dimming and brightening of the lights to indicate movement through time. The choice to create chandelier like spherical structures that hang from the ceiling allows for the viewer to see the universe from an three-dimensional outside perspective. The use of glass pieces to represent outer galaxies is also interesting because of it's natural reflective surface. Much of the sculpture is made of reflective material, probably since we view objects in space as the light that has traveled through space.

JordanO_R05

There are a number of interesting suggestions made in this article from Tufte. I think some of the most interesting points come from the comparison between the old train schedule from New York to New Haven and the redesigned schedule that is on the next page. Tufte makes a lot of good points when he is talking about the old schedule and the wasted space that creates a great deal of empty paper. I am a firm believer that white space if used effectively will make you design stronger, and stand out more in the benefit of the designs context. In this case the white space is miss used and forces the rest of the information to be cramped into little columns that puts the legibility of this schedule in question. With these columns being so crowded already there is an over abundant amount of information stuck into them. There are 24 AM’s and PM’s as the author states and this is a great deal of over repeated information. I think the separation of these columns and information in them is the biggest mistake in the old version of the schedule. Related information is to far apart from each other making your eye create a lengthy visual line to find the related time. In relation to that there is another problem created when the information is pushed out to the edges of these columns. They create the visual appearance that the information on either side of the line is the information related to one another and not the information that is in the relating column. This is a visual trick and is easy fix as far as alignment goes.

When you take a look at the new version of this schedule you see a totally different style of table, and a much more effective one for that manner. You now have a clear distinction of which way you are traveling. Are you traveling from New York to New Haven or New Haven to New York? It is easy to distinguish which line you will be taking and where you are headed. The second difference that makes this much easier to read is the fact that the weekend and holidays section now has its own distinct column. The two categories have a separation now and are laid out in exactly the same way making them easy to understand and legible to the viewer. The loss of many of the rules greatly help reduce noise in this chart and keeps you moving down the information that you intend to find. The columns are now nicely space in relation to one another now. There is a clear distinction between departure and arrival and then the secondary column similar information relating to weekends and Holidays. I add that I think the typeface that they chose to use for this works great. A newspaper print typeface is a genius idea for compacted information.

There are many other great points to pull out of this article. I chose to primarily focus on one example being the train schedule. There are many great things just to be learned form dissecting this pocket schedule. I plan to keep these ideas in the back of my head and use them in future design pieces of mine. I also am now interested in finding more cool newspaper fonts such as this one. They might come in handy someday.

JordanO_R11

When dealing with the price of admission at museums there are a lot of things to be considered. The value of this experience is the most important aspect in my opinion. Will you be experiencing a top of the line, first class learning environment, or will you be walking through a run down piece of ancient history. A complete highly maintained museum environment is one that I would be willing to pay more for than one with broken exhibits or missing information.

In the case of the Milwaukee museums that we visited we experienced two very different environments. On one hand we went through the Milwaukee Public Museum. This mine as well have been a time capsule in it self. This museum has not been clearly renovated for quiet some time. There are a few newer exhibits that are poorly plopped in to this museum where they could find the space to fit them. The butterfly garden and the IMAX Theater are about the only modern looking aspects in this facility and everything else appeared to be very dated. The level of quality definitely faded as you moved up the stairs and the age of this museum really started to show. Information was displayed in a terrible manner and the types of information display were not cohesive in any manner. Maps were displayed in 3D, 2D, and in a variation of other forms somewhere in between. Typefaces were a mess as nothing seemed to be cohesive throughout the museum at all. The most disappointing thing is that some of the information seemed dated and in some cases has been removed for one reason or another and now stands incomplete.

This leads me over to the Discovery World museum at this point in time. I went there expecting a more interactive and up to date experience and that is surely what I got. Before I leave my last point of missing or disappearing information I will note that this was also the case in Discovery world. On a number of occasions the signs with the information about items on displays were completely missing. With that point set aside I hade a much more enjoyable experience at Discovery world. The exhibits were modern, and up to date. The information was relevant to modern history and the facility was new and felt more welcoming than MPM did. This would be the museum that I would choose hands down to take my children to someday when I have them. They will be lucky not to fall asleep in MPM. That is of course of they don’t close that building down in 10 years to remove all of the cobwebs and dust from their 60 year old displays. The design of this building was a bit confusing in the aspect that it was split into to sections that were not connected to each other, other than the main walk way and were very separated from one another. However the signage and exhibits had wonderful design and were much more legible and to the point that the ones at MPM. All of this leads me back to my point of the price of admission. I was able to get in free to MPM on the Monday that I went. I would gladly go to this museum for free anytime. When you are going to ask me to pay the same price of admission that I would pay at Discovery world you are going to loose me for sure, unless there is a reason I need to be at MPM. The only reason I was able to get in for free was the fact that I lived here in Milwaukee County.

In one more note about the reading. I think that the price of student admission should be free to little charge. This goes for all ages with proper identification. I find it surprising and yes, discriminating that they would only grant this admission to younger students in some countries. I am sure the same goes for various areas of the United States, but this needs to be fixed. The price of knowledge for those who truly seek it, deserve it at a price they can afford. A college student regardless of age is going to have finical restriction in most cases. Give the students a free admission once a year if anything. It would be a great service to any education system worldwide.

Kate+D+R12

Sometimes writing about your own art can be challenging because so much of it is emotion based but if you’re able to get your ideas out on paper it’s easier to draw in an audience. This article speaks very concisely about the artists project and really gives the reader a visualization of what the final product looks like. Right in the first paragraph the author cites his inspiration for the piece as the chandeliers inside the Metropolitan Opera House so that gives the reader an idea of what his piece may look like. His writing then goes on to the second paragraph to explain a few of the materials he chose to form his sculpture from and a brief reasoning for his choices. I like that the author tells us about what the Big Bang is without going into so much scientific detail that would make it not understandable to the ordinary person. Granted I had to read it twice to get a better understanding of it but it was still readable. The author ties in his artistic reasoning as well as his knowledge of the research to provide us with an artist statement that is clear and concise. It’s very clear that the artist had a specific intent when making “An End to Modernity” and that he is able to write clearly about it.

Hyrom-S-R12

After reviewing the weekend case study once again, I noticed how much information that I missed from the first time reading it. I learned that information must black and white yet very practical as well. There’s no need to spend a lot of time trying to conveniently display information if that information is not clear. As designers, we should always aim to make our work extremely bearable to the observer. Whether its data we designing or a lesson being taught understanding is the true key to the benefits of learning. We are the authors of the ability to create new information for viewers. As a matter of fact, I had to learn this factor the hard way because I was trying to force informational design to be one dimensional while one plus one equals three. I observed that there’s no need to neither rush things nor force them because through patience and smart procedure the proper way of establishing a clever plan is at bay. Information design is also one of the brilliant ways in which great data can be easily put into action. For example, when you read the instructions to put a piece of furniture together, the clear understanding of the instructions help you solve the problem. Therefore, the orderly way of information design is extremely important.

JenniferL_R10

In Saul Carliner's blog post, "Reflections on Museums 3: Different Ways of Learning Museums" he discusses the way different people approach and process the same information based on their interests and knowledge base. I completely agree with his argument. When we had to go on our field trips, I found myself spending more time with exhibits that contained topics I was already interested in and less time with ones that contained topics I was not already curious about. I think this type of selection is quite a natural thing that humans do on a daily basis. For example, I know I'm much more engaged in classes that contain information that interest me. The same goes for choosing a movie to see or what store to shop in. We are constantly "window shopping" our way through life. If the introductory information can hook us in some way, we proceed to investigate further. It really can be applied to almost anything: dating, buying furniture, choosing the next book you'll read, what city you'll take a trip to next, etc, etc. I also like how Saul talked about how other people in our lives can affect what we become interested in. I know people I've dated or friends I've gotten to know have opened my mind up to new ideas, cultures, hobbies, and the like. Our connections to other people are strong enough to influence our discrete yet highly selective minds. Our classes attempt to do this as well, some more successful than others. I find, as I'm sure my professors do as well, that when I must respond to a reading I often compare what is going on in the reading to my own personal experiences. It helps me engage with the content better, especially if the content contains unfamiliar territory. I suppose it is a natural thing for me to do. My mind immediately tries to finds connections between what I'm learning and what I already know. It's attempting to learn the information by comparing it to something familiar or something I'm already interested in. I suppose in the design world, you can't really control how people will take in what you create. Just as well, if you can find a common familiarity that most people can relate to and put it in your design, you'll probably have a better chance of people paying attention. I suppose this is why we're taught certain "rules" when it comes to design and typography because they're common and familiar to a wide range of people.

JenniferL_R09

For this reading we were presented with multiple instructional graphics. The first one regarding hanging a frame I thought was successful in delivering its directions. I actually used to intern at an art gallery and have personal experience hanging frames. It is a lot harder than people realize, especially when you need to hang multiple frames at the exact same height so they line up. One show involved multiple artists and all of their works were framed differently. It was very hard to get them to all sit with their top edges aligned. It took a lot of trial and error along with plenty of pencil marks on the gallery wall. This simple technique involving measuring the depth of the hanging cord with a piece of paper would have greatly helped us hang this show! I guess I enjoyed this graphic the most compared to the others because it was about a topic that you wouldn't really expect to need directions for. I don't think I remember ever buying a frame that came with hanging directions. This information is kind of common sense, but I could have really used it when I worked for that gallery show. I think a great website idea would be a site where you could search for random, usually considered "useless," information. I think all the other graphics including the bike, cigarette papers, diapers, and the flat tire were images that I expected to exist because they contain more complicated ideas. I'm not sure if these graphics contain all the necessary information but I understand why someone tried to make them. The picture frame one was the black sheep or the unexpected one of the bunch, which is probably why I was more drawn to it. I think this idea of having an "unexpected" factor in every day design is something to think about if you're trying to draw attention to a piece of work.

JenniferL_R06

This reading brought up some great points about how we use visual links to convey information. Visual links can be helpful, but as Tufte and others point out, the way links are expressed and treated highly affects the outcome of the information. I enjoyed the example of the art museum layout where we were presented the original map and a version without arrows. Without the arrows we were left with a bunch of words and confusing patches of white space that didn't particularly tell a story or hint at any sort of arrangement. This example showed the importance of the visual connections in this type of graphic. The way the connections are pictured might be more important though. I like the quote from art historian Michael Baxandall about reversing how you look at influence. My favorite part is when he says, "If we think of Y rather than X as the agent, the vocabulary is much richer and more attractively diversified." I think this is a good way to look at how things affect each other. People usually say that your past affects your future, but I can also see the reverse. I think how you pursue your future and how things happen affect how you look at the past and how you remember it. Some people blame the past for what happens now, while other people make changes based on what they learned in the past. It is the same for art and the way it changes and moves. The art created now affects how people and historians look at art of the past. Influence is not just a forward moving machine. I also liked how Tufte pointed out that some major connections in this exhibition map were missing. I almost think that this is an understatement. Yes, there were clearly major connections that were missing that are generally recognized by history. On the other hand, I think more things are connected than we realize. For the purpose of information design, I suppose it is only important to show the most important connections based on the goal of the graphic, but I do feel it is important to consider all the possibilities.

KarenR_R12

An End to Modernity and the other sculptures like it by Josiah McElheny are all beautiful representations of space and time. An End to Modernity was my favorite. The density of the rods with the reflective ball in the middle really makes it feel like it is expanding. All of these sculptures are to depict the universe in different states of its evolution. They are beautiful works of art. If I were to see them without having read this essay, I would never know the reasoning for the specific forms, but I still believe I would be able to correlate the forms to outer space. However, I would not classify this as an info graphic. It is beautiful, but it does not present any hardcore facts or communicate any information. Without a detailed explanation like this essay, I would not have been aware of all the research and calculations that went into making these. It is ambitious to attempt to represent the whole universe in one sculpture, or a few. It is impossible not to lose the scale of it all. The size, the vastness, simply cannot be captured. If these sculptures were bigger, change inches to feet in the measurements, I believe the effect would be greater.

umesh + D+ R12

The article by Weinberg “From the Big Bang to the Multiverse: Translation in Space and Time” starts with meeting with McElheny, takes inspiration from spectacular lobmeyer chandeliers and states the meaning of Big Bang “Big Bang is origin of space and time, initiating and expansion that occur everywhere and has no center”. The Goal is to how to depict Big Bang? They have long discussion of 3 hours and come to solution retaining the basic structure of sketch but change the interpretation of the structure by using spatial dimension to present time, Incorporating many feature of cosmic evolution. Then detail descriptions goes on how 230 radiating rod terminates in a cluster of hand formed glass globes represent cluster of galaxies and then single lamp represent a quasar. They created certain rules to control, relationship to the length of rod and cosmic epoch that correspond to terminating point.

The article goes from An End to Modernity, The End of the Dark ages, and Island Universe in details in explaining what they mean, from history of astronomy to various theories of different physicis. The writer explain's depth of knowledge of own subject matter. Its the project of collaborative nature between scientist and artist.

Looking the images and reading the description of each title of sculpture make more compelling arguments. But going through the images of sculptures at first glance, I thought all were the same piece exhibited in different time and place. Looking closer to its title it clearly indicates that are totally different from one to other. The descriptive article helped to understand its reason or meaning what was the idea, purpose, process and every single move the artist/group’s envision of the project and tell the world its meaning.