Visualization and Design: Fundamentals

• CUNY Graduate Center | Summer 2021

• 6/1 – 6/24 | 6:30 to 8:30

• 6/1, 6/8, 6/15, 6/22, 6/24 SYNCHRONOUS

• Zoom link

• Michelle McSweeney (mmcsweeney@gc.cuny.edu)

• Office Hours By Appointment on Thursdays (REQUIRED – sign up here)

Description

As employers in every sector continue to search for candidates that can turn their data into actionable information, this course is designed to demystify data analysis by approaching it visually. Using Tableau Software, we will build a series of interactive visualizations that combine data and logic with storytelling and design. We will dive into cleaning and structuring unruly data sets, identifying which chart types work best for different types of data, and unpacking the tactics behind effective visual communication. With an eye towards critical evaluation of both data and method, projects and discussion will be geared towards humanities and social science research. Regardless of your academic concentration, you will walk away from this class with a portfolio of dynamic dashboards and a new interdisciplinary skill set ready to leverage in your academic and professional work.

Objectives

By the end of this class, you will be able to:

• Build interactive data visualization dashboards that answer a clear and purposeful research question

• Choose which chart type works best for different types of data

• Iterate with fluidity in Tableau Software leveraging visualization, aesthetic, and user interface best practices

• Structure thoughtful critiques and communicate technical questions and solutions

• Leverage collaborative tools, including Tableau Public, Github, and repositories of public data sets

• Contribute to the broader conversation about digital practices in academic research

• Critically read a wide range of chart types with an eye for accuracy, audience, and effectiveness

• Identify potential weaknesses in the collection methods and structure of underlying data sets

• Locate the original source of a visualization and its data

Assignments

During this course, you will complete four assignments: 2 guided projects and a final portfolio accompanied by a white paper. We expect that you will turn in each project before you feel fully ready to do so. You will have the opportunity to submit revisions of the first two blog projects until you’re satisfied with the outcome.

Blog Post 1

20% Final Grade | Guidelines

One visualization built with New York City’s 311 data

Blog Post 2

20% Final Grade | Guidelines

One visualization with a quantified self data set you’ve created

Final Portfolio

30% Final Grade | Guidelines

A series of three visualizations answering an independent research question using a data set of your choice

White Paper

10% Final Grade | Guidelines

A 1,500-4,000 word final reflection on data, visualization, and iteration

In-Class Reflections

10% Final Grade | Participation in the in-class reflections and critiques

Tableau Tutorials

10% Final Grade | Completion of Tableau tutorials

Schedule

Because this is a Summer Session course, we will cover a lot of ground in just four weeks. The synchronous pin ups and 1:1 meetings and the asynchronous tutorials are essential for understanding the material and doing well in the course. The seminar focuses on a the theoretical underpinnings of data visualization. The tutorials will cover essential tools and techniques in Tableau. For the summer online format, both components are delivered via pre-recorded videos. By the end of this course, you will have developed a deep understanding of the context around data visualization and how to effectively and ethically engage in visual communication.

 

 

Week 1 | Introduction to Tableau and Data Visualization

Meetings:

1. June 1, 6:30-8:30pm Synchronous Zoom Introduction (Suggested: Friendly, 2007 A Brief History of Data Visualization)
2. June 3, 6:30-8:30pm 15 minute 1:1 via Zoom to discuss project

Seminar

Lecture Videos	Reading
Research Questions	Yau 2013 Chapter 1 Data Points
Principles of Data Visualization Video 1 (Visualization Types Video 1) Video 2 (Visualization Types Video 2)	Yau 2013, Chapter 3 of Data Points Nussbaumer Knaflic 2015. Chapter 2, Storytelling With Data: Choosing and Effective Visual

Lab Videos

Session	Tutorial
0	Install Tableau, Sign up for CUNY Academic Commons
1	Cleaning data in Tableau Prep, Scatter Plots, Maps, Pie Charts, Bar Charts, Tool Tips
2	Downloading, Exploring, and Wrangling 311 data

 

Assignments

Date	Time	Deadline	Platform
June 1	8:30 PM	Sign up for Tableau & Commons	NA
June 2	8:30 PM	Cleaning data in Tableau Prep, First Dashboard	Tableau Public & Email
June 3	6:30 PM	Submit Proposal for Blog Post 1	Email
June 8	6:30 PM	Publish Blog Post 1	Tableau Public & Commons

 

 

Week 2 | Data Integrity and Data Structures

1. June 8, 6:30-8:30pm Synchronous Zoom Pin Up Project 1 (Suggested: Viegas & Wattenberg 2015 Design and Redesign in Data Visualization )
2. June 10, 6:30-8:30pm 15 minute 1:1 via Zoom to discuss project

Lecture Videos

Lecture Videos	Reading
Project 2 Description
Quantified Self Video 1 Quantified Self Video 2	Giorgia Lupi Dear Data TED Talk Gitelman, 2013 “Raw Data” Is An Oxymoron Optional: Tufte 1997 The Decision to Launch the Space Shuttle Challenger in Visual and Statistical Thinking
Data & Data Manipulation Video 1 Video 2 Video 3 **** Video 1 Video 2 Video 3	Drucker 2015 Humanities Approach to Graphical Design Posner, 2016 What’s Next: The Radical, Unrealized Potential of Digital Humanities Optional: Lupi, 2017. Data Humanism

Lab Videos

Session	Tutorial
3	Data Structure, Data Joins
4	Calculated Fields, Dashboard Design

 

Assignments

Date	Time	Deadline	Platform
June 9	8:30 PM	Data Joins	Tableau Public & Email
June 10	8:30 PM	Calculated Fields	Tableau Public & Email
June 10	6:30 PM	Proposal for Blog Post 2	Email
June 15	6:30 PM	Publish Blog Post 2	Tableau Public & Commons

 

Week 3 | Advanced Chart Types

 

Meetings:

1. June 15, 6:30-8:30pm Synchronous Zoom Pin Up Project 2

2. June 17, 6:30-8:30pm 15 minute 1:1 via Zoom to discuss project

Seminar

Seminar	Reading
Maps Video 1 Video 2 Video 3 Video 4	Solnit, 2016 Nonstop Metropolis (2 pieces in Zotero Library)
Text Video 1 Video 2 Video 3	Drucker 2015 Humanities Approach to Graphical Design Posner, 2016 What’s Next: The Radical, Unrealized Potential of Digital Humanities Optional: Lupi, 2017. Data Humanism

Online

Session	Tutorial
5	Thematic Maps & Tree Maps
6	Dispersion Plots & Word Clouds

 

Assignments

Date	Time	Deadline	Platform
June 16	8:30 PM	Thematic Maps & Tree Maps	Tableau Public & Email
June 16	8:30 PM	Dispersion Plots & Word Clouds	Tableau Public & Email
June 17	6:30 PM	Proposal for Final Project	Email
June 22	6:30 PM	Final Project Draft Pin Up	Tableau Public & Commons

 

Week 4 | Communicating with Data

1. June 22, 6:30-8:30pm Project 3 Draft Small Group Reviews

2. June 24, 6:30-8:30pm Synchronous Zoom Pin Up Project 3/Final

Seminar

Seminar	Reading
Grounded Visualization 1 video 30 mins	Knigge & Cope 2006 Grounded visualization: integrating the analysis of qualitative and quantitative data through grounded theory and visualization Tufte – Chapter 2 – Graphical Integrity
Storytelling Video 1	McCandless TED Talk Suggested Andrew Stanton TED Talk: The Clues to a Great Story

Online

Session	Tutorial
7	Bullet Graph, Bump Chart, Donut Chart, Slope Chart (pick one)

 

Assignments

Date	Time	Description	Platform
June 22	8:30 PM	Advanced Visual	Tableau Public & Email
June 23	8:30 PM	Dispersion Plots & Word Clouds	Tableau Public & Email
June 24	6:30 PM	Final Project	Tableau Public & Commons

 

Week 5 | After Semester

Assignments

Date	Time	Description	Platform
July 1	6:00 PM	White Paper	Commons

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