Interim Written Report
From the beginning of Semester 2 up to now, I learned how to collect data (Quantified self), how to visualize data (Data visualisation), and the method of mapping design (thematic map). In addition, I exhibit my design work of thematic map names ‘The Gum Roads’ in our interim exhibition. The most significant knowledge I learned this period is the information and data visualisation. Prior to this time, I thought the presentation of data was just figure or forms that seemsunimaginative. While through the current study of this semester, I realized that the data presentation could be creative, artistic, and multi-form with the collected data. This almost overturned my previous understanding of the way of data expressed.
Information visualisation is an interactive visual representation of abstract data to enhance the consciousness of human perception. Abstract data includes numeric and non-numeric data, such as text and geographic information. A possible implication of the new understanding is that information visualization is a kind of easy understanding and handle art, it could help people to get and understand information quickly and enjoyably, thereby to make information playing a role in people’s lives. For instance, my thematic map design work in this interim exhibition (Picture 1,2. Project 2 & Exhibition ‘The Gum Roads’), the information on the map is about the following roads: Maddison St, Cement Terrace, Castle Ln, Lansdowne Hill and Castle square all have a large distribution of chewing gum. This map significantly shows this in Southampton. For my research, I visited Southampton and saw quite a lot of chewing gum on the roads. Chewing gum is not easy to clean and could take a while to get rid of. I was puzzled by the fact that they were bins on the pavements and the distribution of the bins are reasonably located and spread out; But yet the traces of chewing gum is still high and this could be seen on the map I have designed. The outcome of this could harm the natural environment we live in and people littering their chewing gum is not a pretty sight for the environment either. My intention to design this thematic map is to hope that people could value and protect the environment around us, clean roads are much more beautiful than ’the gum roads’.
Picture 1.
Picture 1.
Picture 1.
Picture 2.
This new understanding will change the way I approach of data presentation and informationvisualisation. I realized that information visualisation is of great value to modern information dissemination. The key to information visualisation is how to convert data into visual representation so that information could be communicate effectively, correctly, and with an artistic design. For example, the application ofcoloursin my design works of Project 1 (Quantified self), I mainly chose to use red colour to express the information that I presented. Because this project I purpose to record English vocabularies in my daily life from the items of my room and reading the book of ‘Sherlock Holmes’. In this project, I used traditional Chinese style to express the picture of my design, the reason is that I want to create a cultural contrast to highlight the value of my recording data. Because English is not my first language, if a person’s native language is English while recording the English vocabularies in daily life that will makes no sense. In one of design works of project 1, I use Chinese seal’s vision to present the data I have recorded, the Chinese seal ink colour is red, so red is the main colour in this work (Picture 3,4. Project 1. ‘Recording Vocabularies of Items in My Room’). The colour use should relative with the content of information designed.
Picture 3.
Picture 3.
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Information visualization will more and more interactive in the era of big data. in the interim exhibition, some students design thematic maps in digital and put the works on websites, interaction could let audiences manipulate the visualization. No matter which kind of visualization forms designers choose to creative, the final purpose is to achieve effective communication between information to audiences (or users). This will be useful in my future study and in my life. I no longer think that the presentation of data is monotonous and boring, data could be visualized in art and design in myriad ways. It has given me consciousness that design could involve in every aspect of people’s lives. This has greatly simulated my confidence and motivation to study and concentrate on communication design. In my future life, I will also be thinking positively to find more possibilities.