Spatial Representation

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Melinda Lyons
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1 Spatial Representation Visual Culture LCC6311 Tony F. Lockhart 12/9/2009

2 Page 2 of 5 Table of Contents Introduction... 3 Grid Layout... 3 Public School Funding Visualization... 3 Inspiration... 4 Works Cited... 5

3 Page 3 of 5 Introduction: Cartography as a form of spatial representation has been in existence for centuries. It has been a tool for geographic exploration, scientific discovery, and political influence. Once considered an exclusive scientific field limited to expert researchers, technology has made map making widely accessible. This has led to new forms of map making with vastly different interpretations of spatial relationships. These recent trends have led to a more critical analysis of cartography, in which the authoritative quality and legitimacy of map making is questioned (Crampton & Krygier 1). Critical Cartography assumes that maps make reality as much as they represent it (Crampton &Krygier 5). The power of maps to influence the viewers understanding of a space is a fact that the designer must take into consideration. The purpose of this project is to represent the Georgia public school funding process in a form other than a standard map. The form will combine the basic visual elements of point, line, and plane with an emphasis on grids and overlapping relationships. Grid Layout: The overall design of the website seeks to bring organization to the entire work. The website is organized into an overall hierarchical structure that displays a high level view of the funding process on the main page, which is further detailed in the subsequent pages. Each page is dedicated to a specific topic, which is easily accessible from the fixed location of the navigation bar. The layout utilizes a basic one column grid, which divides the content from the navigation horizontally by row. The visualizations are displayed in the center of the grid, in order to elevate their prominence on the page. Typographic hierarchy is established by modifying the size of the text (Lupton 94). All titles and headings use a sans-serif font, which aid the user in legibility while scanning the page. The text font-size is reduced during each descent into the hierarchy, in order to reinforce the division of content. Public School Funding Visualization: Each visualization attempts to convey specific information to the viewer. After preliminary analysis of the data failed to reveal any overwhelming connotative information, I attempted to present the data objectively, allowing the viewer more freedom of interpretation (Rock). However, even the design decisions made during the initial design process, regarding inclusion/exclusion of content, effectively authored the content and presented the information in a more positive light.

4 Page 4 of 5 The abstract nature of entities which fund public education was a key factor in the abstraction of the visualizations. The School Funding Visualization on the main page represents these entities in relation to their percentage of school funding. The color scheme utilizes four basic colors two distinguish each entity and highlight closely related entities with a similar hue. Complimentary colors were chosen to give the piece cohesion, and less saturation was used to neutralize the overall intensity. The use of transparency and overlapping colors are used to display each entity in relation to school funding percentage, in addition to providing a central reference point that anchors each visualization and the entities represented. The visualization utilizes two of the three message forms associated with visual meaning, as indicated by Barthe (36). Each visualization provides interactive linguistic elements, which clearly label each component. A brief description of the component is given to the right of the visual, in addition to more detailed descriptive text and definitions at the bottom of the page. Photographs were used in the Local Funding visualization to add a natural element to the design and include a more spatial element. A symbolic message could not be determined as the project maps relational data in an abstract form. Inspiration: There were two main inspirations for this project- the London Underground Map (Tufte) and the 16th and Mission websites. Both spatial representations significantly abstracted concrete information to create a more stylized form. The London Underground Map abstracted the geographic locations to render its interpretation of the London train system, while the 16 th and Mission website used interactive components, such as overlapping and interactive scripts to express the essence and feel of the neighborhood. Although very different in nature, I was able to use these designs to liberate my interpretation of abstract space.

5 Page 5 of 5 Works Cited Barthes, Roland, "The Rhetoric of the Image," Image, Music, Text. Ed. and trans. Stephen Heath. New York: Hill and Wang, Crampton, Jeremy, and John Krygier. An Introduction to Critical Cartography. 4 (2005): Georgia School Board Association. Funding Georgia s Public Schools. Georgia School Finance Communication Kit. Georgia School Board Association, Web. 9 November 2009 < Rock, Michael. The Designer as Author (1996). Tufte, Edward. The Visual Display of Quantitative Information. Cheshire, CT: Graphics Press, Photo Source: 1. Photo: McNair Performing Arts Center a. Photographer: CDH Partners Construction: 2. Photos: Miller Grove and Henry County High School a. Photographer: Tony Lockhart

CHAPTER 9 DATA DISPLAY AND CARTOGRAPHY

CHAPTER 9 DATA DISPLAY AND CARTOGRAPHY 9.1 Cartographic Representation 9.1.1 Spatial Features and Map Symbols 9.1.2 Use of Color 9.1.3 Data Classification 9.1.4 Generalization Box 9.1 Representations 9.2