20120127 MARIUS WATZ - AHO INTERACTION DESIGN INFORMATION VISUALIZATION, SELF-ETHNOGRAPHY AND YOU An introduction to Information Visualization, including a (very) brief history, recent trends and the notion of Data Literacy. Practical application: Self-Etnography, also known as personal data logging. Easily available tools, relevant existing projects and suggested practices. TWITTER.COM/MARIUSWATZ FLICKR.COM/PHOTOS/WATZ UNLEKKER.NET VIMEO.COM/WATZ GENERATORX.NO DELICIOUS.COM/GARUDA WORKSHOP.EVOLUTIONZONE.COM INFORMATION VISUALIZATION » The practice of interpreting data and presenting it visually in ways that bring to light patterns of information, so as to enable the discovery of knowledge. » Visualization is often seen as a way of convincing an audience. But is also a powerful for discovering new knowledge. » The aim of visualization is to reveal (Manuel Lima) INFORMATION VISUALIZATION » History: Maps are as old as written culture. Infoviz as we know it dates back to late 1700s. » Almost all common chart types were pioneered before 1810 » Early heroes: William Playfair, Charles Minard, Florence Nightingale Willam Playfair Statistical Breviary (1801) Generally considered the first pie chart Willam Playfair Trade balance, England and Denmark / Norway Florence Nightingale, 1858 Causes of mortality in the Army Charles Minard, 1869 Chart of Napoleon’s disastrous march on Moscow Simultaneous display of multiple variables (location, troops, temperature) COMPUTERS & VISUALIZATION » A computer = a machine that computes. Computers are number crunchers, perfect tools for visualizing data. » Modern visualizations deal with huge data sets: - MRI scans - Internet topology - Human genomes - Social network interactions Visible Human Project, 1994 3D data set of the human body Male: 1 mm slices, 15 GB data Female: 0.33 mm slices, 40 GB data Bill Cheswick, June 1999 Map of the Internet, by IP addresses Ben Fry: HapMap Haplotype blocks in human genome >Link NEW CONCEPTS » Computational Design applies computational solutions to design tasks. » Designers working with code are coming up with new ways of looking at data. » Visualization realized as software processes allows for new types of visualization. Instead of static diagrams, visualizations become interactive interfaces. Ben Fry: HapMap Haplotype blocks in human genome >Link Martin Wattenberg: Shape of Song Vivaldi - Autumn >Link Moritz Stefaner: Map Your Moves Where New Yorkers move to/from and why >Link SmartMoney.com: Map of the Market Treemap of the US stockmarket >Link SmartMoney.com: Map of the Market Sept 29, 2008: US bailout plan rejected by Congress >Via Burak Arikan Marcos Weskamp: Newsmap Treemap of current news stories >Link Manuel Lima: Visual Complexity Index of visualization projects >Link Marcos Weskamp: Newsmap Treemap of current news stories >Link TELLING STORIES WITH DATA » The best visualizations tell stories. » How can data be transformed into knowledge? » How can you ask interesting questions and answer them through data? David McCandless Informationisbeautiful.com >Link David McCandless Informationisbeautiful.com >Link blog.okcupid.com Statistics from online dating >Link Simon Elvins: Silent London >Link Simon Elvins: Silent London >Link SELF-ETHNOGRAPHY » Wikipedia: Ethnography (Greek ethnos = folk/people, graphia = writing) Research strategy often used in the social sciences [..] It is often employed for gathering empirical data on human societies/cultures. Data collection is often done through participant observation, interviews, questionnaires, etc. Ethnography aims to describe the nature of those who are studied [..] drinkingdiary.com Alcohol tracking service >Link dailydiary.com Personal tracking service >Link last.fm Music tracking >Link openpaths.cc Tracking geo traces NY Times R&D Lab Origin: iPhone geo log “scandal” Nick Felton Feltron.com Annual Report >Link Nick Felton Feltron.com Annual Report >Link Nick Felton Feltron.com Annual Report >Link Nick Felton Feltron.com Annual Report >Link Nick Felton Feltron.com Annual Report >Link Nick Felton Feltron.com Annual Report >Link Nick Felton Feltron.com Annual Report >Link Nick Felton Feltron.com Annual Report >Link Nick Felton Feltron.com Annual Report >Link Nick Felton Feltron.com Annual Report >Link Nick Felton Feltron.com Annual Report >Link METHODOLOGY » 1. Establish topic of inquiry » 2. Find tools for data logging » 3. Log data consistently » 4. Investigate possible visualization strategies » 5. Visualize using suitable tools THANK YOU FOR LISTENING! Marius Watz is: [email protected] http://www.unlekker.net http://twitter.com/mariuswatz http://twitter.com/generatorx http://www.generatorx/ http:// workshop.evolutionzone.com/ http:// flickr.com/photos/watz/.