In modules 1, 2, and 3, we will work with two different data sets. This page will give you some information about them. We will use a dataset of life expectancies and a data set of census information.

For Design Exercise 1, you will sketch ideas for designs for visualization problems using two sample data sets. Later in the semester, you will use tools (or programs) to make real visualizations. For this assignment we want you to sketch. The goal is for you to think of how visualization designs can answer questions, and to practice sketching to explore designs.

For this Design Warmup, you will critique and redesign (by sketching) some visualizations from an online article. Read the whole assignment first. The goal is to give you practice at critiquing.

Important: for this design exercise you should sketch. This means drawing things by hand. You should not write programs to make visualizations. If you want to draw using a tablet or drawing program, that’s OK - but the spirit of the assignment is for you to sketch on paper (and submit a picture of what you’ve drawn).

This week we’ll finally be on a regular schedule… Monday and Wednesday classes, a first week of a three week module (with usually 1st week of module stuff, …). Topic-wise, we’ll begin a module on building blocks: the basic elements that we use to build and analyze visualizations.

This is the first of our weekly posts to remind you about what is going on in class this week.