Data Visualisation
So I have been searching the net to find some good Data Visualisation applications and or graphics to expand my knowledge for it and after about 30 mins of readings and looking at some I decided that in order to really understand it I have to actually do make one for myself. As I didnt choose the data visualisation topic for my project I havent yet had the option of experimenting with data and displaying it in a visual way.
After trying to find a way of going about creating some Data Visualisation I realised that an application has been starring at me right in my face the whole time! And where is this application? Facebook of course…
The Friend Wheel is a Facebook Application which takes all of your friends, then links and groups them together to form a nice, colourful, interesting image. It is probably the most familiar data visualisation application amongst most people.
On the outside are all of your friends and if two people are linked together, it means that they are friends with each other. There’s also an interactive flash version which allows the nodes to be moved and highlighted, and makes it possible to zoom in and out.
The success of data visualisation is due to the soundness of the basic idea behind it - the use of computer-generated images to gain insight and knowledge from data and its inherent patterns and relationships. This can been seen through scale, colour, shape, position and movement. It’s basically re-presenting data in a useful way so that we can understand it.
