Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Specht.N.R0304
Personal Timeline
For my personal timeline I decided to gather information on the places and people I’ve lived with over the past five years while in college at UW-Milwaukee. Some of the more notable differences that I wanted to take not of are the varying numbers of roommates, gender, orientation, means of transportation etc. In my sketches I also draw sketches of the buildings themselves from memory, as well as heavily traveled paths from the home location (generally work/friends houses/ school). Another item that’s missing in the tables is the relationship of the roommates to one another, either in the past or present. I found this to be difficult to portray in a linear fashion since that’s not how any of these people met one another. Lastly, the reasons for why each roommates either moves in or out is omitted from the tables, since I felt like it wouldn’t fit in that structure. I’ll make sure to post my sketches to the blog once I find the sketchbook I drew them in!
Narrate Space and Time
The Tufte’s reading on narrative on space and time definitely hit home since I’ve tried to make sense of “space data” graphically before…I had trouble placing the data into an actually tangible space and in the most accurate way possible which includes lots and lots of math. Luckily Galileo existed and charted Jupiter so we didn’t have to. The modern version of the planet orbits was done in a minimalist fashion with as little noise as possible. The original Galileo versions however still attempted to plot similar information but made more artist choices for whatever reasons. The maps are rendered to look machine-like and even have contrasting typefaces. The reading goes on to discuss the continuous need to practice good typesetting by creating visual hierarchies with a purpose. It ends with the investigation of the correlation of William Playfair’s treatment of information graphics to writing music. At their very core both the information and music connotations act as two different means of telling a story. Playfair’s method of breaking above the grid is similar to that of a note above a staff but also acts as a means to create visual drama.
umesh + D+ R05
Links & Causal Arrows: Ambiguity in Action
Cubism and abstract art by Alfred Barr is historical chart illustrating the development of various movements in arts. Its composition is mainly words and arrows with two colors black and red. The colors differentiate influences of cubism and abstract art, and the size of the text varies as historic relevance. The time line is from top to bottom at the edges.
It summarizes the 45years of art in 80 words and 51 arrows. The arrows play vital role showing sequence and directional that the art was influenced. These arrows draw spectator’s eye movement and controls over the whole story. The reading clearly demonstrates the importance of arrows, what do the arrows mean? By comparing three images one original cubism and abstract art, second deleting all the arrows in original art. Here the second image without the network of arrows is compared to cubist influenced poetry of Guillaume Appollinare’s Calligrammes. The art chart losses its soul, without arrows.
The other art is of Ad Reinhardt’s ‘How to look at Modern art in America’. This was inspired by art chart. Here he composes with words (artists, influences, styles) as tree, starting bottom of roots as base for historical roots of arts and upwards as tree trunk, branches and the leaves. Here the flow of words is in natural order using satirical, critical, joking approach.
The last page of reading has 3 maps, which has varieties of lines clearly telling its own meaning distinguishing its function, services, water features, transportation systems, important boundaries. These lines are clear from context and have greater richness than the art history charts and network drawings.
Today’s class exercise of understanding the object was interesting in manner, how the information could be conveyed in a small number of pages for assembling the product with the use of minimum words, it tells the instructions in diagrammatic manner, the steps, tools and installation process.
KarenR_R05
I was struck by Michael Baxandall's quote on influence. He very eloquently describes what seems to be the greatest problem with Barr's art chart. Barr's chart suggests that changes in artistic styles occur in one direction, as if they are all stepping-stones toward an ultimate goal “impoverishing the means of differentiation.” The arrows are supposed to suggest influence, but they read as suggesting cause and effect. I liked Baxandall’s idea of reversing the action of influence, reversing the cause and the effect. It is a more accurate description of what happens when someone or something is influenced, at least in art. Perhaps Barr’s chart would have been better without arrows, using only lines to express connections and change. Nevertheless, this chart was good for the context it was being used in and seemed to achieve it’s intended goals.
I enjoyed Reinhardt’s chart more. It would not be appropriate for the catalogue cover of an art show at a museum. It’s just more stimulating and rewards you more as you inspect it. The tree is a reliable and familiar metaphor for history. I think it’s more accurate to think of those that came before you as roots rather than influences. I like that it includes more names than Barr’s chart did, and the spare leaves are a nice touch (the tree of art is still growing!). It is lacking, however, in indication of style or time-period. Color would really add a lot too.
GordonGR05
Information Design ~ Day 6 I find myself hovering between the two extremes of design idiocracy and fine art self infatuation.
Our class discussion and group breakout session revolved around the cerebral dissection of several IKEA product assembly/installation manuals. Each group, consisting of 4-5 intelligent, college level individuals was given the task of discerning the direction renderings and thought process from the manufacturer. The simple, almost hieroglyphic illustrations, for the most part conveyed the intended messages. I would have to say that for the Swedish company, that was a victory in “universal” imagery – in and of itself. Unfortunately for IKEA, the methodology and informational design practices are not consistently practiced across its own product lines. The inconsistencies create confusion and even worse, dissatisfied customers. A subculture of IKEA haters has actually taken root on the web. IKEA may have “dumbed” themselves right down the toilet. Hope they have an instruction manual for that!
In today’s reading, Links and Causal Arrows: Ambiguity in Action, I have to say I find our author, Tufte incredibly overbearing. He uses the chart designed by Alfred Barr, Cubism and Abstract Art, as the end all example of all that is right in fine art and design. He blathers on and on about the ingenious use of arrows and the paragraphs of insight that they hold. I almost thought this guy was Barr’s rep for as much kissing up as was going on. In the midst of all his overstated fluff, I did see an incredible example of graphic design. Now granted, Barr had an inside track on landing the gig - seeing as how he was the Director of the Museum…good thing there was no Sarbanes-Oxley at the time! Barr’s chart, as Tufte so verbosely stated “served as a beautiful cover for the catalog, a table of contents for the show, an organizing history of the art displayed in the museum and a symbol of the entire enterprise”. Not bad for a cocktail napkin full of chicken scratch and arrowisms! And another thing, how ironic is it that the Barr chart has no bars!!! In all seriousness, Tufte needs to get his gush factor reset. I believe there is still plenty more to learn from this learned designer and his views on the importance of great information design. Let the next chapter begin…
Our class discussion and group breakout session revolved around the cerebral dissection of several IKEA product assembly/installation manuals. Each group, consisting of 4-5 intelligent, college level individuals was given the task of discerning the direction renderings and thought process from the manufacturer. The simple, almost hieroglyphic illustrations, for the most part conveyed the intended messages. I would have to say that for the Swedish company, that was a victory in “universal” imagery – in and of itself. Unfortunately for IKEA, the methodology and informational design practices are not consistently practiced across its own product lines. The inconsistencies create confusion and even worse, dissatisfied customers. A subculture of IKEA haters has actually taken root on the web. IKEA may have “dumbed” themselves right down the toilet. Hope they have an instruction manual for that!
In today’s reading, Links and Causal Arrows: Ambiguity in Action, I have to say I find our author, Tufte incredibly overbearing. He uses the chart designed by Alfred Barr, Cubism and Abstract Art, as the end all example of all that is right in fine art and design. He blathers on and on about the ingenious use of arrows and the paragraphs of insight that they hold. I almost thought this guy was Barr’s rep for as much kissing up as was going on. In the midst of all his overstated fluff, I did see an incredible example of graphic design. Now granted, Barr had an inside track on landing the gig - seeing as how he was the Director of the Museum…good thing there was no Sarbanes-Oxley at the time! Barr’s chart, as Tufte so verbosely stated “served as a beautiful cover for the catalog, a table of contents for the show, an organizing history of the art displayed in the museum and a symbol of the entire enterprise”. Not bad for a cocktail napkin full of chicken scratch and arrowisms! And another thing, how ironic is it that the Barr chart has no bars!!! In all seriousness, Tufte needs to get his gush factor reset. I believe there is still plenty more to learn from this learned designer and his views on the importance of great information design. Let the next chapter begin…
AndreaLR05
The diagram about the advancement of art styles made for the exhibition "Cubism and Abstract Art" was visually pleasing to me. This might be because the now seemingly "vintage" fonts and faded colors used in the chart are trendy now.
Flow charts are kind of fun. They are easy to follow and easily "flow", as their title suggests. With a time span of 45 years, and 80 words with 51 arrows, this chart is quite compact and well done. That's a lot of information to organize.
There is criticism in the article about the arrows only going one way, and not referencing that movements affected each other, not just in one direction. I don't necessarily agree with with this idea, I don't think the viewer is looking that hard into the graphic. It was made in reference to a show that was happening, it wasn't the main focus.
With that in mind, I found it strange that the flow chart was referred to as "beautiful", when it is an info graphic that can be criticized for not portraying the information correctly. It is pleasing and easy to look at, but I really don't see it on the same level as fine art, and I don't think it's possible to appreciate it in the same way because it is so scientific. It has a very specific answer that the viewer is supposed to come to a conclusion with.
Flow charts are kind of fun. They are easy to follow and easily "flow", as their title suggests. With a time span of 45 years, and 80 words with 51 arrows, this chart is quite compact and well done. That's a lot of information to organize.
There is criticism in the article about the arrows only going one way, and not referencing that movements affected each other, not just in one direction. I don't necessarily agree with with this idea, I don't think the viewer is looking that hard into the graphic. It was made in reference to a show that was happening, it wasn't the main focus.
With that in mind, I found it strange that the flow chart was referred to as "beautiful", when it is an info graphic that can be criticized for not portraying the information correctly. It is pleasing and easy to look at, but I really don't see it on the same level as fine art, and I don't think it's possible to appreciate it in the same way because it is so scientific. It has a very specific answer that the viewer is supposed to come to a conclusion with.
Paul-A-R06
When I first looked at the Barr drawing of Cubism and Abstract Art, it appeared to me that the two items at the bottom were the historical results of the other items above them and not as a way to divide the items above into one of the two categories. The graphic is a timeline starting at 1890 at the top and proceeding downward to 1935. Non-Geometrical Abstract Art and Geometrical Abstract Art would seem to have come into existence in 1934 judging by the visual elements. Perhaps a better method would have been to use a color background on each half of the graphic image to show that each of the –isms was part of one category or the other and to label the background.
The author’s observation that time was moving downward in the chart and that this downward movement was a metaphor for abstract art heading to the ‘dead end’ of the art museum was interesting. Visuals can have meanings that are not consciously intended but are a result of our natural human preconceptions. Down is bad, up is good. His explanation of the one-way direction of the arrows further reinforced the inevitability of the decline. Once you establish an idea, other objects can be interpreted in such a way as to support it.
I think the key point of the article was the statement that the sameness of a visual element implies sameness of what the visual element represents. Barr used different size typefaces to indicate the importance of the various art movements. Reinhardt was more democratic when creating his parody: all of the artists’ names are written in the same type style. The artists got a larger leaf depending on the length of their last names. Only the names of Braque, Matisse and Picasso on the trunk of the tree show any attempt at valuation.
The opposite of the sameness maxim was well illustrated by the differentiated lines of the indices for the geographic maps. That lines should be light to avoid moiré vibrations and optical clutter is a point well taken.
The author’s observation that time was moving downward in the chart and that this downward movement was a metaphor for abstract art heading to the ‘dead end’ of the art museum was interesting. Visuals can have meanings that are not consciously intended but are a result of our natural human preconceptions. Down is bad, up is good. His explanation of the one-way direction of the arrows further reinforced the inevitability of the decline. Once you establish an idea, other objects can be interpreted in such a way as to support it.
I think the key point of the article was the statement that the sameness of a visual element implies sameness of what the visual element represents. Barr used different size typefaces to indicate the importance of the various art movements. Reinhardt was more democratic when creating his parody: all of the artists’ names are written in the same type style. The artists got a larger leaf depending on the length of their last names. Only the names of Braque, Matisse and Picasso on the trunk of the tree show any attempt at valuation.
The opposite of the sameness maxim was well illustrated by the differentiated lines of the indices for the geographic maps. That lines should be light to avoid moiré vibrations and optical clutter is a point well taken.
Sam K R06
One man tried to condense the history of modern art into one appealing chart that could fit on a gallery catalog cover. All things considered, I think he did a fine job representing a vast, detailed history with a timeline, some arrows and some words.
However, the fact that this was shown at a modern art museum and used as a supplement to their exhibition makes the simplicity of this chart almost insulting. A chain of events did indeed occur through the development of western art, but inspiration is not something that can be mapped with just a few arrows. As Tufte points out, the creator of this chart didn’t even include arrows which suggest the way artists who created in the same time period affected each others’ works. How could one not be inspired by one’s peers? Tufte is also accurate in his assessment of the sameness of the arrows. To suggest that these influences all occurred in the same way is also oversimplifying a complex process.
It’s not that I think this is a bad graphic—not at all. For someone who is not trained in the arts or art history, this could be extremely helpful in understanding abstract art. However, this was made for display in a modern art museum, which attracts an audience that would already understand most of what’s displayed here. It therefore comes off as oversimplified and even insulting.
Hyrom-S-R06
The Cubism and Abstract Art chart in my opinion is one that dealt heavily with its sources. These sources, cubism and abstraction are heavily depicted in the chart through line placement, organic line direction and cube like shapes. Also the inclusion of color in this chart adhered to the depiction of the representation being different from an average expression. Was this the goal of the designer or just an example of what can happen when one is heavily familiar with the content of his/her subject? However, I believe when these two combine, abstraction and cubism, an entire vivid presentation of art is created. Being that cubism and abstraction are expressions of art it’s only convenient that their representations be closely related to their subject. I also believe that this chart is deeply in order with the correct approach of representing the two expressions. The numbers are decent and in order, right along with the inclusion of the necessity of the red coloring. The red coloring not only matches the background color but also serves as a signature that the chart represents two essentials of the past art world linking down to the present. A perfect, informative reading not only depicts practical understanding and understanding but also takes another step into informative design.
Heidi M R03
In our reading it talks about the narrative of space and time, and how important graphs and charts can be, but not only that but that they are clear and to the point. The first example that was given was Galileo's observations of the stars and Jupiter. At first to him it seemed puzzeling that Jupiter was changing position, but after looking at the recordings of many days, he was then able to summize that it was because Jupiter was orbiting.
I think that graphs that show information in a simple way, are also very important to helping find new discoveries. If Galileo did not graph Jupiter and the star's it is possible that someone else might have and this discovery would have been later on, but since he did it in a clear manor we all were able to understand and make sense of them.
Later on in the reading it goes on to tell about map combination graphics. What I found to be the most interesting out of this was that the second map contained over 200 pages worth of information within it. It was able to show the space, but lacked a certain design element. There were so many different examples of Information Design presented in the later part of the reading. I feel that all of those examples were very successful. They not only conveyed both time and space, but held large amounts of data and the imagry used was very successful and added to the data in a possitive way.
Looking at these designs and thinking about designing our own charts at the same time helps us formulate what is a good design in information design, what can be left out, and what should be added to help the design. I found this reading to be especially helpful when looking back on my graph.
I think that graphs that show information in a simple way, are also very important to helping find new discoveries. If Galileo did not graph Jupiter and the star's it is possible that someone else might have and this discovery would have been later on, but since he did it in a clear manor we all were able to understand and make sense of them.
Later on in the reading it goes on to tell about map combination graphics. What I found to be the most interesting out of this was that the second map contained over 200 pages worth of information within it. It was able to show the space, but lacked a certain design element. There were so many different examples of Information Design presented in the later part of the reading. I feel that all of those examples were very successful. They not only conveyed both time and space, but held large amounts of data and the imagry used was very successful and added to the data in a possitive way.
Looking at these designs and thinking about designing our own charts at the same time helps us formulate what is a good design in information design, what can be left out, and what should be added to help the design. I found this reading to be especially helpful when looking back on my graph.
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