Introduction

This report will summarize the experience of visualizing a timeline using the tool Knightlab Timeline. During one of the lectures, I was intrigued by Martin Waldseemüller’s world map in 1507, which inspired me to start looking into more maps from earlier ages. Instead of the world map in general, I decided to narrow down the scope to a specific region to see how perceptions of it differed and evolved over the course of history. This would allowed me to learn more about a place as geographical maps portray more than the physical shape but were also closely tied to the people, times and cultures that created them. The topic I chose to focus on was how America had been portrayed on the map, from its first known presence to the form that we are familiar with.

Materials & Data

• Knightlab TimelineJS: Open-source tool to create visual and interactive timeline
• Google Spreadsheets: Cloud-based spreadsheet for adding and connecting data to TimelineJS
• Resources & References for data:
  • Library of Congress
  • Maps and the Beginnings of Colonial North America, The Newberry Digital Collection
  • Educational Institution (Princeton Library, University of Massachusetts)
  • 12 Maps of America From Before We Knew What It Looked Like, Gizmodo

Methods

I started by researching general information and noting down a number of important maps of or contain America. With a rough outline, I then examined the significance of each map and identify 8 milestones that would best represent a huge leap forward in knowledge. In preparation for the next step, I collected literal information and media data for each of these 8 map from multiple sources with high credibility, primarily Library of Congress, Newberry Digital Collection, and a few educational institutions.

To connect data with visualization, Google Spreadsheet was used to import information into the timeline tool. Once completed with relevant data including dates, text descriptions, media, captions, some other customization options and published to the web, the URL of Spreadsheet can be copied and pasted into the TimelineJS URL generator, which provided a link or embed code to share the timeline.

Results

View Timeline Project – History of the Map of America

The result of inputting all the information was a simple and engaging timeline with a a slider-like presentation that is intuitive to interact with and easy to comprehend. This presentation could be easily embedded on other websites, and thus an effective support to a variety of educational or other informational materials.

Reflection

In terms of exploring this topic, seeing how the view of America and the presentation of map have evolved, and learning how geographical maps used to be created for all kinds of purposes different from today’s had been a very informative experience for me. In addition, I enjoyed how the two open-sourced tools used in this exercise worked together to organize and visualize information. If I were to only interact with the Timeline, I wouldn’t be able to comprehend the works and amount of data behind it; but at the same time I felt that’s where the appeal lies – to communicate messages and make complicated things understandable and meaningful to an average audience.

However, there were always trade-offs in the design process of the visualization, such as selecting the map images. While presenting the entire artifact offers a holistic view of the work, I would also want the viewers to be able to quickly grasp the key information or highlights without feeling overwhelmed by the amount of information. For a few instances in this project, I used a close-up as media so that viewers know where to look at and the full image as background, but given more time, I would manipulate or compile the images to offer both views, or consider more types of media. For future practice, I would also be better at connecting different parts together. For example, addressing the intention/purpose, creation (e.g. approach, technology, etc.), cultural significance with relation to the accompanied media, as well as detailing how one milestone might be related to the next, would effectively enhance the message.