Syllabus

Catalog Description

This is a foundational course on information design and aesthetics, promoting data literacy and visualization competencies for designers and analysts. With a focus on social engagement, this course prepares students with the critical skills to advocate visually and the intellectual context to engage in a world in which data increasingly shapes opinion, policy, and decision making. Students will learn to curate and uncover insights from large and complex data sets using code-based visualization platforms, digital design software, or analog prototyping techniques to create plots, graphs, indexes, and maps that explore the database as a cultural form.

Students will study the fundamentals of design and the grammar of graphics while investigating hierarchies, patterns, and relationships in data structures. Students will examine the role of scale, proportion, color, form, structure, motion, and composition in data visualization. The intent of this course is to build a community among the students and the larger discipline.

Students will familiarize themselves with the necessary vocabulary to communicate and collaborate with data visualization professionals in future contexts. A series of presentations, screenings, readings, and discussions expose students to artists and designers working in the context of data visualization and the digital arts. Each student will select a research topic and present a research report in conjunction with an in-class discussion. Assignments are invitations to invent and experiment.

Prerequisite: Graduate Comm. Design student standing
Format: 3 credit studio

Course Goals

As part of this course, you will:

• Develop a deep understanding of the various methods and techniques of modern data visualization as well as its historical context.
• Develop skills to design effective visual communication and information displays by learning a framework for critical exploration and invention.
• Gain experience in describing, analyzing, and evaluating various data visualization approaches through presentations and critiques.
• Give students an understanding of the process of acquiring, analyzing, refactoring, and visualizing data.
• Introduce the building blocks of visual data representation (bar charts, scatter plots, network diagrams, etc.), know when each is appropriate, and learn to avoid their associated pitfalls.
• Process and analyze a variety of data types: quantitative, qualitative, text, and geospatial.

Learning Outcomes

Through projects and in-class exercises, you will:

• Understand the fundamentals of design and the grammar of graphics as they are applied to hierarchies, patterns, and relationships in data structures.
• Recognize the role of scale, proportion, color, form, structure, motion, and composition in data visualization.
• Be able to design effective visual communication and information displays by learning a framework for educated exploration and invention.
• Be able to establish Hypothesis Testing as a working method for developing visual explanations and discovering the ‘story’ within a dataset

Skills & Experience

Students are expected to have practical experience with Adobe Photoshop & Illustrator, html/css coding (GD2 prerequisite or equivalent should be met), web browsing, online research, and computer operational skills as I cannot provide technical support.

Software

• Adobe Illustrator & Photoshop
• Screen recording (Quicktime Player or similar)
• Cloud backup (required to have a backup of your files. Google drive recommended.)

Websites

• Shared Folder on Google Drive
• Github.com (for code sharing and reference)
• Editor.p5js.org (for code sharing)
• Canvas (grades will be shared on Canvas)
• Other general websites such as blogs, design studios, etc. (for research/references/tutorials)

Hardware

As this course will be involve a fair amount of data-processing, you are required to have your own computer and accessories that you can use all throughout the semester. Other than that, I do not expect any additional cost. With that said, there are a few recommendations below:

• Computer (required)
• Internet connection (wired connections are much faster than wifi; if not available, use wifi and find a spot in your home that gets stronger signal.)
• Office supplies such as pen and paper.
• External monitor (not required but recommended. $90+. Good for productivity and your health/posture)
• Mouse (recommended. $10+. Pen tablets are great too.)
• External hard drive 1TB+ (highly recommended. $60+; SSD/USB-C is much faster but more expensive)

Grading Policy

The final grade will be based on all your progress/attendance/participation throughout the semester. The weekly progress has the same weight as the finals. The whole process will be graded throughout the semester. The assignments and projects are subject to change.

5%: Project 2 – Nothing but a Number
10%: Project 3 – Right Twice a Day
15%: Project 4 – Dealer’s Choice
20%: Project 5 – Uncharted
15%: Research Presentation
10%: Process Documentation
25%: Class Participation, Attendance, and Project 1

The deadlines for each assignment will be posted on the course website. Grades for late projects will be lowered a whole letter (10%). After a full week, a project may not be handed in late and it will be awarded a failing grade. No work will be accepted after the final class. There is no late work submission for the final project.

Rubric

A Excellent without exception
A– Excellent

The student displays an exceptional perspective in critique participation, response to criticism, professional conduct, an advanced understanding of course material, and is able to achieve remarkable results above and beyond suggested project parameters. (Numerical Value: A = 4.0; A– = 3.7)

B+ Above average
B Average
B– Acceptable

The student displays a positive perspective in critique participation, response to criticism, professional conduct, a competent understanding of course material, and is able to achieve above average results while fulfilling suggested project parameters. (Numerical Value: B+ = 3.3; B = 3.0; B– = 2.7)

C+ Acceptable
C Acceptable (C is the lowest passing grade for graduate students)

In instances the student displays a positive perspective in critique participation, response to criticism, professional conduct, an understanding of course material, and applies it to assigned problems satisfactorily, meeting basic expectations but not pushing beyond suggested project parameters. (Numerical Value: C+ = 2.3; C = 2.0)

F Failing (any grade of C – or below is a failing grade)

The student has failed to meet the minimum standards for the course. (Numerical Value: 0.0)

INC Incomplete

A grade of incomplete may be given if due to extraordinary non-academic reasons the student finds it impossible to complete all assignments. If a student wishes to propose an incomplete for a course, they must request such an accommodation in writing no later than the last scheduled meeting for the course. Failure to meet this deadline will result in a failing grade for the course. If granted (requests subject to approval of both faculty of record for the course and department), all work must be completed within 8 weeks of the last class meeting or the INC will convert to a failing grade (F).

Overall Program Standing

All student’s records are reviewed at the end of each semester to determine whether students who have failed to remain in good standing may continue in the program. To be in good standing, all graduate students must maintain a cumulative GPA of at least a 3.0 (equivalent of a B). A graduate student whose GPA falls below a 3.0 at any time may be subject to dismissal.

Evaluation should reflect the extent to which students have achieved the course’s most important learning outcomes. Student learning and progress in the class and how a final grade will be determined will be evaluated as follows.

30%: Demonstrated engagement with and incorporation of course content (presentations/lectures, readings, discussions/critiques, work sessions)
30%: Overall organization and quality of work output (organization, implementation and documentation)
20%: Design Attributes (research plans, tools and findings as appropriate to users, user groups, participants and other stakeholders)
20%: Reflection (reflection on research tools and actual vs desired outcomes; ability to summarize research activities, assess and reposition research based on new and or relevant findings/opportunities)

Process / Deliverables

Quality of Research: Are the research methods used by the student effectively chosen and implemented to arrive at successful solutions, and do they cover all aspects of the problem, including historical background and functional concerns?

Concept and Conceptual Development: Are concepts inventive and appropriate, satisfying (and, at times expanding upon) the objectives of the stated problem? Is there a sufficient amount of conceptual work, such as ideational sketches and iterative drafts?

Organizational and Detail Quality of Work: Are concerns such as material form, composition and hierarchy, etc. clearly and effectively articulated? Does the student demonstrate the ability to engage two, three, and four dimensions at an acceptable skill level? Does the solution reflect an effective choice of media, use of tools, techniques and materials, and is it presented in a professional manner?

Semantic and Pragmatic Quality of Work: Does the solution present a meaningful solution — one that is informative, formative, resonant, etc.? Does the solution function appropriately, and intended?

Meeting the Objectives of the Assignment: Does the student follow the project assignment in an appropriate manner, and does the solution meet the stated objectives?

Professionalism

Verbal Articulation: Is the student able to critically address the work orally, and respond to ideas discussed in class?

Written Articulation: When required, does the student document work clearly, concisely, and accurately? Is the student articulate and does the student use correct grammar in writing assignments?

Participation in Critiques and Discussions: Does the student actively participate in critiques and discussions on a regular basis?

Deadlines / Class Preparation: Were the intermediate and final deadlines met? Did the student arrive to class with work prepared as assigned, on time, and without excuse?

Overall Attitude: Does the student present a positive outlook on his work, and towards the work of the other students and instructor? Was the student reluctant to do the expected work? Does the student stay consistently motivated throughout the process?

Academic Integrity Policy

At Pratt, students, faculty, and staff do creative and original work. This is one of our community values. For Pratt to be a space where everyone can freely create, our community must adhere to the highest standards of academic integrity.

Academic integrity at Pratt means using your own and original ideas in creating academic work. It also means that if you use the ideas or influence of others in your work, you must acknowledge them.

At Pratt,

• We do our own work,
• We are creative, and
• We give credit where it is due.

Based on our value of academic integrity, Pratt has an Academic Integrity Standing Committee (AISC) that is charged with educating faculty, staff, and students about academic integrity practices. Whenever possible, we strive to resolve alleged infractions at the most local level possible, such as between student and professor, or within a department or school. When necessary, members of this committee will form an Academic Integrity Hearing Board. Such boards may hear cases regarding cheating, plagiarism, and other infractions described below; these infractions can be grounds for citation, sanction, or dismissal.

Academic Integrity Code

When students submit any work for academic credit, they make an implicit claim that the work is wholly their own, completed without the assistance of any unauthorized person. These works include, but are not limited to exams, quizzes, presentations, papers, projects, studio work, and other assignments and assessments. In addition, no student shall prevent another student from making their work. Students may study, collaborate and work together on assignments at the discretion of the instructor.

Examples of infractions include but are not limited to:

1. Plagiarism, defined as using the exact language or a close paraphrase of someone else’s ideas without citation.
2. Violations of fair use, including the unauthorized and uncited use of another’s artworks, images, designs, etc.
3. The supplying or receiving of completed work including papers, projects, outlines, artworks, designs, prototypes, models, or research for submission by any person other than the author.
4. The unauthorized submission of the same or essentially the same piece of work for credit in two different classes.
5. The unauthorized supplying or receiving of information about the form or content of an examination.
6. The supplying or receiving of partial or complete answers, or suggestions for answers; or the supplying or receiving of assistance in interpretation of questions on any examination from any source not explicitly authorized. (This includes copying or reading of another student’s work or consultation of notes or other sources during an examination.)

For academic support, students are encouraged to seek assistance from the Writing and Tutorial Center, Pratt Libraries, or consult with an academic advisor about other support resources.
Refer to the Pratt website for information on Academic Integrity Code Adjudication Procedures.

Attendance Policy

Pratt Institute understands that students’ engagement in their program of study is central to their success. While no attendance policy can assure that, regular class attendance is key to this engagement and signals the commitment Pratt students make to participate fully in their education.

Faculty are responsible for including a reasonable attendance policy on the syllabus for each course they teach, consistent with department-specific guidelines, if applicable, and with Institute policy regarding reasonable accommodation of students with documented disabilities. Students are responsible for knowing the attendance policy in each of their classes; for understanding whether a class absence has been excused or not; for obtaining material covered during an absence (note: instructors may request that a student obtain the material from peers); and for determining, in consultation with the instructor and ahead of time if possible, whether make-up work will be permitted.
Consistent attendance is essential for the completion of any course or program. Attending class does not earn students any specific portion of their grade, but is the pre-condition for passing the course, while missing class may seriously harm a student’s grade. Grades may be lowered a letter grade for each unexcused absence, at the discretion of the instructor. Even as few as three unexcused absences in some courses (especially those that meet only once per week) may result in an automatic “F” for the course. (Note: Students shall not be penalized for class absences prior to adding a course at the beginning of a semester, though faculty may expect students to make up any missed assignments.)

Pratt Institute respects students’ requirements to observe days of cultural significance, including religious holy days, and recognizes that some students might need to miss class to do so. In this, or other similar, circumstance, students are responsible for consulting with faculty ahead of time about how and when they can make up work they will miss.

Faculty are encouraged to give consideration to students who have documentation from the Office of Health and Counseling. Reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities will continue to be provided, as appropriate.

Refer to the Pratt website for information on Attendance.

Students with Disabilities and Accessibility

Pratt Institute is committed to the full inclusion of all students. If you are a student with a disability and require accommodations, please contact the Learning/Access Center (L/AC) at LAC@pratt.edu to schedule an appointment to discuss these accommodations. Students with disabilities who have already registered with the L/AC are encouraged to speak to the professor about accommodations they may need to produce an accessible learning environment.

Requests for accommodation should be made as far in advance as reasonably possible to allow sufficient time to make any necessary modifications to ensure the relevant classes, programs, or activities are readily accessible. The Learning/Access Center (L/AC) is available to Pratt students, confidentially, with additional resources and information to facilitate full access to all campus programs and activities and provide support related to any other disability-related matters.

Human Rights, Equity, BERT, and Title IX

Pratt Institute seeks to provide an environment that is free of bias, discrimination, and harassment.  If you have been the victim of harassment, discrimination, bias, or sexual misconduct, we encourage you to report this.

If you inform me of an issue of harassment, discrimination or bias, or sexual misconduct I will keep the information as private as I can, but I am required to bring it to the attention of the institution’s Title IX Coordinator. You can access Title IX services by emailing titleix@pratt.edu. You can also speak to someone confidentially by contacting our non-mandatory reporters: Health Services at 718-399-4542, Counseling Services 718-687-5356 or Campus Ministries 718-596-4840.

In cases of Bias, this information may go to our Bias Education & Response Taskforce (BERT). You can contact BERT by reaching out directly via bert@pratt.edu.

For more information, please refer to the Community Standards webpage.