Thursday, August 28, 2008

Edward Tufte


An American statician and retired professor of statistics, information design and interface design at Yale University, Edward Tufte has been discribed as "the da Vinci of Data." Tufte's writing covers the fields such as information design and visual literacy, focusing on visual communication of information. Often accused of being "merciless towards the misleading" Tufte feels that time is wasted by "deciphering bad designs" when "the wonder of data" could be being explored. And to those who say statistics and data are boring, well Tufte has a response. "If the statistics are boring, then you've got the wrong numbers."

Nigel Holmes


An illustrator and graphic designer, Nigel Holmes was born in England in 1942. Receiving his degree in illustration from the Royal College of Art in London, Nigel is most heralded for his work with explanation graphics. Working on anything from charts, diagrams, maps icons to motion graphics Nigel breaks down complex information into easily understandable graphics. Having worked for clients such as the BBC, American Express, Chase and Timberland, he has built up a large portfolio of clients on both sides of the pond. Also an author, Holmes has written many books, and has also collaborated with Richard Saul Williams in two chapters of the book Understanding USA in 2000.

Richard Saul Wurman


An architect and graphic designer, Richard Saul Wurman was born in Philly in 1935. Considered a front runner in the realm of making information understandable, Wurman has written and designed 80+ books and was the creator of the famous TED conferences. Coining the term "information architect," Wurman was fueled by a society that creates large amounts of information with lack of care and order. His ACCESS travel guide books used simple colored text, allowed for the separation. location and evaluation of restaurants, parks, museums and other destinations.

project one | stories

STORY ONE

Over the past 80 years lots of things have changed. Wars have been won and lost, alliences have shifted and even the Royals have won a World Series. But this biggest lack of change is one that isn’t oblivious to most. Among all the things that have happened for the better part of this century, one thing that hasn’t changed is the previous election effecting the present one. For the past 80 years, incumbents have had an effect on each election, whether it be a presidents second term, or a vice president running for office. Well this year that is all going to change. For the first time since 1928, the presidential election will be imcumbent free. Free from influence, carried over policies and the future being the same as the past. So you don’t like how our countries been run over the past 80 years? Well according to history, 2008 is the election for change.

STORY TWO

Think you can spend thre trillion dollars? Better yet, think you could spend three trillion dollars selfishy? Go ahead and give it a try. The Iraq was is expected to cost close to three trillion dollars. One cause, and a huge addition to our debt. With this amount of money you could solve the United States dependency on foreign oil, solve the worlds climate crisis, or educate 20 milion students at the college level. But not each one individually, all of the about could be accomplished with 1.9 trillion dollars left to spare. You’d still have enough money for universal American health care, a nationwide switch to solar energy, and treat yourself to a vintage 1958 Fender guitar while your at it. Countless ways to benefit the general public with spoils thrown in for yourself. Now does three trillion dollars on one cause seem right?

project one | objective

The purpose of this project is to engage the viewer. When using motion graphics as a tool for communication, it’s easy to depend upon the medium to make it interesting. Using this type of medium requires just as much attention to concept, thought process and final creation as any other. With this project it, is our job to take a statistic concerning voting and the upcoming election, and make it a visually pleasing experience. Using motion, scale, color, sound, transitions ect., we as designers can methodically engage our viewer into experiencing the statistic concretely. The statistic chosen should have relevence to this years up coming election. Using non-partisian information about current issues regarding voting or lack there of, our videos should create an engaging call to action. This experience should let the viewer sense or feel the data, creating the want to vote, or at least investigate the situation at hand.

graphics III

Hurray for passing the review!