Project 02 - Create a dashboard to show data from a week in your life.
I decided I wanted to track where I went in a week as I thought there were a lot of interesting visualisation options for me to look into with this kind of data. I spent a week just recording where I went point to point, then calculated the distances using Apple Maps. I wanted to somewhat restrict myself with my data, as by only having data relating to one thing, I think it will get me to push my design further and consider the data more. Focussing on one type will get me to figure out what visualisations I can use for the data, rather than getting data that will fit a visualisation.
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home |
| Glider (Oakland Ave) | Spar | Uni (car) | Dads work | Mia’s via Embankment | Tesco | Sea Park |
| Glider (May Street) | Home | Tesco | Tesco | Filthys via Town Sqr | Home | Home |
| Uni via Royal Ave | Donelly Group (Mallusk) | Home | Home | Pugs | Brian’s | |
| Glider (City Hall) | Home | Pick up Seth | Pick up Seth | Voodoo | Home | |
| Glider (BHack) | Pick up Seth | Home | Home | City Hall | Boucher Road | |
| Home via Belmont Road | Home | Lewis’ | Saintfield Road McD | Home | Home | |
| Home | Home |
My next step was to get a general idea of the layout for my dashboard. I started by quickly sketching some layouts before deciding on the one I felt worked best. I then resketched my selected layout and the variations I would need. This was useful as it was a really quick way of getting the layout sorted. While the sketches are very rough, it’ll be enough to get me started and having the layout will allow me to focus on the style aspect of the dashboard.
I was quite varied in what I looked at for style inspiration. I started looking again at the Feltron Reports, as I really like the typographic techniques used, and they also had a lot of examples of maps, which would be useful to look at specifically for my dashboard. I particularly liked how the maps didn't use much detail apart from the general shape, which allows the information on the map to stand out more and be more visible, which is something I will definitely consider in this project. I also like the uneven grid structure of the data, which fits to a rectangle but has uneven cells. It adds an dynamic feel to the data and allows for the use of mutiple weights and sizes of typefaces which is really effective at structuring the data and is something I would like to utilise in my project.
I thought the style of these pages from Octavo 88.5 could have interesting applications in a dashboard project. The way the type is angled and small text hangs off large numbers could be an engaging way of showing data. Also, the way the text is used to split up the title on the front page could be an interesting style to explore, as it would be a unique way of showing distances maybe.
This is another copy of Octavo I thought could have some application. While it’s a lot more post-modern, I thought the way horizontal or vertical text is layered with angled visuals was interesting and could possibly have some application in my project
Again, like the previous I liked the idea of strucured type against dynamic shapes and colours. While I’m not saying either of these two are going to be main sources of inspiration, there may be way to utilise restrained version of this style in an effective way.