LO 07 Data Visualization

TableTop Whale is an online blogger currently working in at the New York Times graphics department. Her work is specialized towards information design with a focus o science communication. Her PHD work was done in Biology and Data science. On her blog the tableTop whale, she posts a variety of data visualization graphics. I think what intrigues me the most is her explorations on the geology of various planets of the solar system. Mapping terrain and topography has been an interest of explorers for centuries even before the age of exploration. In the past cartographers used various analog techniques to map out the world as we know today. Now, with the avdvent of GIS data, we have the capability creating maps almost on demand with digital tools such as ARC GIS and a variety of other Geospatial data visualizer. What’s interesting about TableTop Whale’s work is that she uses USGS’s data sets for the planets, but renders them in a style that evokes maps of the age of sail. This is interesting because, the style evokes a sense of unknown and allows for out imagination to run wild about the possibilities of new uncharted territory. That’s also what’s so special about having large datasets to manipulate and visualize, it can allow for new information to emerge from things we already know about. Allowing us to dive even deeper into what we already know possibly defining the unknown.

https://tabletopwhale.com/index.html