Week 3: Complex Simplicity – Big Data
Weekly learning objectives
By the end of this week you should be able to:
- Analyse examples of information design to understand the effectiveness of data visualisation.
- Contextualise five examples of information design to analyse their effectiveness at reflecting information about social, political and historical issues.
- Write a short synopsis about your research and conclusions in relation to your chosen piece of pre-selected information design.
- Develop, design and make a piece of editorial design utilising relevant tools, skills and technologies to reflect your writing and visual research.
- Reflect on the reference material provided in the lecture and elaborate further on your research journal.
- Collaborate through group discussions on the Ideas Wall.
Lecture introduction
Last week we looked at how typographic language and design can reflect the true identity of a town or city. This week we will introduce the role information design has to reveal new ways of seeing and understanding.
The lecture video below explores:
- The origins of information design and its ability to distill complex data into a simple visual form;
- How data visualisation has enabled and empowered audiences to understand highly complicated stories and reveal new insight – for example, interpreting a scientific theory or collaborating with engineers to envision new inventions;
- Evaluate the overall power of visual communication, to reveal new ways of seeing or understanding;
- The importance of information design in today’s technologically polluted landscape, and its ability to reveal the true story.
Harriet Ferguson
‘A picture paints a thousand words’
Lean & Agile method
Technology minimal, communication was basic
Cave paintings at Lascaux, France
Hieroglyphics, Egypt
Images show information and communication without words. Look at the Bayeux Tapestry, words are secondary – story told for illiterate people to follow understand.
Stained glass windows in churches, the scale to intimidate and awe visitors.
Using symbols to replace the words – our modern day equivalent is the Emoji perhaps?
A comic strip tells a simple story without the need for words.
Information semiotics
Sign shape means stop, green man means walk, etc.
Same but different…
Cartlidge Levine
Design Museum way finding based on Munich Olympics (again)
Simple – design at its best.
“If by simplifying you’ve lost clarity, you haven’t simplified.”
Massimo Vignelli
Harry beck – underground map – a diagram, not a map has provided a worldwide influence
Changing complex information into its most basic visualisation.
Infographics:
They’re not just a modern thing…
Charles Joseph Minard
Statistical graphics – Napoleon on Russia – numbers would be too much to digest but being visual makes it easier to follow and understand.
John Snow – 1854.
Mapped the outbreak of Cholera in Soho, mapping the data of the epidemic brought him to the conclusion that the outbreak came from a water pump on Broad St. – using the info to find an unknown result.
Used by scientists and analysts to get their theories across without reams of data.
The Ikea Cookbook
Matched the flat-pack ‘ethos’ of Ikea: make it at home
Welcome collection: Can Graphic Design Save Your Life?
Infographics can provide people with lifesaving information.
Ebola virus info painted on walls for everyone to see and follow, avoiding 30 different language versions. ‘Iconograms’ (another phrase)
Modern day saturation of info creates a need for simplicity.
Monocle Magazine:
More interesting to take in than pages of text giving the same message.
Balance between form and function.
Technology aids by collecting and analysing data as well as animating said data.
Column 5: infographic on creating infographics.
‘A simple colour change makes comprehension almost instant.’
Also size, orientation, movement.
‘Your message is only as good as you ability to share it’ – doesn’t just apply to infographics.
Generative systems: Studio Greyworld 2010.
Stock Exchange visualisation – inverts theory and makes info less simple to follow.
Live data streams animated the balls for a 3d sculpture in the building atrium.
Onformative
Porche – data from racing events and creating digital and audio to share between 911 owners
Klarma Datawall
Info created throughout the day and shown on screen in reception – shows realtime info on company’s performance each day.
Week 3: Resources
Read | Watch | Listen
Information is Beautiful
McCandless, David (2008), Information is Beautiful, (New York: HarperCollins).
‘Death Spiral’ – descriptive title straight away, describes the diagram
‘Scale of Devastation’ – too simplified, compared to others have to check on the concept. First look doesn’t help explain the subject? – When should a shape replace/represent an image?
Does an image/icon add or distract from the data?
Hyperobjects: Philosophy and Ecology after the End of the World
Morton, Timothy (2013), ‘Chapter 1: What Are Hyperobjects? and Chapter 2: The Time of Hyperobjects’ in Hyperobjects: Philosophy and Ecology after the End of the World, (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press).
What Are Hyperobjects?
Still don’t know. Not the best read, just a book full of words… re-read-re-read-re-read to get the info… Gave up.
Analyzing Minard’s Visualisation Of Napoleon’s 1812 March
https://thoughtbot.com/blog/analyzing-minards-visualization-of-napoleons-1812-march
1812 – Needs a lot of explaining, clear once the sources are explained, maybe it’s clear on original rather than on-screen loss of definition?
The beauty of data visualisation
David McCandless, (2010)
https://www.ted.com/talks/david_mccandless_the_beauty_of_data_visualization?nolanguage%3Den%2529
‘Dataglut’
See the patterns and connections that matter.
$Billion o-gram
Meaningless without context.
See patterns and connections. Visualise it into an information map to follow.
Worlds Fears – Mountains out of Molehills.
Fears in the media over Time period
Video Games – data linked to global happenings, shootings, etc. bring confirm for the release of games – encouraging violence, eg.
The numbers/data show the pattern – then apply the design.
CV: jobs/work enjoyed vs not.
More of us demanding a visual aspect to information
A beautiful visualisation comes as a relief.
Language of the eye combined with language of the mind
Des-sensationalise data, show context, eg. USA’s military budget is the largest but look further. The country is the richest and therefore it’s bound to be the largest.
Compare as a % of it’s GDP, makes it the largest amount of money but not the largest budget. Take other data into consideration.
‘Let the dataset change your mindset’
Week 3: Workshop Challenge
The Challenge
This week we want you to analyse one of the pre-selected examples the document of information design to determine its effectiveness. Consider clarity, communication, message and the role of design in communicating the message to you. Be critical and write a synopsis about its effectiveness, which we want you to present as a piece for editorial design.
- Choose one of the five examples of information design provided.
- Analyse its effectiveness, the story revealed and the role both design theory and practice took in producing the work.
- Write a 500-word synopsis of your analysis in your research journal and include visual references and highlights of the piece examined.
- Create a piece of editorial design to portray your final synopsis and visual references.
1. Florence Nightingale: 1855 – The rose diagram
Clear, calming, not overwhelming with data to interpret. Change places of each rose so it runs in date order: 54-55 – 55-56
A simple key makes sense of the visual
Still (relevant/contemporary/makes sense/comprehensive (find the right word)) today.
But is there 500 words in it?
2. Charles Minard: Rough and Figurative Map representative of the year 1858
*Translated: The Emigrants of the World
The countries from where they depart and the ones where they arrive, drawn by Mr. Minard, Inspector General of Bridges and Roads in retirement, principally from the public records in “European Emigration” by Mr. A. Legoyt and the Merchant’s Magazine of New York.
Paris, 26 September 1862
Colours indicate the countries from where the Emigrants have left.
The numbers of Emigrants are represented by the width of the coloured zones, with one millimetre representing fifteen hundred Emigrants; they are also expressed by the numbers written across the zones of which the unit is one thousand Emigrants.*
Does it have a clear message?
Is the direction of flow given, which country flows onto which?
Combined diagram and map – map not ‘accurate’ but imagine images of the globe weren’t as common as now so didn’t really matter and doesn’t detract from the info shown.
3. Moon Landings, Accept & Proceed. Data visualisation.
Most inclined to analyse this one but just because of its visual – we’re not supposed to do that…
Although, subject-wise, space-freak or not, it does look the most interesting so far.
Simple, clear, interesting. Looks like vinyl records with hole in label.
White pinpoints the landing spot and the size of the circle represents the time spent there by the astronauts.
Visual overall like moon with craters.
Am assuming more recent the landing the closer to the top print layer?
Simplicity is absolute: a circle + data, no need for rockets or stars.
How did they decide on the radius of the circles? They’re all in-scale with each other but does the first size have a reason?
4. Accurat: Google searches from outside US during elections
Looks fun and engaging. Excitement of which side to choose first!
Clear instruction – continues to 2nd screen, user has to acknowledge they ‘got it’. Stops you clicking around at random before settling down to use it as intended.
(Recognise After Effects effect)
Easy navigation from one candidate to the other – don’t have to start from home page to see the other set of info.
Engages more interest from it’s view options: Blob, Atlas, Drops.
Good option to include the US for more comparison.
Can go into deeper detail or just play with overall stats.
Numbered results measure %’s active internet users, overcomes problem of population size dominating the data, ie. 67% of Canada’s users searched for Trump + TPP
Multiple ways to navigate for quick comparisons
Further detail about the search subjects are available by direct link to Google search result page.
5. Lives and Landscapes (Dunne & Raby). UMK – social cultural and ethical of emerging tech.
United Micro Kingdoms – hard not to judge visually on first look. Language putting me off: Digitarians, Bioliberals, Anarcho-evolutionists and Communo-nuclearists
Navigation is trial and error for a start, click menu from Intro to UMK Map and you skip two diagrams.
I need to install Flash Player… ‘Move mouse over map…’ = no results. Tried a different browser to generate any error message – nothing. Reluctant to install FP just to see what I’m missing out on, but the site, judging by the comments on the train page, is from 2013 so maybe didn’t seem such an issue then. Have changes in tech made it hard to use or understand?
Having to revisit sections to make sense – seems like an idea that’s not quite there yet. Is there something missing – am I missing the point?
Put things into context?
Ah, link to exhibition. You must have had to be there to make sense of it.
Pinterest links are blank – this experience is redundant after seven yrs.
Links page – content gives some enlightenment to what it’s all about but clicking through would mean trawling through a lot of info – so no.
“WHAT ARE DESIGN FICTIONS?” – maybe this should be on the first screen…
What makes a successful piece of information design?
David McCanless (Lectures). Accurate and well structured dataset
Compelling story
Intention for a goal in getting the info across
Visual structure only comes into play at the end of the research stage
Wrap the data in a story, don’t just visualise everything, filter it, humanise it… otherwise you just change the complexity into a visual form.
Useful, easily grasped visual forms.
Consider:
Clarity
Communication
Message
Chosen: Moon Landings, Accept & Proceed
I’ve chosen to go with the Moon Landings example. My initial reason is, comparing it with the others on offer, it uses the least number of elements to get its message across and I’m curious to see if it’s gone too far.
“What do you dream about when you’re in space?”
Matthew Jones, A&P
Visual: Stillness of space – word better – empty, bleak, mysterious, mystery, curiosity, peacefulness
Seen as points on a map – destinations, not as a timeline. My initial understanding/realisation is the number of landings and not the dates the landings were made.
Info levels:
1. Title, Moon Landings + a set of white dots – straight away you recognise the dots as landing points
2. Text, tells you detail of each landing
3. Make a connection between the detail and the size of its circle: the times are shown so the realisation is that the bigger the circle, the longer the visit.
Infographic -vs- data visualisation
Infographic is a way of displaying data to make it more easily understood, data visualisation takes simple data and turns it into something to look at and discover.
You can take in as much or as little as you like:
- Looks nice – leave it at that
- Title – viewer links with dots, that must be where they landed
- Data shown – creates more interest; how name people, co-ordinates bring a fascination (to me at least) and also a sense of accuracy and therefore the work, the research, which has gone into creating the piece
- Back to the visual – the circles now make sense as the viewer connects the times given as the reason for the circles sizes.
Could be seen as the radius of the area covered travelling on the surface by the astronauts?
Why not put the data over an image of the moon? – Would take away the diagrammatic look and feel, the ‘data-only’ approach.
Designers point of view, it’s an exercise in showing the data with an absolute minimum but including, in terms of production of the print, some more hidden details. The layering of the print in date order puts the most recent landings on top of the older ones. Maybe not the case, if it is then you might only see that when looking at the actual item rather than an image. It’s an extra detail that’s there if someone cares to think it, a hidden level or one of those little extras A&P like to include.
Workshop Piece
‘Moon Landings’ by Accept & Proceed
This print is a data visualisation of every moon landing to date (2016), both manned and unmanned, who or what landed, when it was, where it was, and in the cases of the manned missions; the large overlapping discs depict how long they stayed.
The work was released as a print available through the Accept & Proceed online shop. It was produced as a six colour screen print using tinted gloss varnishes and silver ink in a limited edition of 100 prints.
It’s visual gives off the stillness and emptiness of space – it’s mystery and peacefulness. How the data is shown illustrates the technology involved in the space programme.
Analysis – Positives/Negatives
The print is a beautiful example of minimal data visualisation, but is it simplicity going too far? It could take too long to process all the information on offer.
The data is the absolute minimum detail needed to illustrate the subject. A viewer can take in the information on different levels depending on their interest:
– as a result from its absolute simplicity, an initial look could leave you quite nonplussed
– if you know the title of the piece you recognise the dots as the landings
– if that draws you in, the text tells you details of each landing but you might not make a connection between the text detail and the size of the circle it’s sitting in: the times are shown so it is possible to make that connection; that the bigger the circle, the longer the visit. But only the curious might look for this level of detail.
As an infographic for an editorial on lunar landings it wouldn’t work, it would take too long to make sense of what little information is available. The visual would need to be much more obvious, perhaps with some references made using charts or icons as a key.
What do I like about it?
Though probably not intentional, the visual overall hints craters on the moon and I think the data shown just creates more interest; the names of astronauts, the co-ordinates bring a fascination to me at and also a sense of accuracy and the research which went into creating the piece. The techniques used to crate the print go way beyond standard, the same information could have been printed white on black but the level of craft involved makes it all the more inspiring.
In Conclusion
Data visualisation takes cold data and turns it into a story to be discovered. It creates something fun or inspiring as well as informative and not, I feel, something which has to be taken in and understood in an instant. In using visual design to grab the viewer and bring them closer to reveal more and more layers of meaning, this piece in that context is perfect.
From a designers point of view, it’s an exercise in showing the data with an absolute minimum but including, in terms of production of the print, some more hidden details. The layering of the print in date order puts the most recent landings above the earlier ones which, from the images I’ve seen, looks like the older data stands out less and less as the layers increase but that might only be seen when looking at an original item rather than an image. If it is, then it’s an extra detail which is there if someone cares to think it, a hidden level or one of those little extras A&P like to include.
Editorial example
Feedback and Reflection
The comments from our Critical Feedback Session:
Should the circle be light grey/white and the text black to better allude to the moon?
I can see the point made, however the design is representing the piece being discussed and not the moon itself.
The circles you’ve used in the design, especially the main black circle looks great but I don’t love the typography along the left hand side.
Neither do I, the titles down the left are much too heavy to fit in with the subject. An image of the print’s production would fit in well with the black circle overlaying it across the fold.
Maybe make more reference to the build up of layers on the original?
I could really go to town on this approach – overlaying the text by paragraphs in the same way as the landing appear on the print but maybe it would need to stay legible to sit within the brief…
