I appreciated the Micro-Macro reading because I had never before looked at graphics or data visualizations this way. When looking at the many examples given of great uses of micro-macro designs, it is obvious that they are powerful images, getting across complex messages without using too many words. This level of complexity makes me realize how long it likely took for these images to be produced, because there are so many steps involved. First, the creator would have to find something interesting in data that inspired them enough to want to share it with the world. Then they would probably take a lot of their time figuring out how they want to convey their findings to the world in a digestible way, a way that communicates the data clearly but also stresses its societal importance. Once they stumbled upon a concept they were excited about, they would have to start creating drafts, getting feedback, and then making more and more drafts. The end result however is something amazing that anyone can use or appreciate, which is simply amazing. Seeing the beautiful mix of data and design is something I have come to appreciate more and more, especially as data becomes so important in the modern world and allowing anyone to be able to interpret it is a seriously undervalued superpower.
Reading the Escaping Flatland excerpt was also eye-opening, but simply because as someone who does not create art often, I forget how painstakingly difficult it can be to convey three dimensions in two-dimensional mediums that are most popular. What I like about this part is that Tufte acknowledges this struggle, but then goes into how one should or should not go about trying to get around flatland. It all comes back to how to make complex concepts as clear as possible. I also found in interesting how he started the discussion with talking about three dimensions as an initial struggle, but then goes into successful examples of data visualizations that use six or more variables. It took me a while to make this connection of a third dimension as just another variable to communicate clearly. This reminded me of my struggle to begin designing for Exercise 1, because it was so many variables that it felt like I needed an extra dimension or two in order for it to make sense. In that way this reading definitely helped me get some ideas for how I could tackle some of the critical elements in a cool way, for example I think I could play a lot more with how different styles of lines could represent different moods or even locations.
