form follows behavior

Josh On, They Rule

All visualization begins with a hypothesis. As previously determined, visualization is an expressive medium, and as such aims to communicate abstract ideas through the use of data. Any successful visualization, therefore, allows drawing conclusions about the underlying data. These conclusions, while often revealing or surprising even for the author of the piece, are nonetheless driven by a particular hypothesis—a hypothesis as general as simply selecting a type or range of data for its perceived interest- or insight-generating qualities, or as specific as setting out to prove a certain claim based on the characteristics of the data source.

Read the rest of this entry >

Over the years, a wealth of data has become available online. With the accessibility of this raw information comes the incentive to understand its relevance or significance. Beyond making it engaging and interesting, there is, more than ever, a need for providing interpretation and perspective. Fundamentally, interpretation is a form of information control.

Read the rest of this entry >

Information architecture is the process of structuring information, typically based on specific interaction objectives. Yet as interaction design is increasingly seen as the extension of a brand experience, interactions themselves can become identity driven. This has implications for any content segmentation, which itself becomes an integral aspect of an identity program. The brand strategy can determine where, when and how to surface any type of information.

Read the rest of this entry >

As Adam Richardson of Frog Design has pointed out, we are moving from an information age into a recommendation age. What does this mean? As we are faced with making choices from an ever increasing array of options, we seek trusted sources to help us make better decisions. The information itself is simply becoming too complex, too vast to parse on our own, which is why the opinion of a third party to navigate these complexities is becoming more and more important.

Read the rest of this entry >