ACAD 220: Introduction to Data Innovation and Analytics Iovine and Young Academy
ACAD 220: Introduction to Data Innovation and Analytics - Week #2:

Data Visualization Fundamentals


Aaron Siegel | | 1/21/2026
Associate Professor of Teaching, Interactive Technologies
Iovine and Young Academy

What is Data?


Data.


Simple facts lacking context.

Information.


Data put into context.

Knowledge.


Information that has been justified true and believed.

Data Qualities


Data Ubiquity.


Data can be found everywhere.

Data Diversity.


Data comes in many different forms.

Data Importance.


Understanding data is critical for making progress.

History of Abstraction in Art and Design

What does Art have to do with Data?


  • Art is about the human condition.
  • Visual art is communication through form.
  • Representational art is visual art focused on a subject.

Creating a Visual Language

Asking the right questions


Increase Understanding.


The more you know, the better your questions get.

Hypothesis.


What do you think is going to happen? What would happen if __________?

Methodology.


How do you intend to proceed?

Evaluating Data


Dimensionality.


A measure of the number of variable properties of a given object or data sample.

Range.


The measure between the minimum and maximum values for a given variable property.

Granularity.


The resolution of a set of data samples or the possible values within a variable property.

Transposing Data


The process of translating data into a form that can be experienced through senses (visible, audible, tangible).

Data Variables &
Visual Variables


Number of Variables.


Match properties in your data to visual properties in your visualization (ie: position, size, color, value, etc).

Range of Variables.


Choose an appropriate visual variable that scales properly with the range of your data field (ie: black to white, color over spectrum, width/height, etc).

Comparison Between Variables.


Consider accommodating for unexpected patterns to appear between different variables, and choosing the right visual representation to present comparisons.

Design System


Design as Template.


Create a visualization to accommodate changing content over time.

Preparing for the Unexpected.


Prepare your visualization to accept results that may be out of the range of your current ones.

Comparisons Over Time.


Ensure consistency in your visualization in order to make comparisons between today's data and tomorrow's data.

History of Information Design

Contemporary Data Visualization

Takeaways


Abstraction.


Only showing what's necessary.

Perspective.


Reshaping the viewer's perspective on a subject matter.

Narrative.


Crafting the appropriate narrative to communicate to viewers.

Questions?

Design Lab #1:

Data Artist/Designer Research


Create a 4 slide presentation about the data artist/designer/practitioner assigned to you. Make sure that the slides are 16:9 aspect ratio (ideally 1920 x 1080 in dimensions) so that your contribution can easily be combined with other students research in order to make a comprehensive document to be shared with the class.

SLIDE #1: The name and biographical information about the person you have been assigned. Give us a couple paragraphs about who they are and what they do.
SLIDE #2: A data visualization project with images and a description of what is being displayed.
SLIDE #3: A second data visualization project with images and a description of what is being displayed.
SLIDE #4: A third data visualization project with images and a description of what is being displayed.
Jai Anderson
Venus Duran Arevalo
Mike Gong
Lauren Hsueh
Esther Ji
Hosung Kim
Jaehoon Kim
Emily Millegan
Yana Pinto
Ashley Rodriguez
Anthony Shen
Alex Siy
Rafael Villasenor
Catherine Wang
Kari Wu
Gary Yang
Ming Yong
Charlotte Zhang
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Nicholas Felton
Giorgia Lupi
Edward Tufte
Nathan Yau
Jason Salavon
Lev Manovich
Ben Fry
David McCandless
W.E.B. DuBois
Aaron Koblin
Martin Wattenberg
Andy Kirk
Nicholas Rougeux
Alberto Cairo
Jim Bumgardner
Dietmar Offenhuber
Bradford Paley
Jonathan Jennings Harris