Telling Stories with Data (94-870)

Course Description

Data visualization is the art of understanding how humans understand our visual environment and of applying that knowledge to the visual representation of information. Through the technique of data visualization we can express the stories that underlie the data, and identify specific elements that allow us to explain, persuade, and inform ourselves and others. This course will teach explanatory data visualization, where a visualization is used to communicate a specific understanding of data. It will also focus on small data: datasets that fit within a spreadsheet or within a computer's memory. It will focus on visualization, not data manipulation. It will also focus technique and theory rather than specific technologies. The first half of the course will focus on understanding the techniques and theory of data visualization. The second half of the course will be be focused on working through the process of a single data communication project, from initial analysis, through creation of a brief, identification of techniques, creating visualizations, and final presentation.

Useful Links (For this class)

• Syllabus
• Course Schedule
• TA Information
• Piazza Site

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Useful Links (In general)

People Worth Knowing

• Ben Fry (Fathom)
• Elijah Meeks (Netflix)
• Eric Rodenbeck (Stamen)
• Giorgia Lupi (Accurat.it, Dear Data)
• Jan Willem Tulp
• Jer Thorpe (The Office for Creative Research)
• Mike Bostock (D3.js)
• Moritz Stefaner
• Nadieh Bremer
• Nicholas Felton (Feltron)
• Paolo Ciccarelli (Density Design)
• Stephanie Posavec (Dear Data)
• Robert Kosara (Tableau)

Tools

• RawGraphs: This is a tool (much like Tableau) that will allow you to play with prebuilt visualizations for data.
• HighCharts A very nice charting library for Javascript.
• D3.js The creme-de-la-creme of data visualization libraries. Has a learning curve like a brick wall.
• P5.js A port of Processing for Javascript.
• Tableau Public Tableau. Free.
• Carto A very nice mapping tool for geographic visualization.
• OpenRefine A powerful tool for working with messy data.

Blogs

• r/dataisbeautiful
• Visualising Data
• Flowing Data
• Eager Eyes
• Information is Beautiful

Blog Posts and Articles

• Defining Custom Data Visualization: Interesting article about the heirarchy of customization in data visualization.
• Design and Redesign: An article about the practice of redesigning other peoples work. Good for comparing two different versions of the same visualization.
• Color in UI Design: Ways to cheat and create appropriate palettes for UI (and, also information visualization)
• The Architecture of a Data Visualization
• The Ethics of Data Visualization (Slide Deck)
• What makes a Good Data Visualization?
• Two Spreadsheets, Microsoft Access, and a Pulitzer Prize for Public Service
• The Repetitive and Boring History of Visualization
• An Illustrated Tour of the Pie Chart Study Results

Research Papers

• Animated Transitions in Statistical Data Graphics
• Measuring the limits of your visual system
• An Empire Built On Sand: Reexamining What We Think We Know About Visualization
• Polaris: A System for Query, Analysis, and Visualization of Multidimensional Relational Databases: This was the paper that spawned Tableau.