FIT3179: Why? It should address a particular need within a specific domain of your choosing. It must be targeted to the domain, its needs, and its users.
Introduction
Very similar to the Data Visualisation 1 assignment, you design and build an effective data visualization for a specific domain. The major difference is that you will use the Vega-Lite visualization library to create maps and diagrams.
The aim of the assignment is to apply the data visualization techniques examined during the entire semester and demonstrate their use in an innovative context.
Requirements
The following requirements apply specifically for this Data Visualisation 2 assignment:
- The selected domain is clearly different from the domain of your Data Visualisation 1.
- You use the Vega-Lite library for creating maps and diagrams. You may use other libraries for creating diagrams that are not possible with Vega-Lite, however, you must get approval from your tutor before using other libraries.
- The final result consists of a publicly accessible web page that is hosted on your own GitHub account. The JSON description of each Vega-Lite diagram or map must be easily accessible in the same GitHub repository and must be in a human-readable format. You may use the Pure.css library or any other JavaScript/CSS/HTML library or authoring software to create your web page.
Your Vega-Lite visualization must load reasonably fast. This implies that data files to download cannot be large. Aim at a total downloadable size of less than 1 megabyte. If this limit is too low for your visualization (for example, if you include video files or large zoomable raster images), then a discussion with your tutor is required before submission.
- Your web page includes at least one geographic map. If including a map does not make sense for your domain, your tutor can give an exemption for this requirement.
The following requirements from the Data Visualisation 1 assignment also apply to this assignment:
- Why? It should address a particular need within a specific domain of your choosing. It must be targeted to the domain, its needs, and its users. This does not mean the visualization has to solve an existing problem, but it must be a visualization that is useful or relevant to people with an interest in the chosen domain.
- What? It should use a data source relevant to the domain. Data can be of any kind.
- Who? Design your visualization for the average Australian or Malaysian.
- The visualization must turn data into something meaningful and provide insight that would otherwise be difficult to obtain without the visualization.
- It must provide interactive exploration.
- It needs to show some innovation. It does not have to be wholly original but cannot be a replica of a visualization that already exists. It could be an innovative visualization idiom or an innovative exploration of an interesting dataset.
- It must demonstrate the use of the Five Design Sheet methodology for sketching and planning the design of your visualization.
- It must demonstrate the use of the Munzer What/Why/How framework discussed in lectures for correctly assessing the type of data, the goals of the visualization, and the design of the visualization.
- It must apply design principles discussed throughout the unit, such as data-ink ratio, storytelling, layout, typography, and visualization idioms with appropriate use of marks and channels.
Task Description and Schedule
1. By the end of Week 8:
a. Choose a domain that you would like to explore.
b. Find relevant datasets that are publicly available.
c. Discuss your domain, design ideas, and datasets with your tutor.
d. Design your visualization using the 5 Design Sheet Methodology.
2. Visualisation:
a. The homework of Weeks 9 and 10 consists of creating a map and a diagram with Vega-Lite. You can include improved versions of the map and the diagram that you create for these homework assignments in this Data Visualisation 2
assignment.
Important: Monash University policy does not allow submitting the same work for two assessments. Therefore, you need to clearly improve your homework map and diagram if you include them in this Data Visualisation 2 assignment.
b. Create a web page and embed your Vega-Lite diagrams and maps. Use CSS to style typography and design the layout of your web page. Make your visualization publicly viewable as a GitHub page.