starts in visual expression through glyphs, pictograms etc
in The Age of Noise we have so much data we need more data visualisation more and more now as we have more and more data
human attention spans decreasing
Why is data visualisation effective? Theories from cognitive psychology, design, gestalt processes, neuro-aesthetics, science of decision-making and persuasion
Sight most cognitively powerful sense
the speed at which we process visual information is roughly equivalent to the bandwidth of a computer network (?)
we disregard much of the information we are processing
about 0.7% of what we perceive is what we are aware of
RGB is based on our own anatomy (what ocur rods and cones process) but CYMK on ink chemistry
reflected light turned into electrochemical signals, through optic nerve into occipital lobe in the back of brain
all senses have two modes of operation, pre-attentive processing (system 1) and attentive processing (system 2)
System 1 is quick/automatic/habit/subconscious/irrational/impulsive and System 2 does long-term planning, conscious thought, calculation, rational, deliberate, more precise
system 2 more ‘trustworthy’ I agree for the most part but system 1 is wired for survival, so trust those trauma instincts if they still serve you, they’re there to protect you
consciously processing stimuli must be done in serial which is why it is slower (I swear parallel thought is a thing though? Or maybe just very fast serial)
when making data visualisations you’ll be in system 2 but a viewer is likely in system 1 (or at least that’s what they use first)
use visual characteristics deliberately to trigger instinct in the viewer, eg colour, form, shape, size, distances, spatial presentation, motion (fast-twitch in particular)
gestalt principles ie proximity, enclosure
the whole is greater than the sum of it’s parts
it takes effort to even start switching to system 2 so we often stay in system 1