Plan for the Day
We’ve got a few things to do today, so below is a list:
- Turn in Document #2 today
- Effective Repetition: ethos, pathos, logos of…
- More on Typography
- Midterm Exam Review
- 5182 Projects (who’s leading class discussion when)
Typography Intro
I have a page for us about Typography, so let’s head on over.
Design for Information Ch. 4
There’s probably a better way to pair the different books together. For instance, Meirelles’s Ch. 6 has a bit more about typography than Ch. 4, which I assigned for tonight. We’ll be coming back to the principles of the books throughout the semester, so I won’t worry so much about the class activities not matching the textbooks exactly.
- p. 115: a map is “a diagram or collection of data showing the spatial distribution of something or the relative positions of its components”
- p. 117: Thematic maps come about when “[f]ocus shifted from analytical concern with position of features to holistic concern with the spatial extent and variation of features”
- p. 117: “The unprecedented development in the mid-1800s of graphic methods to analyze data in many ways was fueled by most countries’ recognition of the importance of numerical information in planning for the general welfare of the population (social, economic, etc.)”
- p. 118: “All map projections involve transformations that result in distortions of one or more of the geometric properties of angles, areas, shapes, distances, and directions.”
- p. 122: “maps involve simplifications and generalizations”
- After all, maps are abstractions
- p. 122: “Deciding on which features to include will depend on the purpose of the map, with the caveat that the map scale imposes the level of details depicted in it”
- p. 124: Discrete or continuous data
- p. 126: “Good design optimizes the visual thinking process”
- p. 126: Segregation between Figure and Ground
Speaking of maps and data visualizations, consider the following:
- Charles Joseph Minard’s cereals transportation map of Paris
- Let’s comment on the typeface choices
- How about on this one? How do you know what it’s saying?
- Olympic medals cartogram (2012)
- Here’s an interesting choropleth map
- What’s wrong with this map?
- Where’s the missing continent?
- Fun graph from another class
My first choropleth map! Click here for the data in Excel, and click here if you get lost in the tutorial.
Next Class
Make sure you read Chapters 9, 10, and 11 in The Non-Designer’s Design Book before coming to class in next week (10/23).
I have us down for cover type over two classes because I thought we might need a chance to catch up. If we didn’t get to our group work on type tonight, bring your typefaces in next week. Remember to find exotic ones–no Times New Roman or Arial.