Information
Critical Reflection
Information
Critical Reflection
01. Past experiences and expectations
Before I came to lcc, I had seen a lot of architectural mapping and information design, as well as data visualization, but mostly in my undergraduate presentations or in other people's application portfolios. In my undergraduate years, teachers really encouraged students to use visualization, but not because it was convenient or made things clearer, but rather because it made the work look smarter and more professional. Another situation is that there are no other output methods for this design topic, so let's do a visualization.
As a result, I have had a misunderstanding of visualization for a long time. I can't say I understand visualization yet, but I have reconstructed the meaning of visualization for me after going through the process of doing visualization, processing data, considering shapes, colors, materials, incorporating emotions and reflections. The biggest lesson I've learned from the course so far is that visualization is a tool for designers to incorporate emotions, humanism, and philosophical thinking in order to achieve or promote a more rational outcome, rather than a tool to look more “rational” or “logical”.
02. Key Learning Contents
Next, I will combine the texts, designers, and works that I have encountered in the study of UNIT 1 and 2 to talk about the parts of the visualization field that I have personally felt most strongly about so far.
-Emotions and Perceptions, Data Visualization as Expression
What touched me the most was the story telling that was emphasized the most in the whole course of Unit 2.
I used to have a hard time understanding why the processing of data should involve storytelling, and I used to recognize that it should be done “ with a minimum of ink and decoration” as Tufte puts it (Tufte, 2001). However, in the key text of unit 1, “missing data”, I found the following sentence: “If something always is missing, it means that we have always the spectre of a different kind of world, with different kinds of priorities.” (Ọnụọha, 2018)
Having read this quote, I realized that the data we visualize is like survivor's bias; sometimes we think that the charts where the data is displayed can tell us something. But at the same time data that doesn't exist at all is more telling.
Therefore, data feminism and data humanism are important principles to consider. I realized the importance of "context", where what is said, what isn't said, and how much is said can greatly affect how the viewer perceives the visualization. When taken out of context, even the most authentic data and accurate processing can be deceptive.
I recognize the power of interactivity, emotional expression, and story telling also in Lupi's "1374 Days - My Journey with Long Covid" (Lupi, 2023) and The Pudding's work. As a viewer I was drawn in by such wonderful vignettes, while the interactivity of the pages made me want to explore the data. What was most important to me was that I picked up on the emotions that the designers were trying to convey. At that moment I realized that “Data-driven” doesn’t mean “unmistakably true” ”， (lupi, n.d.) but the emotions expressed by the artist are always true, and even if I, as a viewer, see the imperfect data, I have already realized the artist's intention.
-Dialectic and reflection, data visualization as a research methodology
Besides the part that visualization presents to the audience, visualization as a research method also inspired me. Although it is common in fields like data science and statistical analysis, I met Fernanda Viégas and Martin Wattenberg during my research for my final major proposal. Their work greatly influenced my research.
For instance, word trees (Viégas and Wattenberg, 2007) and web seers (Viégas and Wattenberg, 2009) demonstrated a clear way out of the struggle of visualizing texts. Furthermore, I chose the theme "Untranslatable terms" in order toexplore culturally relevant content that may not be possible with data alone. Their work has provided me with new ideas.
http://hint.fm/projects/seer/
http://hint.fm/projects/wordtree/
Both works mentioned above differ from the analytical charts of data science and business decision making, resembling rather sociological research. This made me realize how powerful data visualization can be as a research tool. Using intuitive, interactive, and easy-to-understand graphical presentations, we can study data, uncover hidden patterns in text, and test hypotheses. Furthermore, it gave me an opportunity to gain interdisciplinary knowledge through a visualization approach.
03. Conclusion
So far, the course has greatly improved my data visualization and design skills, laying the groundwork for my future career.
Likewise, I have some concerns that need to be addressed - can the designer achieve his goal of letting the audience "explore the data" in today's fast-paced, high-pressure world? Could data visualization help combat viral spreading of fake data in short videos and media?
Nevertheless, I am extremely interested in the direction of data visualization. It is also my goal to be able to provide viewers with a wider range of perspectives and increase their interest in data by changing their understanding of data and providing them with more perspectives.
Onuoha, M. 2018. Nichons-Nous Dans L’Internet “What is Missing Is Still There” Available: KMBT_C224e-20180430174457 (squarespace.com)
hint.fm. (2009). Web Seer / Fernanda Viegas & Martin Wattenberg. [online] Available at: http://hint.fm/projects/seer/ [Accessed 22 May 2024].
Klein, L.F. and D’Ignazio, C. (2020). Data feminism. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Mit Press.
Lupi, G. (2023). Opinion | 1,374 Days: My Life With Long Covid. The New York Times. [online] 14 Dec. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/12/14/opinion/my-life-with-long-covid.html?unlocked_article_code=1.i00.7ONP.wtjOQh6jwUTu [Accessed 22 May 2024].
lupi, giorgia (n.d.). Data Humanism. [online] giorgialupi. Available at: https://giorgialupi.com/data-humanism-my-manifesto-for-a-new-data-wold.
Tufte, E.R. (2001). Teaching Collection (Political Science / PUBLGC32) Graphical integrity. Graphics Press.
Viégas, F. and Wattenberg, M. (2007). Word Tree / Fernanda Viegas & Martin Wattenberg. [online] hint.fm. Available at: http://hint.fm/projects/wordtree/ [Accessed 22 May 2024].