Data Visualization posts

They say you can’t create fine art using fractal algorithms; but Finland-based digital artist Jukka Korhonen has set out to prove them wrong.

Fractal art is a subclass of two-dimensional visual art that produces images from the calculations of a fractal object (a fragmented geometric shape that can be subdivided into parts and is a reduced-size copy of the whole). Examples of this kind of art include the Julia set and the Mandlebrot set, which both include the fractal property of self-similarity.

Because of its mathematical nature, fractal art is primarily considered a genre of...

The purpose of any website is to get people from your target audience interested in what you’re offering. Whether it be a product or service, 9 times out of 10, someone is going to want to communicate with you further. Because of this, in almost any industry, you’re going to want to create a contact page.

For some, this is that last page on the site map where you just throw a bunch of information. You can leave it up to the person to decide how they want to contact you and what they want to contact you about. For others, this is the last attempt to get your potential customer to give you their business.

The contact page is much more important...

As a writer, I’m particularly drawn to typographic art. Perhaps it’s because the combination of word and art speaks to both the left brain and the right brain — and therein lies the magic.

Designer Ji Lee’s book entitled Word as Image brilliantly illustrates the power of “picturing words”. Currently Facebook’s Creative Strategist and formerly a Creative...

While big data makes for useful applications, it can also stand in the way of clean, usable interface designs. With more and more web applications built upon mountains of data collected in the cloud, how can you deliver all that data without turning the resulting application into a visual train wreck?

Balancing complex data needs with a simple user interface is a challenge for any web application designer today. Stripping away information will simplify the user interface, but less data often means a less functional and useful application. Yet, keeping all that contextual data...

In 2006, while working at a design agency in Cardiff, Wales, I conceived of an idea to feature on our website the current weather conditions outside our office. I wanted to make our website fully engaging and to show our visitors and clients what we were experiencing in real life each day, in real time.

After doing some extensive research, I discovered that the best starting point for this is Yahoo!’s Weather API, because it gives weather conditions in a consistent, usable format. At the time, however, the only...

Defined as ‘the structural design of shared information environments’, information architecture focuses on bringing the principles of architectural design to the online world.

Just like the blueprints of a dream home or the outline of a well-written article, good website structure organizes information in a way that enhances the user experience and delivers pertinent information as quickly as possible.

In fact, most website visitors only become aware of information architecture...

Navigating unfamiliar information on the web requires aids.

These aids don’t have an agenda or bias the way advertising does. Instead, navigational aids help people find the right path based on their interests.

Signposts are one type of navigational aid. They provide the information people need to make their own decisions while searching and surfing the web.

Should a designer worry about a website losing readers? Many websites compete for attention by luring audiences with vibrant illustrations, catchy typography and rich user interfaces.

In addition to being attractive,...

As you search the web you’ll come across a wide range of interactive and graphical maps.

Deciding when, where and how to integrate or display a map on your site is the first step, the second should be what technology and illustrations to use.

If you’re all about interaction, JQuery, Ajax, or Flash are all effective technologies that hold their own ground.

Map illustrations are a dime a dozen however, a strong and balanced display of graphics, information, and colors is what makes an infographic stand out and reach...

Infographics can be a great way to quickly reference information.

Instead of pouring over figures and long reports to decipher data, an infographic can immediately make apparent exactly what a dataset actually means.

Below are more than 25 infographics that can be useful to web designers.

Some are incredibly practical, some provide information that might be of interest to designers and some just present...