EmilyW.R02

Layering and Separation are two very crucial elements of any design. This article was interesting but not as informative as I hoped it would be. The two things that I feel I got from this reading were pay attention to your negative space and the Joseph Albers rule 1+1=3 (these two principles are very closely related so I may go as far as to say I got one thing out of this article). There was maybe a very brief touch on how color effects a design. Over all I do feel disappointed with what I read. Layering and separation is a HUGE realm in design and I feel like the article only lightly touched the surface. I don't like to give critique without a reason to back it up and I understand why this might be confusing to the reader. However, I'm still new at this too and I don't have the adequate information to back up my opinion, maybe it is suffice to say I didn't learn enough from this article to articulate why.

I did appreciate some "touchingly ramshackle" humor in this article like "if the paper is heavily gridded on both sides, throw it out" and "some 460 lamp-whiskers were erased". Also I knew that, for example, if a border is too wide and then placed close to another border it looks bad and makes your eyes spin but I didn't have words to describe it. After reading this article I know about 1+1=3. I read about Joseph Albers before and this equation as it applies to color theory but now I can connect it beyond that with shape, line, and rhythm.

The video of David McCandless was very informative and inspiring. His data maps were extremely well done and interesting to look at. In addition his Ideas about information design made me get excited about this class and even imagine if I had a job designing data maps what kinds of information design I could do. These are the kinds of things I want to take away from this class. How to create successful designs for our modern era and cater to the needs of our information overloaded population. I want to make people drink from my designs and I want them to let me pour it down their throats.

AndreaLR02

While reading “Layering and Separation” I had a lot of the same reactions as I did while reading the first assignment. I've never give the design of maps and charts much thought, as they seemed really quick sterile and without much intention. Graphic design is much more scientific and rule based than I thought it was. During the TED video we watched today I felt like I really on the same base as the speaker, David McCandless, when it comes to thinking of this generation and it's ability to understand and create successful design just because we've all been surrounded by information our whole lives. I feel like most individuals today know that bright colors used sparingly will stand out and using similar tones for an entire map or chart will create some very confusion imagery. A lot of design is second nature because most everything we see has design in it and that creates a sense of design in us.

At the same time though, I think McCandless made a bold statement saying he knew how to design without going to school or having any artistic background. A lot of elements of design are very subtle and not obvious to the untrained eye. This reading made that more obvious to me. A lot of the examples of poor charts and imagery didn't look wrong to me until I saw the “right” way to present the imagery. I learned really a lot about making charts from only this short article.

I've always created charts using “data imprisonment', that is, by using lots of lines to separate all the information into little boxes. I always thought that by doing this I was creating distinct separation between the data, and thus preventing any mix of or confusion between each individual piece. Through example in this reading I've seen I was actually creating noise in my charts instead of eliminating it. Placing things into boxes creates a lot of negative spaces that can be distracting and awkward. Just by letting the data breathe the eye can organize it on it's own and rest much more easily on what is important without excess information created by unnecessary line work.

The first Marshall signals chart in the reading, which was the “poor” example, looked completely normal and fine to me at first glance. I thought it was pretty easy to understand. When I saw the second, revised example I saw that it did not separate each signal with thick black lines, and used bright color to indicate different details instead of extra line work. The second one was so clearly better and easier than the first. I would have never created the second one if I was making these charts. My knowledge of graphic design is not well enough understood to see such an easy fault. I just don't think the average consumer pulls enough information of the imagery seen everyday to be able to create consistently good design. We are constantly surrounded and influenced by design, but it's not always necessarily good design.

JordanO_R02

When laying out data of any kind it is important to make it easily readable and useful for the users who will be interacting with it. There are some major factors that will determine the outcome of your information graphic and some techniques that can be implemented to reduce noise and clutter in your design. As I have been in design school if I have learned anything it is attention to detail and the use of careful color choices can make to world of difference when it comes to making a successful design. The slightest bit of awkward negative space can totally throw off the balance of your whole composition. Now relatively speaking these subtle changes mostly apply to the fine art areas of graphic design but when making information graphic that is all the same an important aspect of composition and overall effectiveness in your design. Clutter can be caused by unnecessary information, or could be caused by the awkward negative space caused by an object to close to another, or lines that interact with each other in odd ways. Color theory is another important concept at hand that you must carefully consider. Over powering color may misrepresent your information, or actually take away form the date itself. You have to be careful also to choose a color scheme that will allow the non-artist to understand your table of chart. For example if your information is scaled according to overlapping colors and tonal recognition as the indicator of a numeric value your information graphic will lose interest and legibility to people who may not understand.

Two of the graphics that really drew my attention in this article where: the one about the Chinese poets, as well as the world river and mountain chart. These stood out to me as super effective charts. In the case of the Chinese poetry info graphic I think that the representation of numbers was simply and effectively done in this graph. Circles of various sizes represent smaller and larger concentrations of poets form that part of China. The color scheme is simple as well the map allowing the viewer to easily navigate the graphic and ignore noise. The river chart I find to be completely the most interesting chart in the article that we just read. Maybe it has to do with the fact that I have lived on the Mississippi river for the majority of my life but the simple layout of rivers from the top of the page down is very effective and interesting. This chart however suffers from a great deal of unnecessary noise when dealing with the second half of its presented information. The mountains as stated in the reading do seem a bit to stylized and could benefit from being restructured in a different manner and maybe have a chart of their own. One other graphic that I will mention quickly that I really noticed an improvement on from its first version to its second is the one dealing with the parking officers positions. The subtle change from dark heavy weighted lines surrounding the characters to the grey made the world of difference. They then added a splash a color and changed the typeface and made this information graphic appear 100 time better in my opinion. Things to keep in mind in the future when doing designs of my own.

SAM K R02

A mastery of visual hierarchy and simplified forms is a must in successful information designers, and this chapter seems to cover the basics quite well. It starts by explaining the four elements which can be adjusted to give a graphic visual hierarchy: Color, Value, Shape and Size. Infographics are, after all, all about making comparisons, so one must contrast these elements.

I was already fairly aware of this, though it’s been a long time since I’ve named and listed hierarchy strategies. One thing that I haven’t thought about in terms of infographic design is negative space. Never before have I thought so clearly about it with Josef Albers’ idea of 1 + 1 = 3. A clear example of this theory is on page 13, where the heavy, black shapes trap and force the negative space to become active and prominent. From this section of the reading, it seems that heavily weighted outlines of shapes just shouldn’t be used—there’s always a better way to separate information.

Which is why I find the river graphic so odd. I appreciate it for its high detail and superb line quality. I agree with the author’s assessment that the mountain range’s information seems too stylized and arbitrary to share any meaningful information. However, when it comes to the high detail and proximity of the rivers, I’d say 100 writing lines + 100 writing lines = 300 bizarre shapes. Upon first glance, the white space between the rivers appeared to me as contorted stalactites, or a row of pillars from an ancient roman construct. Even once it’s clear that each twisting river line should be observed as a single entity, the labeling is such that it’s hard to tell which river it belongs to. If all this graphic needed to express was the compared lengths of these rivers, they could have simplified the information and only labeled what was completely necessary. As it is, they should be spread out, and perhaps each river and its labels should alternate in color. The mountains should be removed to give the graphic more breathing room.

EmilyW.R01

I found the first reading to be very interesting. It was very informative which is important when we are talking about information. The history of graphs, charts and maps was unknown to me before reading this article and I'm glad that this was the first reading we had to set the history in our minds and inform us how this whole process of information design was derived.

The one designer in particular that stoked my interest was E. J. Marey. I think he was very ahead of his time with the graphics he used. They are so timeless and beautiful that even today we are seeing these types of graphics to depict information. The extremely visual based time lapse graphics describe exactly what is going on with out any use of words or numbers.

Another graph that stood out to me was the map of 1864 French wine exports by Charles Joseph Minard. It's not as extensive in the quantity of data as, say, the universe grid, but I think it's done in a really beautiful and successful way. It is simple and easy to know what is going on. The line weight is directly representational of the data as it's flowing across the ocean to the far off lands that the wine is flowing to. Its also kind of wonderful to see this map that was done almost 150 years ago was showing something that is happening today at massive scale. It's amazing that globalization was even happening that long ago with so much less technology. They were sailing ships using only wind power across the whole world to bring people wine!

It is amazing what people can do with information. I think it is so awesome how all of these things were drawn by hand! It will be interesting to see what this class holds for the rest of the four weeks. I know it is very important to understand at least a brief history of a technique or tool before you begin to utilize it but I do hope we get to explore some of these practices applied to our time and society and our data. Modern practice is what it's all about but you also have to understand what has been done already so that you can modify it and alter it into new and beautiful ways of displaying information.

GordonGR02

Information Design ~ Day 2, diving in to data. In our ongoing discovery, we look to find the balance between the information to be communicated and the visual form in which it is laid out.

We may as well start our in depth study with what many consider to be the best statistical graphic ever drawn. The chart was conceived by E.J. Marey in 1861. It is still in its original language – French and tells the historically accurate tale of Napoleon’s Russian Campaign of 1812. This epic march included large numbers of troops, vast terrain, horrific frigid temperatures and countless burned out homes and gruesome battles. I wonder how the 422,000 souls of the French troops might view their ordeal boiled down to a single chart. One of the reasons that the chart is so universally respected is that it has no language barrier. While the printed words may be “Greek” to me (sorry) – the graphic techniques used make the information easily discerned. One can almost travel the trail seeing the ever shrinking line of men dwindle as city after city are marched upon. Frigid killer river crossings along with the battles bring sharp, harsh alterations to the line as it continues to thin along its course. Let’s not forget that this army was also fighting Mother Nature. Thanks to the ingenious incorporation of temperature rules, the chart viewer can also “feel” the harsh winter conditions throughout the campaign. In the end, 412,000 souls were lost as only 10,000 troops made it back to the final destination. A heavy load of information to sum up in a chart – this is truly a model to marvel. I must admit that I did miss out on a key bit of information. I totally overlooked the 6,000 troops that broke off early and rejoined the ranks at the end. Now a workable chart designer must take into consideration communicating to the “lowest denominator” and for the French designer that would be me, an American (ha). That being said, I do think the two black lines representing “re-joining” troops are a bit lost under the girth of the beige advancing troop line. A possible option may have included a “dotted line” to aid the viewer in following that “hidden” bit of troop movement. A bold constructive criticism from a student… but I’m just saying! My observation does however dove tail nicely into the TED topic of the day.

Dave McCandless presented his take on data and information graphics in a 2010 TED video. He mentioned that we all demand visualization in our information now – by the sheer fact that we are bombarded with it every day in every media. So I guess that gives me the right to rank on good ‘ole E.J.Marey! In all honesty – his vision and what he communicated in the chart created back in1861 is one for the ages. Fast forward (back) to Dave McCandless and his views on data. He brings a deep consciousness to his style of information design. Why is it that the “word” guys always think it’s so easy to be a designer? I believe he sells himself short on the fact that he is amply gifted in both disciplines…. and he just makes it look easy. Among his cool chart examples, he also threw out a fair amount of interesting insight nuggets. One of my favorites was when he said “turn information into a landscape that you can explore with your eyes”. I will be following this guy.

The reading assignment for the day was equally interesting. Layering and Separation are more like solid rules than concepts. It’s hard for me to not think of all the principles as they relate to all the design challenges across all mediums. Then again, that’s not a bad thing. Focusing on charts and the examples in the reading clearing indicated to me that engineers should stick to engineering. The text also touched on the power of the “line” and the rhythm of focus. Why certain charts work and why they look just plain wrong. Type placement was lightly touched on – a discipline sure to be expanded in the coming days. And finally color was also broached. All these tools will find their proper place in prioritizing the issues involved with solving information design challenges. Looking forward to it…

Andrew+M+R02

The Reading, Writing and Income map we looked at today was an example information design overload. The map presented very interesting comparisons but the use of three discrete data sets that, when combined, produce an output of thousands or millions of colors was too much for me to think about. As much as I enjoy direct comparisons and overlays, I also like to control how many information sources I am engaging with at any given moment. The ability to toggle specific demographics would allow the ability to bring the noise down to a level the can cope with. As for me in particular, viewing only two combined overlays at a time would have been much more readable because the color mixing of only two sources would have produced a more limited output that I could recognize faster.

Our reading also introduced how overlays are useful and can reveal “hidden” data that would be otherwise overlooked. The image of multiple black circles with a rectangle is a good example of overlay or how arrangement can reveal hidden data. The circles with their grey wedges could be seen as an overlay or could be arranged in such a way that an apparent rectangle is created. This example illustrates that depending on how visual elements are arranged can determine what information we can extract from them; had these circles not been arranged as such, the rectangle would never become apparent or maybe after arranging them in this order, it becomes a distraction as the rectangular shape could itself be noise.

The 1 + 1 = 3 rule shows that the arrangement of visual elements and the space directly around them can distort a graphical presentation. This rule not only keeps data from becoming distorted but also inadvertently makes data more desirable to read. Stark contrast of black and white is always very loud and sometimes feels threatening; even fully saturated colors, while eye catching from a far, can become overpowering on close examination. When creating a graphic, immediately using black, white or fully saturated colors limits an artist. These colors mark the end of a palette, once you’ve used black you’ve effectively said that you will go no further, as there is nothing darker than black, the same can be said for saturated colors as red can only get so red. Starting in the middle and leaving room for the unknowns and last minutes will always save you from having to go back and reorganized your palette.

The simplest yet most effective example was the train schedule, where the grid lines overpower the data. Often we become so concerned with organizing the data that we forget the data could potentially organize itself. The flush left edge of a paragraph naturally creates a straight, vertical line while data such as time in the form of hours and minutes will always occupy the same space, producing a natural grid when in table form. Taking this into consideration, the designer can sometimes forgo the need to separate data with line and color that could ultimately become noise and could instead play off the inherent figure ground relationship already present.

...I duno if this class will be complete without a Hans Rosling video.

Paul-A-R02

Envisioning Information

Layering and Separation

This section dealt with reducing noise in a data graphic through the methods of layering and separating visual elements so that complex and detailed data could be clearly represented. Many of the suggestions for good data representation correspond to techniques employed in all visual art. The theories of Joseph Albers in regard to the effects of juxtaposed colors, lines and shapes were quoted several times, usually in regard to the negative effects they introduce into a data graphic in the form of noise. Bright colors that visually interact with each other are frowned upon because they create visual artifacts that distract from the data. However, the use of a small amount of highly saturated color in an otherwise “quiet” color scheme is actually recommended and considered one of the design secrets of classical cartographers in highlighting data detail. The use of subdued colors is promoted as a good way to define objects in a data map without distracting from the data content.

Another method for layering data is the value or lightness/darkness of a line or object. Gray staff lines work well for musical composition for example since they place the emphasis on the musical notation. The rule of thumb seems to be that the more contrast there is between the data and the ground that it is placed on, the less noise there will be. Conversely dark lines and fields on a white background are to be avoided. I especially liked the statement that “Dark gridlines are chartjunk” not only because it was informative about the effect of distracting lines in the presentation of data, but that the author seems to feel so strongly about it that he created his own derogatory term to describe it. His suggestion to eliminate grid lines in charts and tables wherever possible would best be taken to heart.

The discussion about negative space in a graphic design was very informative. Empty areas can draw our attention because they provide a contrast to the other areas of the graphic image. They can also provide an area where other objects will visually interact. The example was given of a grid of heavily framed boxes with spaces between them. At the corners of the boxes flashing circles appear as a visual anomaly that will create a strong distraction to the data presented. Similarly, putting boxes around data creates a negative space in the area between the box and the data leading to noise. The use of negative space can be a powerful tool in the physical presentation of data. The graphic examples of objects that are implied by the objects that surround them is very instructive. I wonder if the same could be done with the data that is presented. If a graphic were made presenting data on the American attitudes toward the world’s religions and some of the major religions were not included, would that make a strong statement? I think it could if there were some way to show the gap.

Small Multiples

This section was not clear to me at first. I could understand the train light example with the multiple images of the train and different light configurations for comparison. The Kanji writing example seemed more like a tutorial than a presentation of data. Perhaps I am placing limitations on my way of thinking due to the examples that have been used so far. It is a presentation of information after all. The same could be said for the Dighton Writing Rock example. I am not sure what the point of the comparisons are except that different persons represented the images in different ways. The time scale does not seem to be an important factor relating to the data. I would agree with the author that the comparison of the mountains of the world was not as well done as the rivers. There is no common baseline for the mountain ranges with which to compare their heights, something which would be of greater interest than their shape.

JenniferL_R02

In today's reading we learned about the importance of clarity and legibility. If an infographic is not clear or readable due to noise or some other interference, it is ineffective at presenting its data. We were presented with the rule "1 + 1 = 3" reguarding positive and negative spaces. Negative spaces may be clear of any content but our eyes do see them as part of the space. Negative space that is treated as such usually transforms into the equivalent of fuzzy, static speaker noise for our eyes. We were demonstrated with multiple examples of how this happens and how it can be fixed.

One example that hit home with me was the mentioning of music notation paper. I took piano lessons when I was younger and always noticed legibility differences between different sheet sets. At the time I didn't quite understand what those differences were, but as our reading pointed out, thinner, grayer notation lines make it easier to read music versus lines that are the same color and strength as the notes.

Another great example was the one of the map. One version was black and white and the information got lost in itself. Another version made up of subtle color layers gave the map depth and, in turn, clarity. It was amazing to see how much color really affected the effectiveness of the graphic. But our reading also pointed out that color is only this effective when used correctly. For the colored map, the background called for a lighter, tan color that resembled earth. It brought the landmass to the front of view, while a light blue pulled bodies of water closer to the background. If the ground would have been left white, I think it would have been perceived as negative space and the colors that overlapped it would be almost too bold or loud. The chapter agreed: "...only on a quiet background can a colorful theme be constructed." This was true for the map, but we were also directed to look at small uses of color. In the example that portrayed traffic guard signals, we were again introduced to a black and white copy along with a redrawing. In this redrawing, small detailed lines that were unnecessary and confusing were eliminated and replaced with color. The arrows became red and the traffic wands a bold yellow. It was a subtle change but a valuable one in that it simplified the image but accentuated the most important areas in the otherwise black and wise graphic.

We were also presented with multiple examples of grids and how different approaches to them can be better than others. The reading seems to suggest that sometimes negative space in between groups of data in a grid structure is more important than the actual grid itself. Reducing the weight of a grid structure can open up our eyes more to the data rather than the grid, and our brains can understand this setup without bold, constricting lines. The relationship between positive and negatives spaces might demand more attention in an infographic than other forms of art or design, because of its effect on interpreting the data.

Kate+D+R02

Since I was not in class for the first day, today was really my introduction to what this course is all about. I am pleasantly surprised that it’s so interesting! Previous class work has led me to an interest in mapping but I’ve never had the chance to fully explore it. I find mapping to be a beautiful art form and not just an informative tool.

The video we watched in class today was interesting too in how it showed graphs that when the content was missing we could make assumptions about what the graph was depicting. Most of the time all the guesses were wrong and the graph was something completely absurd, which correlated to our discussion of graph variables not having any direct meaning to one another and seeking out information to fill in the unknown. The concept that humans are so afraid of what they do not know that they attempt to find some direct correlation between possibly unrelated items is almost comical to me. People will believe anything when it is presented to them in a factual fashion.

Todays reading about separation and layering is important in the relief of noise and therefore in effective communication. The quote “undifferentiated, unlayered surface results, jumbled up, blurry, incoherent, chaotic with unintentional optical art. What we have here is failure to communicate” spoke very clearly about the whole point of having graphs, which is effective communication. Looking at the different examples of maps really showed how proper layering and background tones makes a difference in the ease of understanding a map or graph.

The section in the reading about weight and negative areas was also interesting because it is something we encounter everyday. The use of borders and illusory borders is strategic in effective design and marketing and can be detrimental when over-used. It seems like every advertisement or logo is scattered with outlining boxes and borders in an attempt to stylize the product and ends up over-stimulating. I’m not a graphic designer but as a photographer I am interested in how graphics play in to effective advertising. I now realize how things like text size, font, color and placement can be the difference between an effective graph and an unusable graph.

paula R01

Graphical Excellence

What is graphical excellence? The simplest answer would be the saying “A picture is worth a thousand words”. The author actually alludes to this saying when comparing a time-series graph of House of Representatives postage spending before an election and a newspaper article of 700 words discussing the same topic. The goal of data graphics is to represent large amounts of data in a clear, easily understood manner. In a way it is a way of displaying data that corresponds to the right brain or non-verbal capabilities of the human mind.

Mental development also seems to have played a part in the development of graphic representation systems. Geographical maps have a long history going back thousands of years before the present era. It is perhaps easier for the mind to make a physical representation of something that is already physical than it is to represent statistical measurements or the passage of time. Isolated examples of the latter did not occur until the Middle Ages and did not become commonplace until about the time of the Industrial Revolution in the West.

It is interesting to note the gap of 800 years between the planetary movements timeline and the next known example of such time series depictions as indicated in the article. It would seem to indicate that these ideas are the products of exceptional individuals and not the result of a long tradition. This gap may also be accounted for by the restricted dissemination of such materials, perhaps even their suppression by the powers that be, as well as by the limited number of people who would have been educated enough to understand the data presented. Certainly a person would need to combine the talents of both the artist and the scientist to create such graphic representation of data and such persons may have been hard to come by at the time. Is our current emphasis on the sciences to the detriment of art programs perhaps leading to our own dark age in some aspect of our cultural and intellectual development?

While graphic representations have their advantages, they also have their limitations. As with any process, what you get out of it will correspond to the quality of what you put into it so that graphic representations are dependent first and foremost on the quality of the data that is collected or measured. Even with that, however, graphic representations are limited by our ability to see and understand what we see. A data map printed in black and white will be limited by the degrees of gray that we will be able to easily differentiate when creating symbols used in the map. If data ranges are broadened as a result, a symbol representing data in its high range will seem completely different than a symbol representing data in its low range although the values may not be that far apart. Furthermore, our mental processes will attempt to understand visual elements in terms of objects we already know so that lines will appear or patterns will be grouped into circles or rectangles that do not exist in the data. The mind will fill in the visual gaps to suit its predispositions.

The use of more refined categories is not always better either. The graphic example discussed in the article regarding the export of wine from France to several other countries using lines whose thickness represented to amount of wine exported and the direction of the line indicating the countries to which the wine was exported was very clear and easy to understand. However, if more products were added and more countries of export were depicted, the graphic would soon become incomprehensible even if countries and products were color-coded. Determining which method of representation would work with a particular set of data is more of an art than a science.

As Marey’s man in black velvet and Duchamp’s Nude Descending a Staircase illustrate, data collection and representation could serve as a basis for creating artworks. Many of the graphical data representations in the article have an artistic quality in themselves. It would be interesting to explore enhancing the graphic representations as artworks completely divorced from their practical uses as representations of data.

Kate+D+R01

As a newcomer to the art of information graphics I have never put much thought into the history of graphs and maps. Our culture is constantly bombarded with marketing strategies that include brightly colored graphs flashing rapidly supposedly conveying much needed information. That was as much as I knew about graphs. The use of graphs and maps transformed our ability to convey information quickly and effectively without the use of overprinting and made it easier to understand important information. I don’t have much of a background with graphs and my understanding of them is limited so reading this article was a bit difficult for me. I am strictly used to graphs and maps as a fast way to show me information. I am interested in how so many different forms of graphs and maps will depict the same information but some are much easier to understand than others. It is very easy for me to be overwhelmed by the intensity of some graphs and information will get lost but the time series form of graphing stood out to me from this article. We’ve all been introduced to time series graphs at one point and I was surprised to learn about the drawbacks of time series graphing and the information it can convey. When you add in spatial graphics to the time series the graph is given another dimension and able to depict more information. Before reading this article I had no idea that graphs went so far back in history so reading about the complexity of Minard’s graph of Napoleon’s army was eye opening. The fact that six variables were plotted and the graph is still recognizable and understandable is impressive to me. I am looking forward to learning more about information graphics and getting a better grasp their functions.

NicoleS-R01

The chapter on Graphical Excellence by Tufte explains how graphical maps are visual tools through which multiple sets of data or ideas can be conveyed to create new meaning or trains of thought. I particularly noted his quote on how the map’s graphics reveal data and invite the viewer to investigate the data rather than consider the designs execution or technique. It was also interesting to see the direct juxtaposition of the Chinese map and the Cosmographia by Petrus Apianus. The Chinese map appears to have been executed using brush and ink with great detail and minimal noise. The later map has some letterpress and decorative elements; making is seem more inviting and prompting investigation. In Edmond Halley’s 1686 map stroke variation in size and placement is used to portray the historic Trade Winds. The famous dot map of Dr. Snow helped to identify the source of the cholera outbreak in central London, connecting seemingly unrelated events back to its source. The importance of accurate and depth of data is repeated throughout the reading as well, if the data is lacking then the graphics will struggle as well. Charts can act as a means to create relationships between two seemingly unrelated topics such as the Playfair map, which compared wheat prices to mechanical labor. When designing graphs that move through space and time, create consistent graphics in order to maintain the focus on the data variations.

Overall the fact that the majority of these maps were all hand made in their time is astounding. The amount of accuracy created without modern technology reveals the persistence and patience of the creators. One has to wonder from what means they gathered their data and how these maps were shared throughout their land. Initially, I image the ultimate control of these maps being created had to rely on the financing and resources of the reigning leader. It’s not entirely surprising that it took so long for statistics to be added to the geographical maps since the financial gain of such a project must have seen fleeting. The foreign leaders main concern, I would image is mapping out their own territories and the territories of their enemies in order to keep track of the unknown to better prepare themselves. Also, the collection of such data for statistical maps must have been difficult with the expansiveness of the territories and the difficulty with retaining accurate information. As Tufte had beaten with a dead horse, inaccurate information will create uninformative maps which is essentially a waste of time and resources.

Hyrom-S-R02

I have always found the data format of graphs to be an excellent display of information. The describing of detail in forms of lines, numbers, bars etc. glued my eyes to the presentation presented to me. This confirmation of my interest in the descriptive information in front of me was a moment gained through the great execution of concepts and details. Now, how is this made possible? The format of a graph should be clear through clear factors such as description, exploration, tabulation, and decoration. Also a proper graph shows data, boldly inducing the reader to think about the substance of its content and not just its method of presentation. A good graph avoid distortion, present many numbers in small space, make large data sets coherent, encourage the eyes of the viewer to compare different components of data, and reveal data at several detail levels from broad overview to the finest structure. When all these important pieces of information are included in a graph, communication between a viewer and a piece of paper, or digital format, can be practical. With this in mind, after going through the article, I learned that there are several key components of possibility that brings an excellent graph into existence. These formats of designs include: data maps, time-series, space-time narrative designs, and relational graphics. To expand on what I’m trying to explain, I will give a brief descriptive opinionated analysis of each design. First off, the data maps design usually display patterns of high volume of data in small space broken down into very fine detail. These types of designs are very interesting to me because sometimes they can have very visual composition that can keep an eye glued to its presentation. Think of how many times you saw a map, and repeatedly looked at it with points of interest. The next design, time-series, is one most fluent in graphic design. Why is this so? This is made possible because a time-series format have great strength and efficiency of interpretation through the instillation of the regular harmony of the inclusion, if decided, of seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, centuries, or millennia. As a matter of fact, in my opinion, time-series is greatly appreciated by viewers because time is an essential that everyone can relate to and have persistent familiarity with everyday. Therefore using this device in a graph is very understandable and easy to observe. After reading the article, I also learned that the design of narrative graphics of space and time is one that’s very effective. It is effective because it enhances the explanation of the power contained in time-series displays. The goal of this type of structure may be to add special dimensions to the design of a graph so that the data are moving over space as well as overtime. This design creates an even greater design opportunity because the presentation of these sources can be visually manipulated. And last but not least, the relational graphics design is a significant one. This is so because not only has it been in rotation for thousands of years, but it replaces the typical latitude-longitude coordinates of a map with more abstract measures not based on geographical explanation. All of these types of designs and the important content of graphs help make life easier through careful organization of presentable data.

RachelHR02

I just realized I did the wrong reading.

I learned a great deal from this reading, much of which is helpful to my field of art education. I just recently finished teaching an 8 week unit at Hartford University School on "Community and Personal Mapping." The unit was integrated with an 8th grade Language Arts class and to satisfy National Standards in Language Arts we included multiple writing components where students were to utilize multiple typefaces. We spent time looking at various typographic styles and we explored several maps from traditional to experimental. The part in this reading that was particularly relatable to the lesson was the 4 diagrams of the Rhein River where text was placed poorly on the first three and most correctly on the last diagram. Before this reading I had never really looked at a map to admire the careful placement of labels and how vital that placement is in terms of reading and understanding the map. A map filled with rivers, roads, and hundreds of other landmarks could get quite confusing if the text is haphazardly placed. At Hartford, the students made blind contour maps of Milwaukee and filled the interior with memorable landmarks using various styles of type; however, I did not even think to teach that the placement of the text is just as important as the font that you choose. Now after reading this article I think I have a lot better understanding and awareness of text placement and proportion, particularly in conjunction with graphics or images. I plan on incorporating aspects of this reading into this unit for my student teaching as it will make it richer and even more multidimensional.

In the teacher samples and bulletin boards I will inevitably produce I now know keys and rules to making the information easier for students to understand by using techniques of layering and separation.

JenniferL_R01

"A silly theory means a silly graphic." I completely agree with this quote from our reading. But I think it's also important to point out: a silly graphic means a ruined theory. If you google infographics, you'll come across plenty of successful and unsuccessful modern infographics. The successful ones draw you in, yet still present the information in a way that is legible, logical, and understandable. Successful infographics act as a guide, helping you see quantities and relationships you may have not been able to imagine on your own. After all, the main point of this reading was to point out that a visualization of data is more valuable and understandable than data on it's own. On the other hand, the unsuccessful infographics seem to be "trying too hard." They seem more concerned with "looking cool" than presenting the information in a way that is helpful. And often times these graphics do succeed at drawing you in with their good looks, but once you try to figure out what you're looking at, you become confused and sidetracked. A boring, old school bar graph might be more successful than a modern, highly attractive, yet highly confusing infographic. I can only conclude from these personal observations that the design and the information of an infographic must work together. Design is important, but legibility and logic are still the foundation of success. I think the modern infographic designer has to remember that in the end, it is more about the information than the aesthetics. With this being said, infographics seem to be ever changing and ever evolving, and there are plenty of good looking, creative, AND successful infographics out there. The challenge is to create great design that will stand out among the competition without sacrificing the data it is supposed to carry. I think Playfair understood this concept long before the boom of modern infographics. If you look at his graph regarding mechanic wages, wheat prices, and British kings and queens, he's presented the information extremely well. He's also used color, shading, and decoration to help maximize the legibility and appeal of the information. It is an early attempt at mixing information and design worth applauding.