The Art of Data Visualization: How to Tell Complex Stories Through Smart Design The volume of data in our age is so vast that whole new research fields have blossomed to develop better and more efficient ways of presenting and organizing information. One such field is data visualization, which can be translated in plain English as visual representations of information. The PBS “Off Book” series turned its attention to data visualization in a short video featuring Edward Tufte, a statistician and professor emeritus at Yale, along with three young designers on the frontiers of data visualization. Titled “The Art of Data Visualization,” the video does a good job of demonstrating how good design—from scientific visualization to pop infographics—is more important than ever. In much the same way that Marshall McLuhan spoke about principles of communication, Tufte talks in the video about what makes for elegant and effective design. What does Tufte mean by this? For those of us who aren’t designers, it’s refreshing to consider the elements of good visual story-telling.
REDlab- Research in Education & Design Shelley Goldman Shelley Goldman studies learning in and out of school, and applies findings to the development of teaching and learning environments. Goldman's work focuses on creating opportunities for rich math learning, and understanding how design thinking and technologies can increase access to and transform learning. Maureen Carroll Maureen Carroll, Ph.D., is the Research Director of REDlab, a partnership between Stanford University's School of Education and the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (d.school). Megan Luce Megan Luce, Ph.D., is a research associate contributing to REDlab’s strand of research on family science learning in informal and casual contexts. Tim Huang Tim Huang is a co-terminal master's student in Curriculum Studies and Teacher Education. Zaza Kabayadondo Zaza Kabayadondo is a fifth year PhD student in Learning Sciences and Technology Design, with a cross-specialization in Anthropology. Molly Bullock Tanner Vea Bernie Roth Susie Wise Sheri Sheppard Adam Royalty
SCAN and Causal Layered Analysis How do we make sense of story – the stories and narratives and anecdotes that people tell each other and themselves about their world? How can we link between the layers of story to help us make sense of some broader picture, or to derive a clearer view of some desired future? (This is a post I’d promised a colleague a long time back – this is me at last completing on that promise! One of the tools I often use for this purpose is Sohail Inayatullah’s Causal Layered Analysis (CLA). CLA describes narrative in terms of four distinct layers: – At the surface is the litany, the world of the tabloid-newspaper, the everyday of ‘the world as it should be’ – or, more often, the ‘litany of complaint’ that it’s not ‘as it should be’. – Beneath this is the systemic layer, the layer of social causation. – Beneath this again is the worldview layer – the stories and narratives through which we decide what is ‘relevant fact’ and what is not. Also interesting (to me, at least Over to you, if you wish?
- PEOPLE Kenneth Bailey, Sector Organizing and Strategy Lead Kenneth started his activism in the early eighties as a teenager, working in his neighborhood for tenants’ rights and decent housing, targeting the St. Louis Housing Authority. He went on to work for COOL, a national campus-based student organizing program, and then moved to Boston where he worked for the Ten Point Coalition, Interaction Institute for Social Change, and Third Sector New England, as well as being on the Board for Resource Generation.Most recently he has been a trainer and a consultant, primarily on issues of organizational development and community building. Lori Lobenstine, Program Design Lead Lori grew up in a family of community and union organizers, and decided early on that working with youth was her passion and her route to creating change. Ayako Maruyama, Creativity Lab Design Lead Inspired by her parents at an early age, Ayako is dedicated to working in the social sector. Kiara Nagel Najma Nazy'at Judith Leemann
IRI 2038 Futures Study Launch Date: May 2012 Wrap-up Date: November 2013 As part of IRI’s 75th Anniversary Celebration (2013) IRI commissioned the IRI2038 project, a futures initiative designed to answer the following two questions: How will possible future developments and events impact the art and science of research and technology management over the next 25 years? How can IRI best serve its membership in these possible futures? The primary output of the project is twofold: four plausible, yet provocative scenarios about the future of R&D and innovation management and the results of a backcasting exercise designed to help R&D practitioners prepare for these scenarios. The Scenarios Africa Leapfrogs Developed Countries - An inability to build new capacity in the developed world due to increasing environmental regulations creates a new flexible and localized manufacturing process. Backcasting Africa Leapfrogs Developed Countries Backcasting Summary Discovery Extrapolation The Extrapolation Phase included: Planning
Boston Branding Agency | Full Circle Design A lot of people don’t understand what branding is and how it works to help their company. A good brand triggers recognition from potential and current customers alike while offering an instant sense of integrity to those encountering a business for the first time. Many factors go into branding, but the overall goal is to create a positive and lasting impression for your business from the very beginning. Do I really need branding? Effective brands transcend logos — branding represents your business as a whole and is something that every business needs, whether they’re in Boston or Bahrain. We offer brand reputation monitoring and management for a reason. It’s more important than ever to know what people are saying about your organization, especially in an era where they can share information about you with the click of a mouse. Creating brand awareness among your potential customer base is essential in order to succeed in today’s business world. The Takeaway: Brand Strategy
The Thing From The Future – Situation Lab - OCADU The Thing From The Future is an award-winning imagination game that challenges players to collaboratively and competitively describe objects from a range of alternative futures. *link fixed The object of the game is to come up with the most entertaining and thought-provoking descriptions of hypothetical objects from different near-, medium-, and long-term futures. Each round, players collectively generate a creative prompt by playing a card game. In addition to the deck of 108 game cards, a supply of blank index cards and a pen for each player is required. A single deck of The Thing From The Future cards may be used for play by individuals or by groups of two to six members. There are four types of cards in The Thing From The Future: Arc, Terrain, Object, and Mood. ARC cards broadly describe different kinds of possible futures. Grow is a kind of future in which everything and everyone keeps climbing: population, production, consumption… The deck also includes several ARC WILDCARDS. Team
Youth Design | Korn Design About Youth Design is a unique summer mentorship program that introduces inner-city high school students to careers in the design profession by providing high quality, paying design jobs in Boston area design firms, agencies, and in-house design departments. The program was founded by Denise Korn and is run in partnership with the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) Boston chapter, and Boston’s Private Industry Council (PIC) that organizes the private sector component of Mayor Menino’s Summer Jobs Campaign. Learn more about Youth Design For Mentors Youth Design students bring enthusiasm, intelligence, fresh ideas, and make valuable contributions to their workplaces. For Students This unique summer mentorship program introduces high school students to careers in the design profession.
The Life Cycle Of Ideas Every scientific idea has its day. Theories are born and experiments are designed; results are put to the test, then disproved or accepted as canon. As scientists discuss an idea, they cite the paper that proposed it in their own work. Then, as the conversation moves on, references to the paper drop off. The rise and fall of citations serves to measure the lifespan of a paper’s underlying ideas. Popular Science visualized that pattern across disciplines. Life sciences tend to have a flatter citations trend [shaded portion], perhaps because ideas in the field are easier for other experts to grasp—in contrast to fields like mathematics—so it takes less time for them to catch on. Data provided by Thomson Reuters Web of Science; Consultation by jevin west, university of Washington; Analysis and Data visualization by Accurat. This article originally appeared in the May 2014 issue of Popular Science.
43,000 Feet | Branding, Content Strategy and Content Development Three Horizons – fields of future, full of foresight. I’d like to relate to parts of a book that came out in late 2013 from Bill Sharpe. His book, or actually more a booklet, called “Three Horizons: The Patterning of Hope”, published by Triarchy Press, has some really helpful insights. In this book, Bill outlines his distinct ways of creatively working through many of the unknowns, by framing and connecting though the Three Horizons, (3H) as his contribution to the patterning of hope for all our futures. I draw out a lot within his thinking, experiences and approaches within the book. Here are some of the ‘triggers’ I connected with strongly from his book: The three horizons does offer us much to frame the future Firstly, the 3H is actually a simple framework, see my original opening post in 2010,on a quick explanation if you need it. The 3H methodology enables us to look out into the future, across different horizons. Tackling uncertain futures for transformational change So it becomes clear the 3H is a way of working with change Like this: