3. Visual Inspiration of Data Visualisation

I know that I would like to hold learning and education close to the heart of my idea though the project.. As in high-school I really struggled to take in information, always lagging behind or needing a bit more time. It was then discovered that I was very dyslexic and just needed to learn in a more visual way. Once I knew this I began to excel in my subjects. This has inspired me in my 4th year to see if I can explore other ways of looking at information, making them more visual and potentially easier to understand. David McCandless is a perfect example of someone with the same goal, and after watching the anatomy of a virus and reading Information is Beautiful I decided to research him a bit more and see if it inspired exploration into any new realms.



In the talk he passionately speaks about how binding together the inputs of the senses and mind creating new relationships to the information. He draws beautiful conclusions from complex datasets -- thus revealing unexpected insights into our world though his visual work.






This TED talk by David Bolinsky is about how by connecting art and science it can make things more magical and bring back the wonder of what happens inside us. He and his team create animations of the smallest factories inside our bodies, cells. While working with scientists to retain credible designs and models, the is also room given so the visa can still be observed.“Explore the truth and Beauty inherent in molecular and cellular biology so that Students could understand a larger picture, that they could hang all these facts on“ – David Bolinsky. I want to see if I can also do the same and maybe create some art or animation inspired by science thats helpful or inspires people to look at subjects in more detail.


To the right is a motion-graphic based on tsunamis, where the imagery enhances and enforces the narrative of the story sparking the imagination of those watching. I like the idea of the images reflecting the narrative, and being intertwined with the learning of tsunamis. Makes for a more visually engaging process that could enrich how we recall the information.

(Physicsworld.com)

Above is a visual representation of what a photon looks like. I have been looking into how science is translated from concepts into visual material to better denote whats happening.
I think art like this is very valuable and can serve as a learning aid, opening up a new way of thinking about the facts. I would like to explore more visuals or pieces of work that have a similar focus.

2. Information is Beautiful

Following the first thread of the thought process of visualising I read though, or rather looked though 'Information is Beautiful' by David McCandless. The whole book is filed with inspired designs that really make you think about the context and try to put the information into context

The collection of data that was so seamlessly communicated to the viewer in a new or interesting way. I especially like the one below displaying the different content of well known coffees. While this may seem trivial its something that the majority of us drink, yet few of us actually know. This was what intrigued me the most, things that are constantly in our life but we almost take them for granted or don't pay much attention to. The simplistic nature makes it accessible for anyone and instantly visually informative, there is almost no imagining of how much of something is in another cup, its all in context with little effort needed. 

The snake oil infographic below is useful and interactive. You can peruse just for insight or find the vitamin or mineral that your take and see how it compare on the scale. According to McCandless himself it was very time consuming to source all the data and then compile it so it could be deigned and viewed in this manner. 

Pitch Feedback

Had my Pitch and good some good feedback and some constructive criticism! After talking about how I was looking in to Albert Einstein used his thought processes to build up concepts, I was to look more into the workings of  Leonardo Da Vinci and how he came up with his ideas. I was also told to look into the founder of Infographics Edward Tufte who was one of the founder of the movement and data visualisation.

More practical research was my next step, and to be realising some of my ideas. Also a big topic was age demographic and how it would effect the experiments, which i think is a really good point and will be sure to look into later. Going to consider how the demographic feeds into how complex the idea can be that will in turn also effect the visual style of the concepts.

I also had Piches from the 1st - 3rd years and found all of their work very inspiring. Some of them have really good ideas such as that of Alex Grahame. I really liked some of her expressive models for the group work on lord of the flies. Inspired by byroglyphics it is used to illustrate the story of the character through explosions from their heads to also show the scene in a dynamic way. On the other hand representing bursts of emotion at the moment when people die in the story, its also symbolic of the blood and gore during the same scene reflecting its loud graphic nature.

1. Hindsight and Backblogs

I have been working in my ever-note from the beginning but have decided to transfer it all over to blogger to make it more accessible. So some of the post will be summaries of work i have researched or work I have done.
So, during the early stages of my project I wasn't entirely sure what I wanted to do, however, what I did know was that I wanted to include themes of  Education and Learning.

Initially wanting to try and visualise a power-point 

that teaches all about the creation of oil and gas I made an appointment with my lecturer to discuss my project. At this stage Lynn asked why I wanted to do it and if it really interested me, she also gave me a book called 'Information is Beautiful' by David McCandless and showed me this video on infographics by Patrick Clair 

The video inspired me to look at HOW to communicate information, and lots of it. The Infographic video uses slick animations to illustrate and Visualise the information in a way that is more manageable and accessible for the viewer. The images used also emphasise the words of the narrator by drawing upon associations and sights that help to connect or quantify the information in real world terms. 

For example it relates the virus Stuxnet to be a weapon, and at the same time enforces this visually by showing a picture of a gun, then paining out to reveal the word CODE made images of guns. This conveys many visual messages that back up the narration, the viewer will then connect that - Stuxnet is a weapon like a gun - it is equivalent to lots of guns - it is made of only code.

I would like to delve into infographics more and see how other complex thoughts or data can be conveyed in an effective visual way. I will also read though the book given to me be my lecturer for inspiration and ideas.