History of Information Design and Visualization

Northeastern University, MFA in Information Design and VisualizationInstructor: Paul Kahn

Version 090215

Fall 2015ARTG 5110.01

Course Instructor

Paul KahnExperience Design Director, Mad*Pow

• Email: pauldavidkahn@gmail.com

• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/paulkahn

• Twitter: @pauldavidkahn

Course Description

• Information Design is the collective visual language we use to convey any combination of verbal and non-verbal messages to our intended audience.

• It can be understood as a combination of form and function. In this course, we will explore the history of Information Design from a functional point of view.

•We will meet in Ryder Room 399 Mondays, 5:15 – 8:45 PM

• See full syllabus, class schedule and bibliography here: History of Information Design and Visualization v5https://blackboard.neu.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-10535375-dt-content-rid-16640807_1/xid-16640807_1

Course Description

• Every human culture in every time period has transformed data into visual information.

• The development of Information Design will be viewed as a continuing conversation across time between cultural traditions.

• The sheer quantity of data we produce today is very new, but the qualities of that data are related to basic human needs.

• The first 10 classes will focus on one functional theme that has inspired information design across time and cultures.

Student Assignments

In-Class Presentations

• There will be 8 classes devoted to in-class presentations

• In preparation for each class, I will present a lecture on the theme and distribute a set of suggested examples.

• Students assigned to the functional theme are encouraged suggest their own examples.

•More details on the In-Class presentation for next week later in this talk

In-Class Geneology/Lineage Presentation

• For our fifth meeting on October 19 about Geneology/Lineage, all students will present their own original information design.

• Each student will prepare a diagram representing a genealogy or lineage.

• Choose one or more historical examples to draw inspiration from.

• You can use your own family or just make something up. Your approach to this can be literal, fictional, humorous, ironic, etc.

Student Assignments

Research Paper

• Each student will write a research paper that critically analyzes an information design and visualization technique drawn from one or more historical examples.

• Students are welcome to use and/or combine material from class presentations or choose new topics.

• Paper length should be between 2,500–3,000 words, and will be due following the last class on December 7.

• The last two class meetings will be devoted to short presentations of the research paper topics.

Course Description

•We will explore, research and discuss examples of Information Design drawn from all time periods focused on nine functional themes:

• Cosmology & theological narrative

• Transportation

•Map Mundi / Kingdom / City

• Genealogy/Lineage

• Timelines

• Economic trends

• Scientific explanation

•Mechanical controls

• Business process / Organization chart

Cosmology & theological narrative

Tympanum, Collégiale Saint-Thiébaut de Thann, 15th Century

Transportation

Navigation chart, Marshall Islands, 19th Century

Map Mundi / Kingdom / City

Map of Integrated Lands and Regions of Historical Countries and Capitals (Kangnido Map), Yi Hoe and Kwon Kun, 1402

Genealogy/Lineage

Regnum Animale , Carolus Linnaeus, 1735

Timelines

Succession of Life, Herbert Bayer, 1955

Economic trends

Extent Population & Revenue of the Principal Nations in Europe in 1804, William Playfair, 1806

Scientific explanation

De Viribus - Electricitatis in Motu Musculari, Luigi Galvani, 1792

Mechanical controls

The lone dashboard instrument in an early Model T Ford, 1920s

Business process / Organization chart

Corporate theory of sustained growth, Disney Studio, 1957

An Information Graphic of the French Empire

Presentation Example

Alfred Janniot’s Vision of La plus grande France

• Here is an example of the approach we will take in the class:An examination of the stone bas-relief façade that covers the Palais de Porte Dorée in Paris

• I choose this because it is a remarkable (and little known) example of information design related to our first theme: Cosmology & theological narrative

• Some history

• Some images

• Some analysis

• Some questions

Some History: The Building

• The bas-relief of the Palais de Porte Dorée was created by Alfred August Janniot for the Exposition coloniale internationale de 1931.

• This was the only building planned as a “permanent” structure.

• The Palais de Porte Dorée was designed to be a museum of the French overseas colonies in the Caribbean, Africa, Asia and Oceania.

• It became the Musée national des Arts d’Afrique et d’Océanie in 1960.

• By 1965, the overseas French Empire was transformed into French Departments (DOM), Territories (TOM) and independent sovereign states.

• In 2003 the collections were transferred to the newly created Musée de quai Branly.

• Since 2007 the building has been la Cité nationale de l’histoire de l’immigration

• The people of these former colonies became French citizens and significant parts of the immigrant population in Metropolitan France.

• This unforeseen historical fate is an important bond between the viewer today and this composition set in stone.

Some History: The Façade

• The French sculpture Alfred August Janniot was given the commission to design and execute the façade in less than 2 years.

• The composition was modeled in clay in the studio and then carved on stone blocks that were mounted on the building’s façade.

• In round numbers it covers a surface of 1,130 square meters – that is more than 40 feet high and over 300 feet long.

• The style of the sculpture is Art Deco / Art Moderne, a style that developed in the 1920s emphasizing fluid lines and symmetry.

Some Images (1)

Some Images (2)

Geographic Distribution of the French Empire

Information Design

• The sculpture represents the people of the French Empire of the 1930s producing resources for France.

• The left side represents the Caribbean and Africa

Information Design

• The center represents France

• The right side represents Asia and the Pacific

Information Design

• Each colony is represented by people in specific dress and hairstyle, using specific tools performing specific tasks

Information Design

•Many plants and animals are represented in each region.

Information Design

• The names of important economic products are shown

Information Design

France is represented by

• Symbolic figures alluding to forms of Greek and Roman goddesses

• Powerful animals: horses, bulls

• Sailing ships, steam ships and aeroplanes

• There are no European French people represented in the composition

Information Design

• Photographs of the relief are stored in a Flickr set: Janniot bas-relief http://www.flickr.com/photos/pauldavidkahn/sets/72157617137370110/

• The set includes individual photos and composites made by stitching photos together to represent panels and sections

• All photos are tagged by:

• Panel number (panel1, panel2,…panel23)

• Inscribed Colony/country name (Guadeloupe, Madagascar, … Tahiti)

• Inscribed Product (riz, coton, bois, … soie)

Analysis

• The composition is organized by Colonial geography

• The goal is to illustrate the economic benefit of the French colonies

• The contents are a catalog of

• Indigenous population

• Natural resources

•Modes of production

• Indigenous architecture

Analysis: Colonies, products, places

Further materials are linked to this assignment on Blackboard

Questions

Please examine these documents and photographs.

Read Patricia Morton’s article “National and Colonial, The Musée des Colonies at the Colonial Exposition, Paris 1931

Or if you can find it, Morton’s book:

Hybrid Modernities, Architecture and Representation at the 1931 Colonial Exposition

Choose a part of the composition and consider the following questions for yourself:

•What are the people in this part of the sculpture doing?

• What are the plants and animals being represented?

•What was the economic value of these activities and products in the 1930s?

•What is the economic and ecological significance of these activities, plants and animals today?

Topic #1 Assignment

Cosmology & theological narrative

Theme #1: Cosmology & theological narrative

• Five pairs of students will prepare presentations for each class: one student will act as presenter and the other as respondent/critic.

• Together they will prepare a combination of presentation and discussion lasting approximately 20 minutes, followed by 10 minute of discussion with the entire seminar.

• Over the course of the semester, each student will have an opportunity to be both presenter and respondent. Each student will participate in about 4 presentations.

Theme #1 Team Assignments

Theme #1: Topic Team 1 Assami, Maaria PresenterPan, Siyu Respondent

Theme #1: Topic Team 2 Green, Lucy G. PresenterRichards, Jessie R. Respondent

Theme #1: Topic Team 3 Hoffman, Osnat PresenterScarpelli, Lorenzo Respondent

Theme #1: Topic Team 4 Li, Xingyue PresenterSi, Yike Respondent

Theme #1: Topic Team 5 Morrill, Ryan C. PresenterTang, Andrew A. Respondent

Theme #1: Cosmology & theological narrative

Suggested Theme #1 Topics

Romanesque church tympanum, narrative columns, and murals in France

• Cathédrale Saint-Lazare, Autun

• Collégiale Saint-Thiébaut, Thann

• Abbey Church of Saint Foy, Conques

Greek bas-relief murals and architecture

• Parthenon/Elgin Marbles, British Museum

Mahayana Buddhist bas-relief murals

• Borobudur Temple, narrative panel galleries, Java Indonesia

Mayan bas-relief and painted murals

• Temple of Murals, Bonampak, Mexico

• San Bartolo, Guatemala

Tibetan Thanka narrative painting

Theme #1: Cosmology & theological narrative

Pick a topic you will enjoy exploring and explaining to the group.

Choose from the suggested topics or identify your own topic appropriate for the theme.

Reference the books and articles listed in the Syllabus Bibliography, as appropriate.

One person from each team must report the choice of topic to me by email

Topic Choice Deadline: end of day Tuesday, 9/15

Presentation Deadline: Class #2, 9/21

Help the seminar understand what you discovered:

•What information is presented to the audience

• How the information is organized

•What technique is used

Surprise and challenge us with your discoveries!