In this 2-week module, students investigated the roles of intuitive user interfaces in data visualisation. They learned how metaphors are used to convey unfamiliar information, and how mental models aid in the interpretation of complex visual displays. Then, using a bottom-up, iterative development process they were asked to design interactive visualisations of real data.
Core Competencies
1. Choosing a data set; first step: show everything (spatialisation)
2. Defining a visual vocabulary: size, shape, color
3. Introducing interaction: data as interface
4. Drawing connections: finding similarities in data
5. Creating the interface: sorting and filtering, related UI
6. Polishing: animation, interpolation
7. Presentation: telling a story