Charis PoonThesis 1. Fall 2011Julia Wargaski11.21.2011 Upload

INSPIRATION: ANDY GILMORE

Andy Gilmore’s colorful, geometric, highly detailed work inspired me to create information visualizations that were equally as colorful, organized and detailed.

PROTOTYPE: RECEIPTS

My previous mini project of scanning all the receipts I had saved from 2009 to present became the basis of my new explorations in translating personal data into infographics that were visual patterns where information was more obscured than understood.

PROTOTYPE: RECEIPTS v1

I initially used four pieces of information from the receipts: date, zip code, number of items purchased and total cost. From the Trader Joe’s receipt to the left, those four bits of data are: 08.22.2009, 10003, 17, and 42.23. I used those numbers to determine the CMYK values of triangular shapes to form a “unit” made out of the receipt’s data.

PROTOTYPE: RECEIPTS v1

Using the system established, I created this initial sequence.

PROTOTYPE: RECEIPTS v2

I expanded the four triangle conversion of receipt data to visual unit into an 8 triangle square model so that each receipt was a nice solid unit. Each unit was made up of the street number, zipcode, date, time, number of items, total cost of items, total amount paid and the method used to pay.

STREET #

ZIPCODE

# OF ITEMS

TOTAL COST

DATE

TIME

AMOUNT PAID

METHOD PAID

PROTOTYPE: RECEIPTS v2.1

Using the same 8 triangle model from 8 bits of data from my receipts, I created a calendar version of the receipts. The version on this page shows the receipts gridded into the calendar. The version on the next spread displays the units connected in a spiraling line forming rows that were weeks and then groups of lines forming months.

PROTOTYPE: RECEIPTS v3

This version displays the units connected in a spiraling line forming rows that were weeks and then groups of lines forming months.

FEEDBACK: RECEIPTS

The initial mini-project of scanning my saved receipts and making them available for public scrutiny was met with great interest and curiosity. Feedback included being told that it was not enough to just replicate physical things as digital images. The allowance of such personal information for general consumption was the key idea I was told to explore more.

FEEDBACK: RECEIPTSv1 & RECEIPTSv2

The feedback I received was to be specific about my audience, to con-sider if this was to be a tool for a thing or a tool for making a thing. I was told to consider what collectors or aggregators wanted from their own collections. Feedback included exploring ways of visualizing the narratives of people’s lives.

FEEDBACK: RECEIPTSv2

This expansion was treated by some as needing structure and that the obscuring of information was too obscure. It was also considered as aesthetically really beautiful and successful at using data to generate a pattern without a viewer being able to understand the system.

FEEDBACK: RECEIPTSv2.1

This calendar view was a step towards structure and also a further exploration of making a pattern and organizing of information.

FEEDBACK: RECEIPTSv3

The swirly line device developed here was met with enthusiasm at the beauty of it, but the organization is confusing for many.

PROTOTYPE: GOOGLE READER STARS

I began to use another data set to explore possibilites. I’d also been prompted to look into encryption and the history of cryptography. This resulted in the above attempts at encoding the items I had starred in my Google Reader. I used the author, the title of the post, the date published and the date starred as the words for each item.

PROTOTYPE: DAYTUM

Using another data set to explore possibilites, I landed upon Daytum (an online tool that allows people to record and communicate their personal data) as an opportunity to use other people’s personal data sets. The data set I used in this prototype is Jarrett Fuller’s televsion watching in January and February 2011. The visual encryption in a calendar formation is shown on the next spread.

PROTOTYPE: DAYTUMv2

I played with the idea of being able to view the encryption and the decoded information. I made a web iteration that allowed users to hover over the encrypted information to reveal the actual information. This idea will be pushed further.

FEEDBACK: GOOGLE READER STARS

My encryption method, like my use of the data bits from my receipts to generate the colors of the 8 triangles, was random in the sense that it was completely made up by my discretion and choice. The code was made by making certain parts of a square white. The result wasn’t very successful the idea of encoding information and creating symbols as substitutes for letters, words and numbers is good.

FEEDBACK: DAYTUM

Using another data set was refreshing. It brought in the consideration of other people’s archives. The result is a bit overwhelming.

FEEDBACK: DAYTUMv2

Feedback was that the move from static print to web is a great one. The ability to generate visual patterns from information and then play with the displaying of that information is a crucial idea to explore more. The way users can view information, encode and reveal data is something to be seen in future iterations.

PROTOTYPE: POLYBIUS TEXTS

After reading about encryption and cryptography, I created a Polybius Code out of colored triangles. I used this code along with more inspiration from Andy Gilmore to create colorful structures out of text messages.

THANK YOU