ID-2050 The “Design” Lecture

Today Document Design Information Design Tufte’s “Data Maps” BREAK Graphical Excellence in practice

Document Design Attributes of a “good” document… Design Principles Choice of Visual Structure Pagination Margins Fonts Spacing Headings

“Good” Design

Design Principles Contrast Color, icons, white space, headings… Proximity Text and figures, related topics… Repetition Consistent elements Alignment Consistent: Left, Right or Center Overall Impression Cover, 1 st impression, thumb-through

Trimbur’s Principles Group Similar Items Together Align Visual Elements Use repetition and contrast Add visual Interest

Visual Structure Pagination and alignment Margins and White Space Fonts, emphases and sizes Paragraph Spacing and indents Headings Graphics – tables and figures

Tufte’s Information Design

Theory of Data Graphics Graphical Excellence Data Density Graphical Integrity Lie Factor Data Ink vs. Chartjunk Multifunctioning Graphical Elements Multidimensional Visuals

Graphical Excellence

Graphical Crappiness

Tufte’s Principles serve a clear purpose show the data focus on substance avoid distortion contain dense information simplify the complex allow multiple levels of interpretation integrate with verbal descriptions Graphical displays should:

Tufte’s Favorite Graphics: Data Maps Time-Series Space-time Narrative Designs Relational Graphics

Data Maps Dense Multivariate Multidimensional

GIS Maps

Venice Reminders Culture project update Populate Web Pages Meetings with me Meetings tomorrow: snow Midterm (not up to XV) on Wed. Questions and Videos Photos and Passports Killer Graphs and Slides

Boston Reminders Boston Trip update Populate Web Pages Calls to Sponsors? Meetings tomorrow: snow Draft #1 + Contract Review Next Week: Draft #2 Killer Graphs and Slides Class with PR on Monday