This week, we looked at a history of data visualisation from the ancient times to the present.
Early information were presented through pictographs. These were images painted on cave walls, dating back to ancient times. Stories were told through this medium, carved on the walls of cage and were the main form of visual communication among ancient societies.
Most modern charts emerged from the 18th century onwards. Charles Joseph kInnard was a particular interesting example of these, with his example of a war visualisation. Arguably, William Playfair is one of the most influential figures in the history of charts and data visualisation.
I was intrigued by Playfair’s work that we looked at during class, so I decided to do some more personal research into his work. I was very shocked to find that Playfair was born in 1759; this point in particular made me realise how long charts in a similar format to what we still use today have been around. The biggest shock was that he invented the line, bar and area chart, as well as being the first example of a pie chart.
In 1786, he published the first known visual graphic. I was very impressed looking at this, as aside from the typography, it looks very similar to how charts are still presented in the modern day. To me, Playfairs work is a key example of how good design can be timeless, as we still use this design over two and a half centuries later.
Similarly to William Playfair's work, I was shocked to find out that the map of the London Underground is almost a century old. It was designed by Harry Beck 1931, showing the map of London is a condensed way. As someone that’s experienced the London Underground, I’ve always been impressed with how successfully the map condenses such a complex, dense amount of information in a relatively small area. To me, this shows how good design can be incredibly practical for everyday life, as Beck was able to create something so timeless and effective that it remains a cities main image for almost a century.
Today, data visualisations are incorporated into various aspects of our everyday life.
One example of a data visualisation that I looked at as an example of this id Citi Bike NYC. This visualisation shows locations in which bikes are available, as new York’s transport system is highly characterised by rental bikes. This is an incredible detailed visualisation, with data on 1,000 stations and 27,000 bikes. Each station is listed on the map and shows information about the type of bikes available, their ID and estimated range.
I think Citi Bike is a very impressive visualisation and a great reflection of how visualisations are now an integral aspect of many people’s daily life.
Data can tell a story. The definition of ‘story’ varies depending on what type of data is being presented; quantitative or qualitative. Qualitative data is longer and more detailed, often in the form of literature and written media. Quantitative data, on the other hand, is more numerical making it a better choice for visualisations like charts.