Outcome & Crit

I have created the interactive data visualisation to show the movement germs.

Outcome:

As for this design, I wanted to keep it quite simple as the germs were the main focus.

Crit presentation: 

Overall, we feel the crit went well, we were able to meet the requirements of the brief as well as have a working interface to present to our peers.

We did have a few suggestions on how we could improve the layout interface and what users may learn from looking at the way in which the interface could be improved is through the layout. When selecting an arrow on the right of the first page, it moves across the screen when selecting the next page. I feel that this inconsistent with the design and may be an annoyance for the user.

Another part of the interface we would like to change is the germs that we designed as illustrations. Both my peers and I feel that it removes a level of accuracy for the user, which stops them learning from so much. To resolve this problem, we will use the images taken when gathering data and implement them within the design.

Finally, another educational feature that our peers thought would be interesting is by an understanding of the germ is showing through text. We would like to add a section which tells the user what changes there have been on each day as well as combining the form and elevation, which is currently in the design.

— Two days later–

We have implemented the feedback we were given to help improve our design:

We have repositioned the layout as well as widths of images. Secondly, in order to add an educational element, we have created a ‘What is Happening’ section to inform the user of recent developments of the germs. Thirdly, we’ve given further information about how the germ was formed by specifying every time the location or object was touched. Finally, instead of using illustrations of the germs, we have used a real-life image of the germ to give more accuracy. Although this created an improved educational element to the interface, I feel the design suffered due to this change, especially the image of the germ.

Designs

Below I have created a series of final designs to represent the data we collected:

I have created a very simple homepage which allows the user to select the object or location of the germ.

As you can see, I have tried to replicate the germs from the images we took previously and created an illustration of them using Illustrator. You are able to see an in-depth look at the germ and its changed during 5 days. I have tried to incorporate more of an educational level to the interface by specifying the germs form and elevation. This will specify what type of germ the user is looking at. I have tried to keep the designs very simple and neutral as possible, allowing the germs to be the key element within the interface.

Growth of Germs

5 days later and luckily our germs formed. On each day we took a photo to show the development.

Here are how they look on the final day (day 5):

Door Handle:

Fridge:

Indoor Food Bin:

Floor:

We were now able to add the images to our designs.

Prototyping

My role within the group was to design the interactive interface. I have created some prototypes to think about how I would like to visualise the data our group collected

Design:

I wanted to make the interface simple as the key focus was the information that was being shown, such as the petri dish, a description and the analysis of colours

Design Development:

The prototypes above show the continuation of the first design but added further elements in order to inform the user about each germ. I have added the temperature and whether to show the conditions it was taken at as well as added a list of times and date what which the germ was recorded. This will form the user of how the germ was created, through the number of times it was touched throughout the data, from beginning to end.

Further Development – Adding colour:

 

I have decided to incorporate some colour into the design to think about how it can be used so that it does overpower important information. I used pastel colours as they are not so harsh compared to the germ.

Petri Dish Developement

Over the course of four days, we found there to be problems with our Petri dish as nothing was appearing on them. This could have been problems due to the creation of the agar, or that we had not collected enough of the germ for it to grow.

To try and resolve this problem, Gywn created another series of Petri dishes by remaking the agar. We needed this to work within the 5 days we had left till the crit. Also, we made sure to keep the previous tests in case it started to show a growth of germs

Still Life in Motion

During our discussion, we came across a visualisation called Still life by Sam Taylor-Johnson which depict subjects characteristic of the still life tradition –  a bowl of fruit – as it decays at an accelerated pace, thus creating visceral and moving memento.

We thought this was a unique way to show moment by it being a still life image and thoughts that it could possibly help us in the visualisation of our Petri dishes.

Black Death

Our group decided to look at 4 different historical pandemics to see how they moved through large populations. I will be looking at the Black Death.

The Black Death, was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 75 to 200 million people in Eurasia and peaking in Europe from 1347 to 1351.

Movement of the Black Death

The bacteria Yersinia pestis, which results in several forms of plague, is thought to have been the cause. This bacteria us usually fleas carried by ground rodents, including marmots, in areas including Central Asia, Kurdistan, Western Asia, Northern India and Uganda Due to climate change in Asia, rodents began to flee the dried out grasslands to more populated areas, spreading the disease, which caused this widespread contamination.

 In October 2010, medical geneticists suggested that all three of the great waves of the plague originated in China. In China, the 13th-century Mongol conquest caused a decline in farming and trading. In the 1330s, a large number of natural disasters and plagues led to widespread famine, starting in 1331, with a plague arriving soon after. Epidemics that may have included plague killed an estimated 25 million Chinese and other Asians during the 15 years before it reached Constantinople in 1347. 

The disease may have travelled along the Silk Road with Mongol armies and traders or it could have come via ship. By the end of 1346, reports of plague had reached the seaports of Europe: “India was depopulated, Tartary, Mesopotamia, Syria, Armenia were covered with dead bodies”.

50 million people died in the Black Death. 

This research will help our project as it tells the effects of the movement of germs which is what our idea is based on and the way it was carried out. Furthermore, various visualisations can be created from the data gathered.