Post on 26-Jan-2020
VISUALISATIONS, CONVENTIONS, CREATIVITYA semiotic look on infographics and dataviz
BLACK HOLES AND MORE
WHY SEMIOTICS
TRUTH OR FAKE
THE POWER OF VISUAL
THE POWER OF DATA
CREATIVE PATHS AND AESTHETIC VALUE
SEMANTIC DESIGN
Semiotics is a theory of the lie
UMBERTOECO
Semiotics is in principle the discipline studying everything that can be used in order to lie.
If something cannot be used to tell a lie, conversely it cannot be used to tell the truth: it cannot in fact be used "to tell" at all.
Umberto Eco, A Theory of Semiotics, 1976
A sign is something that is in place of something that is not there
RENÉ MAGRITTE
LA TRAHISONDES IMAGES
WHY SEMIOTICS
TRUTH OR FAKE
THE POWER OF VISUALS
THE POWER OF DATA
CREATIVE PATHS AND AESTHETIC VALUE
SEMANTIC DESIGN
Demystifying = showing the constructive nature of what we are used to consider natural
ROLANDBARTHES
NEUROCOGNITIVE HYPEBiological-based meanings and behaviours
linear vs radial2
bullet vs gauge1
CULTURE OR NATURE?
CULTURE AND NATURE
Relational map VS Object search3
Context-sensitivity VS Selective attention
Culture and nature: does language shape reality? 5
LERABORODITSKY
WHY SEMIOTICS
TRUTH OR FAKE
THE POWER OF VISUALS
THE POWER OF DATA
CREATIVE PATHS AND AESTHETIC VALUE
SEMANTIC DESIGN
We are used to think that IMAGES DO NOT LIE
The black hole paradox
TEDx, Katie Bouman, “How to take a picture of a black hole”, 2017
Is this image “true”?
IT IS TRUE, BUT ALWAYS CONVENTIONAL
WHY SEMIOTICS
TRUTH OR FAKE
THE POWER OF VISUALS
THE POWER OF DATA
CREATIVE PATHS AND AESTHETIC VALUE
SEMANTIC DESIGN
DATA + VISUALS=
TRUTH AND RELIABILITY
DATA SUPREMACY
QUANTITATIVE FRENZY
PAOLOFABBRI
content analysis vs semantic analysis
WHAT ABOUT IRONY? AND METAPHOR?
AND CONNOTATION?
Let’s take Madame Bovary and let’s look for the word “boredom”. We do not find it. Yet Emma is extremely bored, to the point that she cheats on her husband.
WE HAVE TONS OF DATA BUT NO INFORMATION 6
MARTINLINDSTROM
Qualitative assumptions
Qualitative outputs
INTERPRETATION
Quantitative outputs
DATA MINING AND PROCESSING
VISUALISATION
WHY SEMIOTICS
TRUTH OR FAKE
THE POWER OF VISUALS
THE POWER OF DATA
CREATIVE PATHS AND AESTHETIC VALUE
SEMANTIC DESIGN
WE ARE ALL AESTHETIC CONSUMERS
GILLES LIPOVETSKY
EXPRESSION CONTENT
Fruit
Temptation
Pureness
Innovation
AESTHETIC EFFECT = correspondence between
content and expression
EXPRESSION CONTENT
VISUAL RETHORIC
COMPARISON
ANALOGY
SYMBOLISMRHYTHM
ABSTRACTIONICONISM
STORYTELLING
ANALOGY
Francesco Franchi, Green Report
COMPARISON
David Mc Candless, Left vs Right
ABSTRACTION
BBC, Tomorrow’s world values
ICONISM
Marion Luttenberg
Peter Ørntoft Club de creativos y creativas
Most populated cities through time
RHYTHM
STORYTELLING
Rebee Garofalo, Pop Waves
WHY SEMIOTICS
TRUTH OR FAKE
THE POWER OF VISUALS
THE POWER OF DATA
CREATIVE PATHS AND AESTHETIC VALUE
SEMANTIC DESIGN
VISUALISATION IS (ALSO) A MATTER OF CONTENT
EDWARD TUFTE
THE PPT FALLACY 7
The space shuttle Columbia accident, 2003
No visualisation is in principle true. We have to make them true for our user.
References
1 – “Bullet Graph Versus Gauges Graph: Evaluation Human Information Processing of Industrial Visualization Based on Eye-Tracking Methods”, WU Lei, Lingli Guo, Hao Fang, Mou Lijun, Advances in Usability, User Experience and Assistive Technology, 2019
2 – “Cross-cultural differences in cognitive development: Attention to relations and objects”, Megumi Kuwabaraand Linda B. Smith, Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 113 (1), 2012
3 – “Eye tracking for visualization evaluation: Reading values on linear versus radial graphs”, Joseph H. Goldberg, Jonathan Helfman, Information Visualization, 10(3), 2011
4 – Lera Boroditsky, “How Language Shapes the Way We Think”
5 –Martin Lindstrom, Small Data: The Tiny Clues That Uncover Huge Trends, 2016
7 – Edward Tufte, The Cognitive Style of Powerpoint: Pitching Out Corrupts Within, 2006