This Murrow College of Communication seminar focuses on understanding and using the principles of information graphics and basic data visualization. This is where you will find the course schedule and updated links to assignments and readings.
Week 1: What is data visualization?
Aug. 22-28 | Definitions, examples, types of charts
Readings:
• Data + Design Foreword and Chapter 1 and Chapter 2
• Designing Data Visualizations Chapter 1 (first half only; you can stop at “Exploration versus Explanation”)
Lessons:
• Course Introduction
• What is Data Visualization?
Assignments:
• Syllabus Visualization
• Scavenger Hunt
Week 2: Data through history
Aug. 29-Sept. 5 | History of information graphics, collecting and questioning data
Readings:
• The Surprising History of the Infographic (Smithsonian Magazine)
• Choose one biographical feature: William Playfair, Florence Nightingale, W.E.B. Du Bois, Marie Neurath
• A Brief History of Data Visualization
• Data + Design Chapter 4
• Visualization: Encoding Data Using Visual Cues
Lessons:
• History of Data Visualization
• Elements of Data Visualizations
Assignments:
• Charting WSU Demographics
• Working with Pivot Tables
Week 3: What to do
Sept. 5-11 | Best practices for information graphics, anatomy of a chart, Edward Tufte
Readings:
• Data + Design Chapter 14 and Chapter 15
Lessons:
• Principles for Visual Impact
• Practical Design Tips
Assignments:
• Answering Questions with Pivot Tables
• Organizing Tuition Data
Monday is a university holiday for Labor Day. Assignments will be posted Tuesday to avoid confusion with the previous week’s assignments.
Week 4: What not to do
Sept. 12-18 | Chartjunk, bad charts, optical illusions and deceptions
Readings:
• Stephanie Evergreen’s Data Visualization Checklist
• Designing for the Human Brain
• Data + Design Chapter 17 and Chapter 18
Lessons:
• The Problem with “Chartjunk”
• Common Chart Problems
Assignments:
• Good and Bad: Pet Ownership
• Visualizing Data in Tableau
Week 5: Pie charts and beyond
Sept. 19-25 | The case against pie charts, part-to-whole alternatives
Readings:
• “Understanding Pie Charts” (EagerEyes)
• “Save the Pies for Dessert” (Stephen Few)
• Visualizing Proportions
Lessons:
• All About Pie Charts
• Visualizing Part-to-Whole Relationships
Assignments:
• Making Dashboards in Tableau
• Athletics Expenses in Tableau
Week 6: Professional Approaches
Sept. 26-Oct. 2 | Professional standards, trends and controversies
Readings:
• “What We Talk About When We Talk about Beautiful Data Visualizations,” a book chapter from Data Visualizations in Society
• Data Visualization Society Strategic Plan 2020
• Talk to the Newsroom: Graphics Director Steve Duenes
Lessons:
• Beauty in Data Visualization
• Professional Community
Assignments:
• Midterm Comparison Project
Week 7: Midterms
Oct. 3-9 | Presenting projects
Readings
• Tweaking and Cleaning Up Data Visualizations: The Role of Adobe Illustrator
• What does “clean it up in Illustrator” mean?
• Adobe: Design professional charts and graphs
Lesson (only one this week):
• Midterm Presentations
Assignments:
• Basic Charts in Illustrator
• Food Consumption Pictogram
Week 8: Maps
Oct. 10-16 | Basic cartography and mapping principles
Readings:
• Introduction to Map Design (Esri)
• The Cartographer Who’s Transforming Map Design (Wired) PDF version if the article won’t load
• ‘X’ Marks the Spot: Officials Map a Route Out of the Pandemic (NYT) PDF version
• Mapping the Future: Cartography Stages a Comeback (Wired) PDF version
Lessons:
• Lesson: Maps and Cartography
• Lesson: Why Map Projections Matter
Assignments:
• Mapping Point Data
• Making a Cartogram
Week 9: Geography Without Maps
Oct. 17-23 | When geographic data is better off without a map
Readings
• When Maps Shouldn’t Be Maps
• Election maps are telling you big lies about small things
• 5 Ways to Read a Scatterplot
Lessons:
• Geography Without Maps
• The Case for Dot Plots
Assignment:
• Choropleth Maps in Tableau
Week 10: Beyond Bars & Lines
Oct. 24-30 | A look at flowcharts, tree diagrams, illustrations and other forms
Reading
• Interview with the South China Morning Post Infographics Team
Lessons:
• Chart Variations and Tree Diagrams
• Exploring “Xenographics”
Assignment:
• Youth Sports Infographics
Week 11: Interactivity
Oct. 31-Nov. 6 | Principles of interactive design and user experience
Readings
• Design Principles for News Apps (ProPublica)
• The death of interactive infographics? (Dominikus Baur)
• In Defense of Interactive Graphics (Gregor Aisch)
Lessons:
• Principles of Interactivity
• Interactive Connections
Assignments:
• Interactive Map Comparison
• Advice Flowchart
Week 12: Charts Online
Nov. 7-13 | History of charts on the Internet and technological limitations
Readings:
• What interactives can do (that articles can’t)
• Choosing a Font for your Data Visualization
• How to Create Brand Colors for Data Visualization Style Guidelines
• Optional recommended reading: Which fonts to use for your charts and tables
Lessons:
• Evolution of Visualization Technology
• Sports Interactive Pioneers
Assignment:
• Esri StoryMaps Tour
Week 13: The Guided Experience
Nov. 14-20 | Guided vs. exploratory graphics, the annotation layer
Readings:
• Three Ways to Annotate your Graphs
• Patterns for Humane Data Visualization (Source)
• Human-Looking Data Visualizations Don’t Boost Empathy — Yet
Lessons:
• Guided vs. Exploratory Graphics
• Storytelling with Data Dimensions
Assignment: Visualizing Poll Data
Thanksgiving Break: Nov. 21-25
Week 14: Future of Graphics
Nov. 28-Dec. 4 | Pushing the boundaries and innovative new forms
Readings:
• None! But it may be helpful to review previous readings as you work on your project.
Lessons:
• Trends and Innovations
• Inspirations and Audiences
Assignment: Personal Data Project Draft
Week 15: Closed Week
Dec. 5-11 | Sharing the Personal Data Projects
Readings:
• None — Week 15 Quiz is review from previous weeks
Lesson:
• Beyond the Course
Assignment:
• Personal Data Project (Wednesday, Dec. 14, 11:59 p.m.)
Week 16: Finals Week
Dec. 12-16 | No lecture or exams
The final project is due on Wednesday, Dec. 14. All late or missing assignments are accepted for partial credit until Friday, Dec. 16, at 11:59 p.m.