Designing network visualizations for genetic literary criticism

In this paper we present the outcomes of a research aimed at designing a new visual model for the analysis and presentation of data of genetic criticism carried out in collaboration between researchers in information design and literary scholars of the project [name of the project redacted for blind review]. The design process involved three moments: gathering of information for the definition of design requirements, prototyping the networks and conducting preliminarily evaluations, and producing and evaluating ten network visualizations. The presented process is rich in insights about the collaboration between design researchers and scholars involved in digital humanities

Staging and storing data sprint-based research results: a communication design approach

Data sprints are multidisciplinary, time-limited, practice-oriented, and group activities that explore complex issues through data gathering, visualization, and analysis. Data sprints usually conclude with final presentations where participants showcase the research process they followed and the achieved results. Although this activity is now widespread in some research centers, there does not appear to be a data-sprint tailored dissemination format that can support the organization, archive, and online diffusion of results. Starting from the experience of a data sprint on Digital Methods, the paper describes the design process of a digital format which condenses and reinterprets good practices already in use in current supports for disseminating data sprints results. The design process of the format is structured in two steps: (i) designing and (ii) staging the format. The former aims to dissect and recompose data sprint results in hierarchical block structures filled with variable contents; the latter describes outcomes that emerged during a preliminary evaluation phase with experts and a stress-test activity. The format is a container that participants can fill at the end of a data sprint to organize, archive, and present research results. Evaluation activities confirmed the efficiency of the format, which is distinguished by its nested structure and flexibility with different content. Future research opportunities concern the ultimate implementation of the format as a public Content Management System to be used even outside data sprint contexts, such as disseminating more thorough research and teaching students how to structure Digital Methods research

Supporting Literary Criticism with Data Visualization: Four Design Guidelines for Facilitating Interdisciplinary Collaborations

The application of data visualization in the context of literary criticism opened promising research directions but may raise frictions due to different traditions and approaches into play. Visualizations are commonly designed to promote a “view from nowhere” and appear objective, transparent, and factual. Literary criticism, instead, valorizes individual viewpoints and interpretations. The article presents an inquiry based on Action Research, Participant Observation, and Structured Interviews to explore divergencies between core methodologies of literary criticism (i.e., close reading and interpretation) and data visualization. It proposes four guidelines to orient design work conducted in this interdisciplinary area: embed situatedness, negotiate elusive concepts, use overview as a companion, support thinking with visual manipulation

Visualizing Stories of Sexual Harassment in the Academy: Community Empowerment through Qualitative Data

This paper presents the design report of an experimental data visualization art-work that deals with sexual harassment in academic environments. The visualiza-tion employs a qualitative dataset of stories of abuse and aims at nurturing emo-tional involvement by creating connections with the people behind the data. In the paper, we outline our theoretical background, considering previous research on anthropomorphic and artistic visualizations. Successively, we disclose our de-sign approach and discuss the visualizations’ capability to nurture reflection, stimulate conversations, and empower the community of people fighting against sexual harassment in academia and beyond

Design e Digital Humanities. Approcci interdisciplinari e casi studio progettuali nell’ambito dell’Information Visualization

Obiettivo di questo articolo è affrontare nuove forme di sinergia generate dal rapporto tra discipline umanistiche e approccio progettuale per poi specificare come la dimensione digitale applicata alle humanities possa essere un’ulteriore espressione della cultura del progetto contemporaneo nell’ambito dell’Information Visualization. A titolo esemplificativo si illustrano due casi studio progettuali (sviluppati dagli autori stessi): Atlante Calvino e Symbolum, volti a mettere in luce l’approccio design driven alla visualizzazione dati. Progetti in cui al centro si pone la narrazione culturale dettata da una selezione di opere d’arte – letteraria in un caso, pittorica dall’altro –, percorsi narrativi multipli, esplorabili secondo diverse chiavi di lettura in grado di dare forma a diverse configurazioni visive e interattive, capaci di evidenziare singoli contenuti nel dettaglio (zoom in) e in relazioni ad altri (zoom out).The article aims at facing new shapes of synergy generated by the relationship between humanities and design approach. Furthermore, it specifies how the digital dimension applied to humanities can be a further expression of culture of the contemporary project in the information visualization field. In order to clarify this concept a couple of case studies (carried out by the authors themselves) are presented: Atlante Calvino and Symbolum, aimed at highlighting the design driven approach to data visualization. These projects focus on the cultural narrative of a collection of works of art – literary in the former case and pictorial in the latter one. They offer multiple narrative paths, explorable according to several reading keys able to shape to different visual and interactive configurations with the aim of underlining specific contents in the detail (zoom in) as well as in relationship with other ones (zoom out)

“Drawing with code”: the experience of teaching creative coding as a skill for communication designers

In this contribution we present a didactical framework, meant for design students, to teach coding as an expressive tool. We dubbed it "draw with code", and it reflects a specific approach to programming aimed at creating expressive artifacts instead of purely functional ones, known as Creative Coding. It is the result of an experience of four years running an elective course in a polytechnic school. Although seen as a marginal practice in our faculty, teaching creative coding is aligned with the learning goals of a design degree. Coding fits in the design process because it's an iterative practice that fosters creative feedback loops: playing with technologies leads to new possible solutions, rapidly coding prototypes nurtures evolution and improvement of concepts and ideas. Furthermore, coding skills facilitate cross-disciplinary collaborations, because coding itself already permeated into many other fields like art, computer science, statistics, digital humanities and many more. However, education about coding in our design faculty appears fragmented and the lack of overall literacy, combined with the lack of confidence in being able to succeed in learning it, leads design students to the avoidance of this practice. Starting from the aforementioned motivations and problems, we aim to teach designers how to deploy coding in their workflow and we articulated a strategy aimed at achieving this goal by 'drawing with code'. In this setting, the teaching of coding is framed as the accomplishment of a series of tasks that result in the production of visual artifacts. Such outcomes are familiar to communication designers because aligned to what they are supposed to realize in their profession. Our aim is to create the conditions to turn coding into a valuable resource for designers, that can be combined with more traditional ones like sketches, prototypes and mockups. This goal is reached in a process that is three-folded: first, we introduce the basics of programming and computational thinking to design students; second we highlight scenarios where coding can be used to sketch ideas and develop working prototypes that focus on expressive goals; third we encourage students to understand open-source ethics by using code available online and by releasing and documenting their project with the same approach. To achieve these goals, CC is structured in a teaching framework based on four pillars: Pragmatic and visual technology: we chose a solution (JavaScript coupled with the ”p5.js” library) that allows students to quickly see, in a visual form, the results of their actions; Hands-on sessions: lessons are based on live coding lead by instructors, and personal experimentations; Coding exercises: students skills are evaluated through weekly assignments and one hackathon; Group project: A final assignment that focuses on using coding practices to convey a specific communication aim and that also requires the production of documentation that verbally deconstructs and explains their code in a way that highlights design challenges and technical solutions. By showing results derived from the different editions of the course, we explain what communication design students with low literacy in coding can achieve in the timeframe of a semester, supporting the idea that 'draw with code' is an effective framework for teaching programming in a design faculty