Pivot and the future of search
In my presentation at this years OLA Superconference I spoke about the impact of data visualization and information aesthetics on search. I just came across a beautiful demonstration of this, Pivot from Microsoft.
…Pivot, a new way to browse and arrange massive amounts of images and data online. Built on breakthrough Seadragon technology, it enables spectacular zooms in and out of web databases, and the discovery of patterns and links invisible in standard web browsing.
Check out Gary Flake’s presentation from this years TED conference.
Non-linear presentations with Prezi
In an earlier post I talked about the importance of “user engagement and visual aesthetics” in presenting information. A fine example is Prezi, an online presentation tool from a Hungarian company that allows you to create amazing non-linear presentations.
The ideology of Prezi is based [on] our natural knowledge on how to coordinate ourselves in space; traditionally all information we have had to process and store used to be linked to physical space. That is where our minds have developed good skills in orienting ourselves. Despite all this digital information today is mostly presented to us as a moniker of printed matter. Of course printing has served us well to store (and shape) information for the last six centuries, however, with the wide appearance of computing we saw the same old pattern: old forms got translated to new media without exploring its full potential. Most of the computer systems which present us with information today use the old paradigm of prints and slides: arranging information on a framed 2d static space.
Prezi also allows us to take into consideration the influence of typography on information and perhaps offers the possibility of incorporating kinetic typography into our presentations.
Kinetic typography can be seen as a vehicle for adding some of the properties of film to that of text. For example, kinetic typography can be effective in conveying a speaker’s tone of voice, qualities of character, and affective (emotional) qualities of text…. It may also allow for a different kind of engagement with the viewer than static text, and in some cases, may explicitly direct or manipulate the attention of the viewer.
Hopefully, applications like Prezi will allow us to better express the richness and complexity of our subjects when we give presentations, and for the audience not only to be better engaged but also be moved by what we have to say.
Data visualization, aesthetics, and a few useful programs
Most library OPAC’s, and even library websites, are lacking when it comes to the presentation of information or data visualization. They are difficult to navigate, boring to look at, and using them tends to be a chore. The blog Information Aesthetics authored by Andrew Vande Moere has some interesting thoughts on the connections between information and visualization;
…information visualization can be enriched with the principles of creative design and art, to develop valuable data representations that address the emotional experience of users, instead of solely focusing on typical task effectiveness metrics. As information access enters the everyday life of users and becomes increasingly ubiquitous and pervasive, novel approaches are required that take into account considerations of user engagement and visual aesthetics. Instead of evaluating such information applications by measuring task performance and comprehension effectiveness, one should consider to determine user interest, attention, focus, enjoyment and curiosity.
If you want to find out more, an excellent presentation by Eric Rodenbeck on mapping and data visualization has just been posted at Information Aesthetics, along with a few others that are worth checking out. Continue Reading »
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