Google Maps Street View
Google Maps recently launched its latest feature, a panoramic, street-level view of several major US cities. Despite not being the first of its kind, this is the most satisfying street-level simulation I have seen. In particular, what Google has brilliantly solved is the question of navigation and performance, once again demonstrating the importance of execution. Yet, beyond technical sophistication, my interest lies in the artifact created by this new type of visualization.
read the rest of this entry
In their paper Artistic Data Visualization: Beyond Visual Analytics, Fernanda B. Viégas and Martin Wattenberg claim that artistic data visualizations “…must be based on actual data, rather than the metaphors or surface appearance of visualization.” What they seem to be saying (though I will admit I may be reading too much into this statement) is that metaphor cannot apply to any ‘artistic’ visualization directly derived from data. While the article is well written and researched, I will try to explain why I fundamentally disagree with this premise (Martin informs me that I misinterpreted their statement, please see comments).
read the rest of this entry
Hiroshi Sugimoto, Radio City Music Hall (1978)
In the past few months, I’ve come across a variety of work dealing, in one way or another, with compression of time as a method for visualization. Despite the wide range of work, there are particular generalizable attributes which I will identify.
The first few examples are time lapse renderings, in which the view remains fixed as all information gathered over a period of time is displayed simultaneously.
read the rest of this entry
Since geographic information systems have become mainstream, maps are everywhere, and not just on our computers, but on our phones and in our cars. We are now literally surrounded by maps. Yet, despite so much exposure, I have not lost interest in mapping as an art. On the contrary—I am more than ever drawn to maps which have a distinct perspective. To me, the most powerful maps are those which convey identity, or—in the case of geographic maps—a sense of place.
read the rest of this entry