tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29552770.post115989472510355089..comments2023-06-11T06:03:12.069-05:00Comments on Think In Pictures: Adventures In Visual Education: Visualization Versus Symbol In Mapping Social NetworksJeremiah McNicholshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11586987877676673757noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29552770.post-48614834414071863472007-04-15T21:16:00.000-05:002007-04-15T21:16:00.000-05:00This conversation is getting interesting, and I ap...This conversation is getting interesting, and I appreciate your desire to sustain it. You sound like you have something fairly clear in mind as far as a critique. Would you be interested in writing a guest post? Perhaps a critique of computer-generated visualizations is too broad - a defense of the role of extreme subjectivity in visualization strategies would be most productive. I appreciate the spirit of your argument, but could not make it for you - when I look at your graphic I see faulty data. I am well aware that news graphics misrepresent, that there is a perspective represented by every infographic, etc., but I believe they should be held to the same standards. <BR/><BR/>I suspect there is an argument out there that could give me a deeper understanding of what you're trying to do. Can you make it?Jeremiah McNicholshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11586987877676673757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29552770.post-63331092856687905932007-04-15T11:52:00.000-05:002007-04-15T11:52:00.000-05:00Jeremiah,As you probably know—information design a...Jeremiah,<BR/><BR/>As you probably know—information design and "scientific" authority are not the same thing though—they can be related. They can also be unrelated. I've worked along side newspaper designers who used the same visual grammer you elude to here and their visuals often times left out key details or were not always 100% accurate. That's because the core objective of a news graphic is to try to communicate certain concepts visually to a broad audience.<BR/><BR/>Even with news graphics, the end visual is still subjective—seen through the eyes of the designer. They make editorial decisions all the time. I did the same thing—except on a personal basis. And all I did as far as the execution goes was communicate via the language I feel comfortable in. What rubs me the wrong way with this type of analysis is that there is a subtle inference that I use the language of infomation design to willfully lend authority to my ideas.<BR/><BR/>That's overthinking things. I use visual language becuase it's my native vernacular. The people who view my graphics need to make up their own minds. Which most do.<BR/><BR/>Hmmm, maybe I should start adding disclaimers to the visuals? :-)<BR/><BR/>I see what your saying about this being a good fit for your post. Maybe you could do a follow up that analyzes the value of computer generated Data visualization? What do you think?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29552770.post-14711103819327320352007-04-08T21:59:00.000-05:002007-04-08T21:59:00.000-05:00Hi David! I don't think it's a stretch to see your...Hi David! <BR/><BR/>I don't think it's a stretch to see your design as more than "playing with" the visual grammar of information design.<BR/><BR/>The key consideration in my category assignments is to create an engaging flow for readers who wish to browse through a thematically linked series of posts. Given the broad treatment the post gives towards graphic designers attempting to lend an air of "scientific" authority to their quite nonscientific observations, I thought it was a good fit.Jeremiah McNicholshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11586987877676673757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29552770.post-51345084979862710522007-04-08T07:04:00.000-05:002007-04-08T07:04:00.000-05:00I fully understand Matt's points and yours, but do...I fully understand Matt's points and yours, but don't think you aren't considering the full context of why the visual was created and the purpose it serves. You are getting hung up on the execution which plays off information design.<BR/><BR/>I created the visual as a way for me to express how I PERCIEVED the social network. This visual helped me talk through my own experiences amd thoughts about it. I never stated them as fact—but personal observation.<BR/><BR/>So, you can put this in the "propoganda catagory" if you like. My goal isn't to have the visual end up in some texbook somewhere. It's already served it's original purpose which was to help me express my own experiences with social media and it's pretty obvious that the visual isn't rooted in data.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com