Information Design Studio 2

NEU ARTE 335910.01 – Spring 2017

Noah Paessel @ 399 Ryder Hall

Tuesdays 5:45pm - 8:45pm

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Overview

A child spends more than ten-thousand-hours learning to transcode abstract symbols to meaning. As adults, we practice literacy naturally, intuitively, unconsciously. Much of the human experience is archived as text. Recent advancements in large-scale data processing and machine learning have given us tools to visually explore the legacy of human literacy in unanticipated ways.

In this studio, we will scrutinize text from unorthodox perspectives. What can surface observations and metrics of text tell us? How can we illustrate the semantic and syntactic contours of written expression?

Distinctions between qualitative, quantitive, subjective, and objective analysis are in play as we examine how machine-guided interpretations of text inform, undermine, or enforce embedded meanings.

Objective

Students will leave this course with new strategies for extracting and visualizing quantitative and qualititative data from unstructured text. They will understand and exaplain the capabilities and limitations of current machine learning and natural language processing techniques. Students will demonstrate their mastery by producing clear and informative graphics from unstructured text, and by defending their design decisions.

Weekly Structure

Each week students will be working in class towards a final project of their chosing which will examine the visual representation of text.

Grading:

The grading system follows the University Policies.

Criteria:

• 70% Project work – presentation, and defense: We evaluate designs based on clarity, efficiency, originality, and emotional impact. Work should be informed by critical thinking, guided by cognitive principles, and refined on the basis of feedback given in class. The work should communicate on its own, but students must defend the decisions made in their process.
• 20% class participation: The studio is a community. Modern design challenges require collaboration and communication. Students should offer respectful and insightful design critique. Students must offer sophisticated and challenging ideas in design charettes. We expect students in this studio to challenge and elevate each other.
• 10% peer evaluation: Peer evaluation is meaningful. Students will evaluate each others work. We will account for this evaluation in the grading process.

Integrity

Students will abide by Northeastern University’s Academic Integrity Policy.

Attendance

Students are expected to attend all classes. Absence for health or personal reasons should be communicated to the lecturer. Tardiness and unexcused absences will impact student grades.

Schedule:

(42 hours)

• 01-10 - 01 : Introductions
• 01-17 - 02 : Interpretations of Text
• 01-24 – 03 : Historic text visualization approaches
• 01-31 – 04 : Proposal sketches due
• 02-07 – 05 : Second proposal briefs due
• 02-14 - 06 : Work
• 02-21 – 07 : Work
• 02-28 – 08 : Midterm posters
• 03-14 – 09 : Class Canceled
• 03-21 – 10 : Data sets due
• 03-28 – 11 : Vertical slices due
• 04-04 – 12 : Updates.
• 04-11 – 13 : Skeletons due.
• 04-18 – 14 : Final work day.
• 04-25 – 15 : Final Presentations