Former face-to-face class schedule

Intro

Topics

• Introduction
• Visualization vs. the infographic

In class

• Snow map demo files (ZIP) or KML direct download (ZIP) via Robin Wilson

Projects

• Start Dear data

Encoding data

Topics

• Methods of encoding data
• Elementary perceptual tasks

Projects

• Final critique for Dear data
• Start Encodings

(Project work for critique or submittal should be complete at the beginning of class.)

Reading

• Truthful Art ch. 1 (What We Talk About When We Talk About Visualization)
• Truthful Art ch. 5 (Basic Principles of Visualization)

Course survey

Fill out a course survey.

Visualizing change + workflows

Topics

• Time-series data
• Basic workflows

In class

• U.S. Navy ship force levels (ZIP) from Naval History and Heritage Command tables.
• RawGraphs
• Flourish

Projects

• Final critique for Encodings
• Start Change over time

Reading

• Truthful Art ch. 2 (The Five Qualities of Great Visualizations)
• Truthful Art ch. 8 (Revealing Change)
• Alli Torban, What does “clean it up in Illustrator” mean?

Visualizing comparisons

Topics

• Categorical data
• Crosstabulations

Projects

• Studio and small-group critiques for Change over time

N.B.: Plan to show your work, in progress, for a critique during any class this semester.

Reading

• Truthful Art ch. 6 (Exploring Data with Simple Charts)
• Truthful Art ch. 3 (The Truth Continuum)

Means, medians, and distributions

Topics

• Means, medians, and distributions

In class

• BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, Arts and Design Occupations
• AIGA/Aquent Survey of Design Salaries, 2014 (cf. past surveys)
• A List Apart “People Who Make Websites” survey, 2011
• AIGA Design Census 2017 (there is also a 2019 census, but I haven’t had a chance to work with the data)
• Design Census data, median/mean (ZIP)
• Design Census Workbench workflow

Projects

• Final critique for Change over time
• Start New versions

Reading

• Truthful Art ch. 7 (Visualizing Distributions)
• Nathan Yau, Summary Statistics Tell You Little About the Big Picture

Color

Topics

• Color
• Color models (es. HSL/HCL)

Two good color palette tools

• Colorpicker for data
• Color Brewer

Projects

• Critique New versions
• Start Neighborhoods

Reading

• Truthful Art ch. 9 (Seeing Relationships)
• Robert Simmon, Subtleties of Color, parts 1 and 3
• Optional, if you want to work more with R: Lynda Learning R course. Watch Intro and parts 1 and 2—skip “Reading Data from SPSS.” (Log in to Lynda via AU Library.)

Cartographic principles

Topics

• Map principles
• Projections and scale
• Layers of spatial data

In class

• QGIS/GIS exercise (you do not need to turn maps in)

Reading

• Truthful Art ch. 10 (Mapping Data)
• How Maps Change Us

GIS intro

Topics

• GIS with QGIS
• Open-source spatial data

Projects

• Final critique for Neighborhoods
• Start Mapping

Reading

• Issie Lapowsky, Is the US Leaning Red or Blue? It All Depends On Your Map

In class

• DC Open Data: Public Schools (points)
• DC Open Data: Railroads (lines)
• DC Open Data: Public School Grounds (polygons)
• OpenStreetMap
• Geofabrik OSM data extracts
• Feature descriptions on the OSM Wiki

Color and typography for maps

Class moves online from this date because of Covid–19 crisis and campus shutdown.

Topics

• Color and pattern on maps
• Typography for maps
• GIS workflows

Reading

• Gordon Luckett, Learning QGIS on Lynda, parts 1–4. (Log in to Lynda via AU Library.)

Quantitative data on maps

Topics

• Representing quantitative spatial data

Projects

• Final critique for Mapping

Reading

• Gordon Luckett, Learning QGIS on Lynda, parts 5–9. (Log in to Lynda via AU Library.)

Framing and multipart visualizations

Topics

• Framing through writing and headlines
• Multiple visualizations for multiple angles
• Revisiting small multiples
• Page layout catchup

Reading

• Richard Casey Sadler, How ZIP codes nearly masked the lead problem in Flint
• Hernán Gómez and Kim Dietrich, The Children of Flint Were Not ‘Poisoned’

Field trip

Studio/critique

Reading

• Truthful Art ch. 4 (Of Conjectures and Uncertainty)

Studio/critique