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Introduction to Information Design: Layering
The world is a layered space and it is important to be able to see things in layers and not what is on the surface. Information design requires several basic tools and the capability to apply them. This course deals with the premise that information is layered and it is important to be able to perceive and apply layering in information design.
The goal of this course is to enable you to be comfortable, informed, systematic, and smart when confronted with a design problem, to identify and articulate potential design problems, and to implement design solutions while taking into account diverse perspectives and priorities.
In this course you will encounter a number of different concepts that can help inform your perspective on layering and information design. In addition, we will implement a number of tools that will increase your flexibility.
Logistics
Instructor: Gabriel Harp
Layering meets during the 9th week for core skills (16 Sept - 07 to 22 Sept -07)
Tue Wed - half days
Thu Fri Sat - full days
Location: 1st Floor FST201 classroom
Website: http://editthis.info/layering/
Course Texts
Tufte, Edward R. (1986). Visual Display of Quantitative Information. Graphics Press.
Tufte, Edward R. (1990). Envisioning Information. Graphics Press.
Tufte, Edward R. (1997). Visual Explanations: Images and Quantities, Evidence and Narrative. Graphics Press.
Tufte, Edward R. (2006). Beautiful Evidence. Graphics Press.
Mathur, Anuradha, and Dilip da Cunha. (2006). Deccan Traverses: The Making of Banglalore's Terrain. Rupa.
Bhaskaran, Lakshmi. (2004) Size Matters: Effective Graphic Design for Large Amounts of Information. RotoVision.
Grading
Your grade will be based on:
65% Design problems
10% Participation in class
25% Reports (3)
demonstrate critical thinking
show creativity and initiative
describe and apply principles
Course Schedule
Tuesday: Categories and Naming
What do we want or need to know about each other? About other things? Information design is very much about the names that we give things and how we organize them. On the first day of our meetings, we will consider the role of names and the organization of things in the process of design. By the end of this session you should be equipped with the desire to create your own categories and methods of displaying them. We will look at some examples and you will research and create your own for class on Wednesday.
Task 1: Research different perspectives on the concept of layering. These may come from disciplinary definitions, observational analysis, or some other source. You need not be literal in your search and may need to make analogies or metaphors to connect ideas. Be sure to explain how you made these connections. You should prepare at least two sources from the library and one from the web. Describe your findings with about 150 words per perspective. Compile your finding on the research wiki.
Task 2: Using the information compiled in class, design three instances that apply your information design skills. You should attempt to organize the information so that it leads to some higher-order concept or understanding. Therefore, the ways in which you organize and arrange the information becomes of prime importance. You should use illustrator for at least one of these. Print your designs in color on A4 paper.
Task 3: Redesign this Syllabus
Keep the information intact, but use a different method to display it. Print out a copy or yourself and bring it to class.
Tools: wikis; scholarship; illustrator
Due: Wednesday in class and online
For Thursday: Review and present one of the following chapters from Tufte. Append your name to the end of the chapter to hold your preference. Create a summary of the chapter and illustrate using examples you've provided. Limit your summary to 1 page. Use a grid to organize your material. Print your designs in color on A4 paper and bring to class Thursday.
Envisioning Information:
1. Escaping Flatland (spriha, prayas)
2. Micro/Macro Readings
3. Layering and Seperation (Nanki)
4. Small Multiples(veecheet)
5. Color and Information(nimisha.moumita)
6. Narratives of Space and Time (Aajwanthi.K, sargam gupta)
The Visual Display of Quantitative Information
1. Graphical Excellence (Swati)
2. Graphical Integrity (Dharmang, wazir)
3. Sources of Graphical Integrity and Sophistication
4. Data-ink and Graphical Redesign (mrunmayee)(Devashish)
5. Chartjunk: Vibrations, Grids, and Ducks (Myrthe,Sowmya)
6. Data-ink Maximization and Graphic Design ( Saakshita )
7. Multifunctioning Graphical Elements (Aparupa, Saema)
8. Data Density and Small Multiples
9. Aesthetics and Technique in Data Graphical Design (Priyanka,manasi)
Visual Explanations
1. Images and Quantities(nachi , mallika)
2. Visual and Statistical Thinking (naini)
3. Explaining Magic (Tanvi, Kotti)
4. The Smallest Effective Difference (pushpi, huda)
5. Parallelism: Repetition and Change, Comparison and Surprise (sharvari,uditi)
6. Multiples in Space and Time(akshataa, Priyanka C)
7. Visual Confections(kasturika, Chandni)
Wednesday: Abundance and Distribution
Topics covered during Wednesday discussion
Information design need not be constrained by our sense of sight. This assignment will be due on Friday, and you will consider how the properties of abundance, distribution, frequency and density affect the process of layering and design outcomes. You will have two tasks:
Task 1 (smell):
1. Collect at least five different kinds of either flowers or spices (but not both). Keep track of what you collected, how much you collected, the price (if any), the location where you found it, and who you received it from.
2. Judge the abundance of each kind relative to the others. You will receive a bonus on this task if you can identify its original geographic source and provide some documentation for it.
3. Arrange your collection in a pleasing manner and see if you can't develop some new information from the arrangement. How you go about this is up to you, although you should take into account the considerations below.
4. Write out the recipe for what you have created. How did you get from the five ingredients to the final design? List each step.
5. Bring you creation to class to share.
Task 2 (taste): ingredients, tools, and processes
Make something to eat using at least 5 ingredients. Then, make something different using exactly the same ingredients. How was it the same? How was it different? Ask at least three people to give their impressions of your dishes. Document your creation and their responses in a pdf. Address the considerations below in your documentation.
Considerations: What was it? What was in it? In what amounts? In what order? In what relationships? How was it/will it be distributed? How will it be documented?
Tools: blogs, photoshop, photography
Thursday: Scales and Interaction
Maps:
landscape layering
cities and scales
In Class: Present and Review Tufte chapters
Work on documentation and design for Wednesday's assignment (smell/taste)
Friday: Cycles and Contradictions
Do Learning To Love You More assignment #14: Write your life story in less than a day.
Choose one (1) of the following to help focus your story:
Document a Design Ecosystem Designed artifacts are thought to be the emergent product of many factors and influences. Likewise you are the product of many influences. These range from your own internal and external states, the behaviors that you exhibit, things, people, and the environment that surrounds you. Your task is to take these ecological factors into account and make them visible.
Document a Contradiction India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, once stated that India is "a bundle of contradictions held together by strong but invisible threads." What are the contradictions that make you who you are? Design a system that makes these contradictions visible.
tools: InDesign
Saturday: Putting it All Together
Information Design Resources on the Web
information aesthetics: form follows data - data visualization & visual communication
