Transcript
Prepared by:
Paul Kahn – Experience Design Director
February, 2013
Media Lab, Aalto University
Helsinki, Finland
Maps, Diagrams and TimelinesINSPIRATION FOR INTERACTIVE DESIGN
Goals of this presentation
• “Too much information, not enough space” is not a New Problem
• There are many solutions throughout the history of design
• What makes design work is in the user’s mind
• Whether you work on murals, monitors or mobile phones, inspiration can be found in the underlying principals of good design
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What is a map?
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La Carte est un secours que l'on fournit par les yeux à l'imagination .The map is an aid provided to the imagination through the eyes.Henri Abraham Châtelain, Atlas historique, 1705
The map is not the territory.Alfred Korzybski, Science and Sanity, 1933
In fact what is meant by information – the elementary unit of information – is a difference that makes a difference.Gregory Bateson, Form, Substance and Difference, 1970
What is information?
Henri Abraham Châtelain, Map of Canada or New France 1719
Maps That Visualize Networks: Link-Node Diagrams
Peutinger Table• 3rd Century Roman road chart
Erhard Etzlaub Romweg map• Intended for travelers between Northern Europe
and Rome in 1500
Some modern Link-Node Diagrams
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Towns and Roads in Roman Territory, 3rd Century
Maps & Diagrams | August 2012 | 7
Peutinger Table
User-Centered Features:• Icons represent services available on the network• Distance between locations on the same road• Remove space between cities not on the same road
England (left) and France (right), Pyrenees (bottom)
Erhard Etzlaub’s Romweg
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• Designed for the pilgrimage year 1500
• Representing the road network connecting Northern Europe to Rome
• The map is oriented from the North Sea in the foreground to the Mediterranean Sea at the top.
Circles & Dots
• 9 dots from Lubeck to Hamborg
= 75 miles
• 14 dots from Hamborg to Bremen = 126 miles
Cold War orientation of Europe and Asia (TIME Magazine 1952)
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Holtzbrinck Web Map by Dynamic Diagrams (1999)
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NorthAmerica
GermanSwissAustrian
UK
Australasia, S. America, Africa
LinkedIn InMap
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The Bush Money Machine: Spheres of Influence (Wash. Post, 2004)
Karl Rove
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Try to avoid connecting everything to everything…
Deforming space to present information
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Turgot map of Paris engraved by Bretez and Lucas (1734-39)
• Isometric projection of streets & architecture: one vertical scale
• Widen streets to expose street names & flatten land to expose buildings
• Separate size scales for the city and the river
My office
My office
Isometric + Picture Plane
Transportation networks: maps or diagrams?
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Harry Beck’s London Underground map (1933)
• The disappearance of above-ground details
• Stretching and compressing space to improve legibility
• Distorting geographic information to fit a regular grid
London Underground (1920)
London Underground (1933)
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The Real Underground (2004)
• Animation created by Sam Rich for the London Transport Museum.
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Eisenhower Interstate System: Realistic Geography
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Eisenhower Interstate System by Chris Yates (2007)
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INTERSTATE: THE U.S. Interstate System by Cameron Booth (2010)
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Metaphor Maps
The exterior shape of the map exists as a metaphor in the mind of the viewer.
French & German national stereotype maps of Europe (1870)
• The map as geographic metaphor containing ideas
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Europe from the French perspective (1870)
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Europe from the German perspective (1870)
Metaphor Maps
Fritz Kahn “Man as an Industrial Palace” (1920s)
• The human body as a diagram
• Homunculus (little man) as vector/actor
• Explaining biological process through mechanical metaphor
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Man as Industrial Palace animated by Henning Lederer
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Invention of the Timeline
Joseph Priestley’s invention of the timeline (1765)
• History: alignment of cultures, categories and chronology
• Biography: alignment of lifespan and chronology
Alfred Barr’s Art History (1935)
• Timeline + influence vectors
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Customer Journey Timeline
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Data Journalism:Olympics Race Against History (New York Times 2012)
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Techniques used
Metaphor
Olympic pool as inverted data grid
Alignment
Swimmer’s horizontal position = year of race
Swimmer’s vertical position = time converted to distance from fastest
finish
Information overlay on the data grid
Spotlight on individual swimmer in lane (year)
Time barriers as horizontal lines (1 minute, 48 seconds)
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Contact Information
Paul Kahn
Experience Design Director
pkahn@madpow.com
Mad*Pow
Portsmouth | Boston | Louisville
www.madpow.com
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