Visualisation Project: Presentation Breakdown

Breakdown of our Presentation:

Overall questions:

1. What is the invisible event/entity/pattern we are going to make visible? (Q2)
2. To what extent does it pre-exist our making it visible? To what extend are we 'creating' it via making it visible? Or both? (Q3)
3. What different does it make to publish such a visualisation? (Q4)
4. In which publics does such a visualisation intervene? (Q4)

Presentation tasks:

1. research the nature of contemporary visualisation (Task 1 - Delia)
2. main task: make something invisible visible
   (a) choose and research some data of interest (Task 2 - Emma)
   (b) research and then choose techniques of visualisation (Task 3 - Charlotte)
3. produce visualisation (Task 3 - Charlotte)
   (a) 'explain' the phenomenon that we have researched (Task 4 - Emma)
   (b) demonstrate understanding of the relationship between visualisation and information (Task - Delia)
4. Understand the way this visualisation, published, would make a difference to both publishing itself (difference between publishing a visualisation and, for example, some written commentary by a journalist), and to the publics to which the visualisation is addressed to. (Task - Jess)
5. Discuss the issues involved, and evaluate the strengths and limits of the work we've done (Task - Jess)

Powerpoint compiling everything together: (Task 8 - Delia)
   - 10 slides
   - 5mins

Criteria for this Assessment Task 

1. Demonstrated understanding of the processes and impacts (upon both publishing and publics) of visualisation.
2. Specific research of both a data set and a/some visualisation technique(s)
3. Creative use of the technique in relation to the data set.
4. Ability to discuss the issues involved, and evaluate the strengths and limits of the work the group has done.
5. Ability to respond creatively and imaginatively, as a group, to another group’s work. Your group give a constructive and detailed response (that is, not “we liked it, thought it was interesting, enjoyed it”, ‘it was fresh/lame” “we didn’t like it, etc” )

Visualisation of Online Shoppint Population and Demographics Data Information:

Powerpoint Slides:

Title Page

1. The Nature of Contemporary Visualisation

2. Data and Statistics

3. Researched Techniques of Visualisation

4. Our Visualisation

5. To What Extent Does It Already Exist?

6. Explanation of Chosen Phenomenon

7. The Relationship Between Visualisation and Information

8. How Would Our Visualisation Make A Difference To Publishing?

9. How Would Our Visualisation Make A Difference To Publishing?

10. Our Strengths and Limits

Critical Feedback for Group 4 - Music and Emotions:

Criteria for this Assessment Task  - music and emotion

1.   Demonstrated understanding of the processes and impacts of visualisation (publics and publishing)

oNeeded more focus further than the three mentioned

o   Could have focused more on how this research could affect audience in the public sphere, and the subsequent composers who publish this music

o   Also what difference it makes publishing this data

o   But the topic was really creative

o   Successfully made the invisible visible

2.   Specific research of both a data set and some visualisation technique

·      Colours, emotions, weather – specific research used

·      Researched data, a sufficient amount of people for this project – they could have done more, but they mentioned this in their limitations

3.   Creative use of the technique in relation to the data set.

·      The use of colour is interesting to relate to these categories – perhaps would’ve been better if the pictures were coded to the colour when observing the visualisation

·      Could have been more creative

·      Emoticon faces they didn’t use, which would have been good

·      Too many variables

4.   Ability to discuss the issues involved, and evaluate the strengths and limits of the work the group has done.

·      Did have an understanding of their strengths and limitations, especially limitations in reference to accuracy of their data

·      Recreate the emotional experience

·      Limitations: very subjective, different people feel different things

Lecture 9: Feel the Visual

Before you read any further I’d like you to click here. You don’t even have to read the article, just look at the picture and open yourself to your emotions. Feel the effects of the visual.

Visualising data is an extremely effective way of explaining information. Having metaphysical concepts be seen by the naked eye makes it that much more real to us, since we generally accept what we see, and don’t accept what we don’t see. This gives visualised data the perception of accuracy, sometimes however, this can be unreliably misleading – how many times have we seen something, and been so sure of it, only to find that we’d gotten it all wrong?

Nevertheless, visualisation is used elaborately in scientific research to better communicate findings to the public. This can come in the form of graphs, diagrams, sculptures and pictures to name a few. Now, let’s get back to the picture we saw at the beginning of this post. This article informs the public of the effects of global warming, more specifically, the consequences on the now endangered polar bears. The picture of the lone polar bear clinging on to its home effectively uses visualisation to relate a moving notion of climate change that tugs at our heart strings. The publication of this article allows the social body to engage with the issue with our own eyes, permitting a more personal connection than any of those charity workers who try to catch you on the street could hope for. After all, a picture says a thousand words. The scientific world is proving this true.

The NASA Scientific VisualisationStudio is a perfect example of turning information originally invisible to the naked eye to visible graphics. They aim to promote “a greater understanding of Earth and space science research activities” by allowing us to see, and hence better understand, things that might have gone unseen otherwise. Visualisation can change our perceptions, and thus the perceptions of the public sphere, so that we can see the world from a fresh perspective, and perhaps a different angle. That said, visualised information is not always reliable and conclusive (The Global Warming Skeptics versus the Scientific Consensus, 2009), where the same visual data can have completely different interpretations.

Debord (1967) argues that society consists of false images that lure people into the claws of capitalism by conforming and controlling passive consumers in the system. Institutions can hence govern the public through purposely providing information that can easily be misconstrued so as to satisfy their materialistic natures. Basically, enjoy the pretty images, let them enhance your sense of information data, but remember that this increased understanding of issues comes hand in hand with an increased risk of miscommunication.

References:

[online] Anon. (2008) ‘Struggling polar bears put on endangered list’, Metro.co.uk, 15 May, accessed 7 May, 2013 http://www.metro.co.uk/news/147937-struggling-polar-bears-put-on-endangered-list

[online] Anon. (2009) ‘The Global Warming Skeptics versus the Scientific Consensus’, Information is Beautiful, 12 Dec, accessed 7 May, 2013 <http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/climate-change-deniers-vs-the-consensus/>

[online] Debord, G., (n.d.) ‘Unity and Division Within Appearances’, The Society of the Spectacle, accessed 7 May, 2013 <http://www.bopsecrets.org/SI/debord/3.htm>

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (2013), ‘NASA Scientific Visualization Studio’, 4 March, accessed 7 May, 2013 <http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/>