Assignment 2

Task

In this assignment, you will design a static, explanatory visualization of data from a specific data set. The goal is that you get your hands dirty creating a visualization, and that you’re forced to make design choices based on what you’ve learned so far.

Everyone will work with the same initial data set, but chances are you end up with very different visualizations. In the process of creating the visualization you will find yourself going through some, if not all, of the following steps:

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  • finding the data
  • extracting data from the Wikipedia page
  • cleaning and/or transforming the data set
  • editing, annotating, or otherwise extending the data set
  • exploring the data set for interesting facts
  • creating a visual narrative from your findings
  • visualizing / graphing / editing the narrative

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You are free to use any tool or framework you want, either a graphics tool, pen and paper, a charting library, or a statistics program.

Dataset

You are going to work with the data set derived from the table List of Hard Rock Cafes on the Wikipedia Page “Hard Rock Cafe.” In case the page is down or someone removes the table from Wikipedia, you can get the data from a copy of the Wikipedia article.

Deliverable

Your deliverable consists of [highlight]a ZIP file containing[/highlight]

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  • The visualization (as a PNG, JPEG or PDF)
  • 1-2 page writeup (250-500 words, as a PDF) describing
    • the objective of your visualization (as in: “My objective is to show […]”)
    • the design decisions you made, both in terms of your creative choices, and how you apply theoretic foundations
    • your process
    • the problems you ran into, if any.

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Name your ZIP file A2-[LastName][FirstName].zip, e.g. A2-PorathMichael.zip

Grading

You’re going to be graded on a 10 point scale:

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  • 9-10 points: Expectations exceeded
  • [highlight]7-8 points: Expectations met[/highlight]
  • 0-6 points: Expectations not met

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Due Date

Tuesday Feb 12, 3:00PM, by email to gpanger@ischool