Sunday 28 September 2008

Visualisation Magazine

Visualisation Magazine vol 1 by visual think map

Visualization magazine volume 1 has a collection of 20 top examples that explore creative innovative modes of visual communication of information that i have featured at this site, plus other bits that will hopefully expand over time and member (you) would gratefully in time like to contribute, if you wanted.

Things like maps, diagrams, info graphics, mindmaps, brainstorms, sketchbooks,
notebooks, flowcharts, scientific visualization, process visualization etc. As I
say they are very good resources of inspiration for various design jobs as they
solve communication problems using easy to understand graphics. Seems a mouthful
but basically great graphics that look great (form) and communicate detailed
info quickly and easily (function).

http://issuu.com/visualthinkmap/docs/visualisationmagazinevol1

Thursday 25 September 2008

Subway Blogs Map

Names Authors


An excellant visualisation taking another fantastic subway (hary beck) subversion visualisation similiar to the web-trend-map-2008-beta by the information architects, except instead of mapping mapping the internet terrain, mapping claude ashcenbrenner's (at serial mapper) blogs/RSS links archive.

He cleverly structures the content of his blogs using the paris subway map layout of lines by renaming them as:

Visualisation
Teaching
Thinkers
Business Intelligence
Missing In Action
Mind Mapping
Network
Creativity
& Humour

To arrange all these blogs into an easy to follow, complex/diverse/similarities content ordered, clean spatial structure is a real achievement. It has this easy to the eye pink background and beige centre that allows the Blue and Green names easy to focus on and follow along the lines. But if it isnt enough of an achivement to arrnage these complex/diverse blogs in a great connectivist structure, he still added further depth by simply subtly differentiating between French & English blogs without having to compomise his overall layout much at all merely a small key to say:

green - english
blue - french

Making it bilingual to help when navigating.

He was exporting this to pdf so that it is a fully interactive hyperlinks attached to the blog name nodes concept map. make in more engaging yet further.

He breaks it into 2 output version of the authors and one for the names, both using the same spatial location along his different lines so as to easily correlate the authors with their blogs.

I love it as you can probably guess.

Here are cluade's comments (forgive translation, may not be absolutely correct)

'You've probably noticed this blog is somewhat artistic. Indeed unlike the practice you can not find the list of my favorite blogs.In fact I think for a long time, but procrastination also achieved all that we must say that I was not sure how to keep all my RSS feeds in a reasonable space ..

I finally found the solution obviously in the form of a map. You will therefore find below a selection of 70 blogs devoted to mapping information encapsulated in a subway map.

Parisians (and others - °) recognize a part of the metropolitan network to which were added some tram lines. This plan is bilingual French / English including heads of line that I let you discover ... The francophone (in Blue) is represented by nearly 40 blogs, many of which have emerged in the last year ..

This device is designed to encourage you to leave your usual lines by taking paths through it.
Ca n'al'air nothing but a path we must remember that the term method has been built from a Greek word meaning old way .... So Good cognitive walk!

Each blog is associated a subway station. Place your mouse URL appears, click will open a new window to view the blog.'

Love his concept of 'leaving usual lines by taking paths through it', much like my work with the recent http://visualthinkmap.blogspot.com/2008/09/notebook-route-map.html. Could be called Blog Route Visualisation, but Blog Subway Map infer's that quite effectively.

Aa soon as I spot I know a link to Claude's interactive version, trust i will repost this. Great aid to exploring blogs of similiar content/interests/terrain that can be used in an instant, just how you more often then not want a visualisation's performance (function) to do.

Fantastic claude

Enjoy the journey

from here: http://www.serialmapper.com/archive/2008/09/25/mise-en-seine-de-blogs.html

search the web for the titles/authors of blogs, will no doubt bring up the right one as we await pdf concept map

Monday 22 September 2008

Bank Space Sky Onion Visualisations

1.2.

3.4.

Awesome visualisations by Theo Deutinger Architects.

1. China
vs. Worldbank in Vrij Nederland


Vrij Nederland issue Nr. 17/18; 2008 features a world map, which compares the
top ten money streams of the Worldbank versus the top ten foreign direct
investments of China. Underlying one can see the expected GDP growth per country
for the year 2007. While the Worldbank’s core task is to help world's poorest
nations, most of its money is lent to countries with double digit growth rates.

I particularly like the subtle shades of grey for the countries and then the
bold blue & red sprouting from world bank and china much in the style of
their invasion, presence affecting these countries. (much like dads army, uk).
Then some handy pye charts for stats keyed to their colour.

producer: Theo Deutinger in collaboration with Pieter van Os

http://www.td-architects.eu/?id=4

2. Building
up Space

50 years ago the first artificial satellite Sputnik 1 was launched by the
Soviet Union, inaugurating the rage to occupy outer space. Currently, the U.S.
Strategic Command monitors 12.771 satellites and other large objects with about
10cm in diameter orbiting the earth. Out of these 12.771 objects only 872 are
active satellites, while most of the remaining 11.899 monitored pieces are
dysfunctional and considered ‘space debris’. Together with millions of other
smaller pieces of debris generated by spacecraft explosions or by collisions
between satellites, they form a rapidly growing dangerous nebula, causing a
major threat for damage on satellites and spacecrafts. The power released by a
1cm piece of space debris is equivalent to a hand grenade. While our lives on
earth depend more and more on GPS satellite support, the space they are imbedded
in becomes more and more threatened. As an American General puts it “…our
space architecture is very fragile.”

Very interesting subject matter to think that their is that much floating
above our atmosphere. Never imagined that scale.

Producer: Theo Deutinger

http://www.td-architects.eu/?id=96

3. High-Rise
Buildings

Out of the 191 countries that are counted by the United Nations only 81 (42%)
to have a building that is higher than 100 meter. Still, lining up the highest
buildings of these 81 nations according to their geographical proximity creates
an impressive skyline.

I really love this visualisation. Firstly it is great how they collate all
the high rise buildings and they layer it with a little design/illustration with
a silhouette of a sky line. Then there's also the gradient from blue to white
for the sky. It tells you the height of each building and its name, location and
they're sectioned Asia, Europe, Africa & America. It then has outer rings
showing scale at 200 metres & 300 metres to offer comparison between.

I kept questioning why circular, would it work better along a straight scale
to serve as like a bar chart? But I think it is served best as a circle because
it gives me the sense of the earth, rhetorically emphasized with the orange/red center
core (contrasting brilliantly with the blue sky), and the buildings grow out of
it trying to reach the planes in the sky and even satellites in space to give
you a sense of scale. Admitted a bar chart would probably be easier to adjudicate
their size in comparison, but it would change it all.

It would probably have to be smallest to largest changing the continent
grouping. It wouldn't have this great notion of height with the earth as the center
that these buildings grow from to reach satellites. It wouldn't be half as intriguing
as it is now.

Producer: Theo Deutinger, Johannes Pointl, Beatriz Ramo

http://www.td-architects.eu/?id=49


4. Onion

Again great sense of scale with how much the onion is exported form the
netherlands and how little they need to import. Also very informative as to the
amount countries import with a convenient key of size, colour and scale of cost
with the arcs/lines connecting the nodes/countries.

Producer: Theo Deutinger

http://www.td-architects.eu/?id=58


Four excellant visualisation, and there are many more at their site that I haven't
shown here.

http://www.td-architects.eu/

Saturday 20 September 2008

Visual Body



Here are some creative visualisation like the video above of excellant
mapping into
displaying the inner workings of the human body. Really creative, full coloured
animated depiction of the human arteries really imaginative insight.

Really neat promotional video from the hybridmedicalanimation.com.

found here: http://coolinfographics.blogspot.com/2008/08/awesome-medical-visualizations.html



The visible body is no less imaginative, informative and detailed with its
full coloured deptictions. They quite rightly state that they can be used
for:

Instructors:

Use it in the classroom to show structures and their relationships.

Students:

Use it as you study to help you visualize and memorize.

Health Professionals:

Use it in your office or exam room to teach patients about their conditions.

Everyone:

Use it to explore and learn about your amazing human body

from here: http://www.visiblebody.com/tour_what_is_it;jsessionid=pPpAedIMBWbVtqkfn115Nw**.node2

found here: as-map.com - post: How it's done it?





Although these visualisations may not be as highly creative depicting the
human body with its silky intricacies, smooth colours without the more intimate
depth perception created by with the 3d perspective they are still as
informative.


from here: http://www.infovisual.info/03/043_en.html

Sunday 14 September 2008

Notebook Route Map

This is showing the visual communication of my thoughts on page(s), (9 pages). A visualisation through the journey of my investigation on the terrain of thoughts.

They meander accross the double page spread and mostly are connected via their physical position, i.e. a train of thought finishes, it restarts at the same point at the edge of the page on the next.

They were experiments to see how I visualised my ideas. Whether their physical arrangement through the notebook of my research, ideas, investigations helped me understand better. Re-Re-Reinvestigation.

The second image (route map) is for others to use, simply overlay it on any terrain thou wishes squire, your own notebook pages, maps etc. Then visually think and elicit thoust own topographic connections and routes.

It is quite a conceptual abstract notion to take the visual direction of my thoughts on page(s), the journey of my investigation on the terrain of thoughts and utilise this route with alternative content/terrain. Really like the abstract/organic lines mixed with geometric shapes bringing a bit of order to my thoughts (chaos).

Some experiments I have created, playing with that great notion of 'the map is not the territory' - baudrillard. Hence investigations into what is the territory, and can you utilise maps in different territories. Spatial arrangments intensifying/enhancing cognition. Got me buzzing.

Hope they're interesting.

The creative commons - attribution - non commercial - share alike



Thursday 11 September 2008

Information Aesthetics Diagram

From they're paper Towards a Model of Aesthetics in information Visualization, Andrea Lau & Andrew Vande Moere (who was previously quoted, see here) create this fantastic equilaterral triangular digram that helps understanding of the types of images, charts, art, design & much more.

Although I have yet to read this paper, this diagram investigates & structures the different types of mapping between the three poles of:

Aesthetics - Focus on visual style & experience
Data - Focus on representing abstract data sets
Interaction - Focus on user input & feedback

Regular readers will notice that this blog seeks to find some of the most creative & innovative (aesthetics) ways of visualising, mapping (hence I tend to call them visual maps) information (data).

I am also intersted the Interaction between users mentioned in the diagram such as the HCI (human computer interaction), explored really well by lauren bugeja in her research map, and taking into account the level of engagement of the graphics, GUI (graphic user interface) both in website design such as hierachy/composition, but also the graphics themselves beeing stimulating when dealing with interactive visualisations such as kartoo, visual acoustics or music plasma.

The higher engagement allows greater playfulness through more challenge, presenter control, and variety in a game for browsing, read here presentation visualisation by till voswinkel.

This diagram certainly gives a reader/user of this visual map/diagram a better awareness of how these interesting factors of info vis, data vis, art, design & graphics all coherently piece (reflected in its jigsaw syle puzzle) together.

Excellant, read the paper, as will I.

For further research into visualisation read, views on visualisation from eager eyes. Or see more papers co-written by andrew vande moere.


found here: http://visualmethods.blogspot.com/2007/09/information-and-aesthetics.html

Monday 8 September 2008

Sweat Map


Measured Perspiration by Kanarinka.


These colourful, fluid lines & abstract series of drawings map an extroadinary terrain, visualising the 12 inches of weather on the human body by tracing perspiration, movement and time.


define:weather says: Weather is the specific condition of the atmosphere at a particular place and time.


Kanarinka states, 'It is measured in terms of such things as wind, temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, cloudiness, and precipitation.


Weather is everyday and everywhere. For this project, I launched an artistic investigation by asking the question “Can a body (human, not planetary) have weather, too?”.


To create the drawings for 12 Inches of Weather, I used paper to collect the sweat on twelve inches of my body during running outdoors in hot weather. Then, using an algorithm (a simple system), I hand-traced the contours of that sweat onto 1970’s computer paper using various colors of felt tip pen.


The algorithm would tell me how many minutes to spend tracing each color' Kanarinka


Very interesting project, curious as to what the algorithm was defining the time length but still very creative.


featured here: http://visualthinkmap.ning.com/photo/photo/show?id=2168552%3APhoto%3A1662

Thursday 4 September 2008

Abstract Cartoon

The picture vocabulary by scott mccloud in his excellant book understanding comics, explaining semiotics it gives a great overview of the different scales of abstraction for cartoon characters.

With 3 sides there are the:

  • Retinal Edge
  • Representational Edge
  • Conceptual Edge

With the retinal edge it polarises the more reality, bottom left. Then going up it abstracts to mary fleener and accross the right to the conceptual edge, meaning becoming more arbitary with words and onomatapaeic words such as 'splash'.

Very good table, although mccloud states that they images included are not necessarily chosen for artistic merit. Makes me think of Rudolf Arnheims abstraction & the grasping of significant form. A scale between function and form as it is between words and images that abstraction will take place until a concept is conceived.

Mcclouds book may be comics content, but very very good, informal, non academic style of understanding semiotics.

Also check out Visible Signs by David Crow, explaining semiotics in great detail.