{"id":14678,"date":"2019-07-01T08:49:40","date_gmt":"2019-07-01T12:49:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/studentwork.prattsi.org\/infovis\/?p=14678"},"modified":"2019-07-01T08:54:20","modified_gmt":"2019-07-01T12:54:20","slug":"getting-people-where-they-want-to-go","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/studentwork.prattsi.org\/infovis\/labs\/getting-people-where-they-want-to-go\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting People Where They Want To Go"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Know before you go (Photo: M Kelly)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Traveling with Confidence<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As tempting as the urge to wander aimlessly may be at times, most travelers begin a journey \u2014 down the street or across the country \u2014 visualizing and organizing it. Some of this is done in our minds, some of it jotted on paper or in a note-taking app. Where will we end up? When will we arrive? What connections or decisions do we make to get there? What can we expect along the way?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ideally, as one moves to make the vision a reality, they will have visual aids that assist in this process. The Going Places timeline created in this lab presents a small selection of notable or historic visualizations toward that end; designs that aimed to provide clarity in charting one\u2019s course, in space and\/or time. As evidenced by the few examples exhibited and the decisions made, it aims to make its own connections and shows a different kind of journey; that of the evolution of transportation-focused infographics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tracks and Cars<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To create this visualization, I primarily used the materials provided at the start of the lab, with the base structure created by Knight Lab\u2019s Timeline JS<\/a>, which provided the Google Sheet template below to populate the timeline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Behind the scenes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The main jumping off point for content came from RJ Andrews\u2019 Map of Firsts: An Interactive Timeline of the Most Iconic Infographics<\/a><\/strong>, which provides a convenient, amiable tour through its subject.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While I knew several of the items that were selected from there, a couple were new to me, and I then completed the limited set with my own knowledge of a few other pieces that might not have been firsts, but are certainly iconic. Corresponding imagery and supporting data then came from web-based sources, including Andrews\u2019 graphic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finding the Route<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The generation and publishing of the timeline was rather direct, if a bit more confusing due to recent issues with Google’s spreadsheet access server. I followed the prescribed steps<\/a> of publishing on the Knight Lab site, and with minimal trial and error had a working preview that I could review while populating the spreadsheet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From a content standpoint, the start was admittedly a bit muddled, with a fair amount of jumping around from topic to topic before landing on transportation. Paths were plotted and then discarded, with minimal planning before diving into the actual visualization. Finally, the basic thread was established using the spreadsheet as an organizing tool. Once a sufficient number of entries were selected and placed in order, supporting data was collected and input, with each link and entry tested as I proceeded. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the timeline and narrative took form, I decided to use two optional columns of the spreadsheet to provide more context within the timeline. The first, “Group”, allowed me to establish connections for the viewer between timeline entries, such as the two train schedules. The second, “Background”, allowed me to insert images representing those who might use the graphics, where they might have been used, those who had developed them, and evolutions from them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Local color in the title page<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

End of the line\u2026 for now<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The resulting timeline<\/a> from the lab remains a kind of work in progress, though more the kind that is built upon, not completed itself. It is finding its place and hinting at the strengths of the tool, but is really just a start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n