Time for Adobe Illustrator!
This week’s assignments are the first ones that use Adobe Illustrator. We’ll continue using Tableau and also introduce other interactive tools, but it’s important to have some experience with Illustrator since it’s an industry standard for design software.
Adobe Illustrator is part of the Adobe Creative Cloud software bundle, which is unfortunately not open-source or free (aside from a short free trial). If you do not already have Illustrator on your computer, please see this page about different options for accessing the software and get in touch with me if you’re uncertain about which option will work for you: Accessing Adobe Illustrator
If you cannot use Adobe Illustrator because of technology or other limitations, please let me know right away and we’ll figure out the best alternative software program to use for your specific situation.
Class Presentations: Midterm Project
It’s time to hear from all of you! Please watch each of the short midterm presentations from other students in the class. Since we’re a small class this semester, I also included a few standout presentations from last year at the end.
Videos will be added as soon as possible after the submission deadline.
USA Today and Vox coronavirus – click link to view
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
These readings are short with a technical overview of using Adobe Illustrator for data visualization. They provide context for what’s possible in Illustrator and how practitioners use the software combined with other programs.
Discussion 1
You’ve thought about these questions with your own midterm, so now we’ll briefly discuss them as a whole.
Midterm Presentations: After watching the presentations, answer these questions:
- What’s one theme you noticed in the examples or the comparisons?
- What’s one specific visualization that stood out to you, and why?
- What’s one overall takeaway you can apply to your own work?
Discussion 2
Many companies employ data visualization specialists, but often for internal communication only. Consumers are becoming more concerned about how companies use their data, and some companies carefully guard their data as proprietary information.
Dataviz for brands: Give your opinion about the following:
- Do you think there’s an opportunity for brands to do more data visualization for a public audience? Or are there are too many risks such as ethical concerns about sharing/using consumer data?
- Thinking of a brand or organization you like, what is one idea for a data visualization that might be interesting for customers/supporters? (You can think of consumer brands, apps, sports teams, nonprofits, etc.)
Assignment 12: Basic Charts in Illustrator
We’ll ease into Illustrator with an assignment about remaking some charts you previously made online. (12 pts)
Assignment 13: Food Consumption Pictogram
In this assignment, you’ll use USDA data about food availability to create a pictogram that uses symbols to show how Americans’ diet preferences have changed over time. (18 pts)