Assignment
- Nothing but a Number
- Select one of your posters’ subjects as a starting point, whether you choose to continue using its specific number is up to you (since you may at this point have discovered a different number that holds more potential).
- Create seven new posters (again, one per day) each representing the same number, with the following variations:
- Each poster should use a different retinal variable (position, size, hue, lightness, orientation, texture, shape) to encode the value.
- To the extent it’s possible, try to use the variable quantitatively (as part of a scale) rather than categorically (simply for identification)
- Each poster should select at least one other value to be the ‘basis for comparison’ that either lets us understand the scale of the primary value or offers a surprising contrast to it
- Create a new post to contain your work and start it with a few-sentence-long description of where your number came from and what's significant about it. Each day when you add your next image to the post, label it based on the retinal variable being used, not the day of the week.
- Don’t forget to add the “Nothing but a Number” tag via the Gear menu
- Poor Form
- Read Kierann Healy’s chapter on ‘badness’ in information graphics. For every reading assignment, you will be expected to post a short (250–500 word) write-up summarizing what you took to be the ‘message’ of the piece, what you agreed or disagreed with, and what you’d be curious to hear your peers’ opinions about. Be sure to add the tag "R1" to your post by clicking on the gear icon at the top of the screen and don’t forget to Publish your draft.