Analysis the picture (Design major)

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Introduction Inthischapter,wewillanalyzethisimage…

ChapterI.Overview Student:HuXun

MeToo,atopicaltagwidelydistributedonsocialmediaaftertheHarveyWeinsteinsexual

harassmentinOctober2017,isusedtocondemnsexualassaultandsexualharassment.Social

activistTaranaBurkebeganusingthephraseseveralyearsbefore,andwaswidelyknownby

thespreadofactressAlyssaMilano.Milanoencourageswomentopubliclyviolatethe

experienceonTwittersothatpeoplecanrecognizetheuniversalityofthesebehaviors.Since

then,millionsofpeoplehaveusedthistagtopublicizetheirunpleasantexperiences,including

manycelebrities.

Picture1.1trending

Picture1.2trendinglegend

ThismapshowsthedistributionofdensityandimpactsizeofeventsundertheMeTootopic

from October2017toMarch2018.Thedensityofclockwisedandelionflowersrepresentsthe

frequencyofoccurrencesofeventsundertheMeToothemeatvarioustimeperiods.The

inflorescencesizeofeachsmallseedofdandelionrepresentsthenumberoffansofeach

Twitterbloggerandhowmuchthetopicisliked.Thepurpledotsineachindividual

inflorescencecanalsovisuallyseehowmuchcommenteachbloggerhasunderTwitter.The

wholeflowerisametaphorforthelifecycleofanexplosivetopicinthe

information transmissioninthemodernsociety.Justlikethegrowthcycleofadandelion,from

birthtomaturityandfinallydriftingwiththewind,theimagegivesusinformationandalsogives

usanunderstandingofexplosiveinformationevents.Thetransmissionofthisunderstandingis

throughthebeautifulimageryofpoetry.

Picture1.3spreading

Picture1.4spreadinglegend

Thisinfographicconsistingofslenderlinesofvariousreedbranchesshowsustheextentto

whichtheregionsandcountriesontheearthareaffectedwhentheMeTooeventisspread.The

informationoneachcontinentisinthegreenmainbranches.Thecollectionwasthenspreadto

differentcountriesinvariouscontinents.Wecouldseeall theconsequencethatrespondedto

theMeTooevent'sintwitteraccountattheendofthebranch,thedifferentsizesofthe “fruit”

intheendofthebranchshowsMeTooeffectsofthestatesindifferentcountriesandvarious

socialnetworksintheUnitedStates.

Picture1.5rooting

Picture1.6rootinglegend

Thispictureismorelikeamaturedandelion.Thesizeoftheinflorescencesofdifferentcolors

representthedifferentkeywordstotheunfairtreatmentofvariouscategoriesreceivedby

womenundertheMeTootheme.Differentthemesshowthecorecontentexpressedbythe

MeTooeventandtheamountofdifferentcontentinthetopic.

.Eachofthesethreeimageshasabeautifuldandelionplantbody,whichisrelatedtothe

author'suseofbloominginflorescences,plantingbranches,andlateralplantingofthewhole

plant,sothatthemetaphorsofthethreedifferentperspectivesarerespectivelydisplayed.The

contentoftheMeTooevent,thewaytheMeTooeventispropagated,andtheoverallprogress

oftheMeTooeventovertime.Thethreeinfographicsarehighlyunifiedinthethemeexpression

andtheform ofthepicture.Atthesametime,theybelongtotheunifiedandcomplete

metaphoricalimageofdandelion.Thecombinationofinformationexpressionandimage

metaphormakestheaudiencefullyunderstandwhattheauthorwantstoconveyduringthe

Elegantpoetry,viewing. andthisisalsoverysuitablefortheform ofthewomanthatwantsto

beconveyedintheMeTooevent,elegantpoeticbutsmartandstrong,likethedandelioninthe

wind.Afterreadingthesethreeforms,wechoosethefirstTrendingseedsimageforanalysis

further.

ChapterII.FigurativeAnalysis Student:ChungWuiKang

Inthischapter,wewillanalyzethefigureofdandelionofTrendingseedsimagethroughthree

aspects,whichisthecharmingbeautyoffemale,fragilityoffemalesexualharassmentassault

andvoicespreading.

Signifier/Expressionplan:

Adandelionformedbymillionofseedscombineswithdatavisualization.

Signified/Contentplan:

Dandelionhasastrongsymbolicexpressionofgentle,soft,quiet,fragility,vulnerability,purity,

spreading,strength,itmetaphorthecharmingbeautyoffemale,fragilityoffemalesexual

harassmentassaultandvoicespreading.

2.1Dandelionandfemale

Dandelionhasasenseofsoft,gentleandbeauty.It’sdemeanorisasdelicateasafemale.

Female'souterappearanceoftenlooksgentle,vulnerableandfragile,whoneedstobediligently

caredfor;butatthesametime,theirintercenterisfullofstrength,justlikedandelion.

2.2Dandelionandfemalesexualharassment

Dandelionhasalwaysbeensymbolizedassoftness,freedom,fragility,vulnerability,purity,

strength,nomatterhowbumpytheroadahead,italwayscomeswiththewind.Thereisno

destination,itjustflyinganywhere/everywhere,dependingontheabilityofthewind.

Inmanyimpressions,thedandelionsarequiet,alwayswaitingquietlyinthecornersofthe

flowers,waitingforagustofwindtoblow,theyswaywiththewind,thequietdandelionsfloatin

theskyuntilonedayfinallywantedtostayinafairlycomfortableplace.Dandelion’squiettrait

metaphorfemaleharassmentcaseswhicharealwayssilentandoftenneglectedbythesociety.

Femaleareoftensexuallyharassedbyothersandendupchoosetobesilence.Theycrysilently

inthedarkcornerandtooscaredordonothavetheabilitytomakethesoundloudenoughto

raisetheawarenessofthepublic.Thistinyforceoftencannotdrawpeople'sattentiontowards

it,therefore,itisdifficultforotherstoreallyunderstandindepthandgiveahandtothose

femalevictims.Femalevictimsoftencan'tstandupbravelytosayNOtosexualharassment,

justliketheadventofstrongwinds(sexualharassment)makeswomenunabletofightback,

andwomenwithoutdominancearejustlikethedandelionbeingbroughttoanunknownplace

bystrongwinds.Thedandeliondriftsaroundandhasbeensearchingforunknowntargets,

givingpeopleafeelingofmelancholy.

2.3Brave,strongandunitedpower-from fragile(individualseeds)tostrength(dandelion)

The#MeToohashtagallowscelebritiesandordinarypeopletosharetheirpersonalfeelingsand

experiences,onehashtagrepresentoneseed.Itcanbeseenfrom thisvisualartefactthatthe

form andsizeofeverydandelionseedsareobviouslydifferentwitheachother.Eachdandelion

seedmetaphorseachvoiceoffemalevictims.Eachdandelionseed(voice)hasadifferent

numberoffollowers,likes,comments.Thenumberoffollowersrepresentsalevelofattention

toavoice.Themorefollowersofeachseed(voice)representthegreaterinfluenceoftheseed

(voice).Acompleteunitedandstronglookingdandelionisformedwhentheseindividualfragile

seeds(voice)areallmergedtogether.

Thecourageoffemalevictimscanbeseenfrom theoverallappearanceofdandelion,theydare

tostanduponsocialmediaandsharetheirownexperiencesofsexualharassment.Whenthese

millionoffragilesingleseeds(voices)areallmergetogetherintoadandelion,theyallform a

firm powerfulloudvoice,asenseofunity,strongandcohesionwhichislargeenoughtoattract

thepublic’sattention.

Picture2.1dandelionseeds

2.4Voice(seeds)spreader

Inthisvisualartefact,Thedistancefrom thecentreillustratesthenumberofretweets.

Theoutermostseedsofdandelionaretheeasiesttobeblownawaybythewindandtheseouter

dandelionseeds(retweets)islikebringingalotofpeople'svoicestoanyplace,sendingthese

messagestopeopleinallcornersoftheworldandarousingpeople'sconsciousnessaboutthe

conversation.

2.5Driftingvoice(seeds)

Dandelionhasaspreadingtrait,itcanbeclearlyseenthattheseedsonthevisualartefact

graduallydecreaseovertime(from OCT2017toMAR18),whichmeansthatmoreandmore

seedsaredriftingaway.Thedriftedseedssuccessfullyspreadthevoiceoffemalevictimsto

theworldandevokestheconsciousnessofthosewhohasrelatedexperience.

Inconsequence,aroundMAR2018,theseedsbecomeevenlesserthanbefore,itdoesnot

meanthatpeoplearenolongerinvolvedinthis#MeToohashtagonlineconversation,but

becomesastreetdemonstration.Thiseventhaseventuallyencouragedmanyfemalevictimsto

bravelyshowtheirfearsanddissatisfactiononthestreets.Theincidentevolvedfrom the

beginningofthesocialmediaexperiencesharingtothestreetdemonstration,thousandsof

femalearoundtheworldwalktothestreetstoparticipatein2018Women'sMarch.From an

onlinediscussiontotheattentionofthecelebritiesandregularpeopleonlineconversation,to

thevictimsstandupandbreakthesilence,andfinallytothestreetparade.Itcanbeseenthe

spreadingabilityofdandelionseeds,theuncertainandrandomnesscharacteristicofit

successfullybroughtthevoiceoffemalevictimsscatteredaroundtheworldtodrawattention

ofthepublic.

ChapterIII.PlasticDimension/Expression Student:ChenYi(3.1,3.2) Student:NiuYijiang(3.3,3.4)

Inthischapter,wewillanalyzethisimagefrom theperspectiveofplasticdimension/

expressionthroughfouraspects,whichisEideticcategories(lines),Chromaticcategories

(colors),Topologicalcategories(spacearrangements)andrecognitionofvaluesconveyedby

plasticelements.

3.1Eideticcategories(lines)

Thedandelionsinnatureareallfurrysphereswithblurrededges.Theoveralloutlineofthis

chartisalsolooseandrandom.Insteadofusinglinestooutlinetheoutercontoursoftheseeds

(showninpartAofPicture3.1),thedesignerusesdifferentgradientcolorstofilleachseed,

whichisclosertothehazyappearanceofdandelion.

PartA.seeds PartB.theveinconnectingtheseeds PartC.themainstem

Picture3.1Differentpartsofthedatavisualization

Wecanseethatthelinesofthispicturearedistributedinthreeparts:theveinconnectingthe

seeds(representingthetotalnumberofretweets,showninpartBofPicture3.1),thetexture

insidetheseed(representingthetotalnumberoflikes,(showninpartAofPicture3.1),themain

stem thatsupportingthewholedandelion(showninpartCofPicture3.1).

Thethickestlineinthepictureisthestem thatsupportstheentiredandelion(showninpartCof

Picture3.1),astheonlythicklineinthepicture,especiallyincontrasttootherthinlines,thisline

willbeverypowerful.Theveinsthatconnecttheseedsareverythinlines(showninpartBof

Picture3.1),whichareasthinanddenseasthehair,andshowanaturalbendingstate.These

slenderandstretchedlinesconveyafeelingoflightnessandfreedom asiftheywereblownby

thebreeze.Becausethelinesareradiatedinthecenterofthemainstem oftheplant,thecenter

isdenseandthesidesarerelativelysparse.Thisperspectiveeffecthighlightsthe

three-dimensionalsenseofthewholedandelion.Thepatternsinsidetheseedare

dashed-dottedlines(showninpartAofPicture3.1),andthedottedlinesarecurvedina

clockwisedirection,likethefluffontheseed.

3.2Chromaticcategories(colors)

Overall,thisdatavisualizationislikeagreendandelion(showninpartAofPicture3.2),the

designerusesdifferentshadesofblueandgreentopresentdata.Thegreensymbolizesthe

coloroftheplantandpresentsaveryfreshandvitalfeeling.Thesesmallcirclesofdifferent

sizesarelikeseedsofthedandelion.Theyaredividedintofourgradientcolorsaccordingtothe

numberoflikes,whicharelightbluetogreen,greentoturquoise,andlightbluetoorange,light

orangetoorange(showninpartBofPicture3.2).Comparedwithjustfillingwithonecolor,the

methodofcolorgradationcanreflectthethree-dimensionalityoftheobject,andalsoexpress

thehazyfeelingofthedandelionthroughthecontrastofcolorintensity.

PartA.thedandelion PartB.annotate

Picture3.2Colorsofthedatavisualization

Theseedwiththeleastnumberoflikeshasthelightestcolorandthelowestcolorsaturation,

justlikethenewlyformedseeds.Thenumberoflikesinthemiddlelevelisgreentoturquoise,

thedesignerusedblueandgreenwithhighercolorsaturationthantheformer,symbolizingthe

processofseedmaturity.Themorethelikes,themoreorangethecoloroftheseeds,andthe

higherthecolorsaturation,justliketheseedsareripe.Onthechart,wecanseethatalmostall

theorangedotsareontheperipheryofthedandelion.Someevenflewawayfrom thedandelion,

likeripedandelionseedsdriftingintothedistance.Matureseedsspreadwiththewindanddrift

fartheraway.ThisalsometaphorizesthespreadofMeTooMovementonTwitter.Those

high-retweetsandhigh-liketweetsaresuccessfullyspreadlikematureseeds.

Thedesignerchosepurpletoexpressthenumberofcomments(showninpartBofPicture3.2).

Ontheonehand,purpleandgreenhavestrongcontrasteffects,whichmakesthevisualization

moreintuitive,allowingreaderstoeasilyidentifywhichdotshavemorecomments.Ontheother

hand,purplesymbolizesmystery,buttheinfiltrationofredmakesitcomplicatedand

contradictory,whichisalsoinlinewiththethemeoftheMeToomovement:encouragingvictims

ofsexualassaultandharassmenttospeakout.

Thedesigneruseddarkgreentorepresentthemainstem partthatsupportedtheentire

dandelion.Thisisthedarkestpartofthewholepictureexceptthetext,theheavycolorcan

becomethesupportpointandfocusofthepicture,anditalsoshowsitspower.

Thedesignerchoseabrightyellowthatcontrastswiththesurroundingdarkgreentohighlight

thetimelineandenablereaderstoeasilyreadtime(showninpartBofPicture3.1).Thiscircular

timelinelocatedinthecenterofalltheseedsconnectedclearlyshowsthetrendofdataover

time.

Thecolorofthebackgroundisatransitionfrom lightbluetolightyellow,bluesymbolizesthe

sky,yellowsymbolizestheland,andonthewhole,isadandeliongrowingontheground.Both

colorsonthebackgroundarehighbrightnessandlowsaturation,givingaverysoftfeelingand

creatingacomfortableatmosphereandhighlightingthepartofthedatavisualization.

3.3Topologicalcategories(spacearrangements)

Thedesignersketchestheshapeofthedatavisualisationasanimageofdandelionwithplenty

ofdetailsandputsthepartofvisualchartlikeseedsatthetopoftheflower.Mostseedsare

gatheredinthemiddleoftheimagebutsomearespreadaround,thelinebetweentheseeds

andthecoreoftheflowertellsushowmanytimesthesetweetswereretweeted,sothatthis

imageillustratesadynamicstoryofactivitytrendingonthesocialplatform.

Picture3.3Spacearrangementsofthedatavisualization

Astheauxiliarylineshelpusunderstandthespacearrangements,theorientationandthe

perspectivityoftheimageofdandelioninordertomakereadersfocusontheareaoftheseeds

whichisthemainemphasisofthispicture.Andthecurvedrootalsoleadsoursighttothe

centreoftheseedsareawhichshowsusthetimelineofthisdatavisualisation.Thedirectionof

thedandelionistowardstheleftandthisspacearrangementcreateastrongimpactandsense

ofspreadingwhichgivesusafeelingofinformationcommunication.Simultaneously,this

curvedrootandspreadingseedsmakeusfeelthattherecouldbewindfrom theleft,driving

theseseedstoblowfarther.

Picture3.4Spacearrangementsofthedatavisualization

Asshownabove(showninPicture3.4),wedirectlydividedthisimageintothese6partswith

differentcolourgradients.Eachcolourareashowsapieceofcertaininformation.Indifferent

colourareas,therelationbetweenthenumberofretweets,thenumberoflikesandthenumber

ofcommentsaredifferent.Mostoftheyellowseedsappearintheoutermostarea(shownin

partDofPicture3.4),andtheseedsinthisareaarealsotheseedsfarthestfrom thecentre

point.Tosomeextent,itcanbeseenthatthereisacertaincorrelationbetweentheuser's

preferenceforthetweetandthenumberofretweets.Someoftheseedsflyingtothevery

borderoftheimagemeantherearelotsofretweetsofthesewords.IfwelinktheseedsoftheD

areatothetimeline,wewillfindthatthemostseeds(showninpartDofPicture3.4),whichare

alsotheseedsfarthestfrom thecentre,areconcentratedinOctober2017,November2017and

January2018.Atthesametime,theseedsintheAandBregionsofthistimeperiodare

obviouslydenser.Forinstance,attheupperrightcorner,thenumberofretweetsis207.4k

whichispresentedbythedistancefrom thecentre,andalsomeansthistweetscouldberead

bymuchmorepeople.

MostoftheseedsarelocatedintheCareaarelightgreen,whichmeansthatmostofthe

tweetshavea10k-50kLike.Sofrom theanalysisofthepartialpointofview,theindividualseed

conveysfourdimensionsofinformationthroughhisarea,length,colourandintensity.Andthe

comparisonofthelengthofthedifferentseedsfrom thecentrehighlightsthatthetopicismore

visibletopeopleduringaconsiderableperiodoftime.Whenyoucomparethisinformationwith

thechartatthecrucialmoment,itisfoundthatthecontrastofaggregationanddispersionin

thepictureisextremelystrong,thecollectedseedsinthecenterofthisimageareoftenmore

common,andthescatteredseedsaremoreprominentandextremelyattractive.

3.4Recognitionofvaluesconveyedbyplasticelements

Ontheotherhand,mostofthescatteredseedsareyellow,andtheseedsconcentratedinthe

centrearemostlygreen.Yellowandgreenrespectivelyrepresentmaturityandnewborninthe

plants.Itcanbeseeninthepicturethatthescatteredseedsareaaremoreaboutthemature

view,andtheseedsthatareconcentratedinthecentreareaaremorefreshtopic.The

integrationofdifferentseedsbytimedimensionconveysthedevelopmenttrendofdataduring

thisperiodoftime.

From thevariousdetailsandelements,theauthorsplitsthekeyfactorsthatmayaffectthe

trendofthe‘MeToo’eventontheTwitterplatform intofollowersofatweeter,thenumberof

retweets,andthenumberoflikesandthenumberofcomments.Forinstance,on15October

2017,thereisatweet,“Ifyou’vebeensexuallyharassedorassaultedwrite‘metoo’asareplyto

thistweet.”from @Alyssa_Milanohas3.4millionfollowersandthistweethasbeenretweeted

24.6ktimes.

Inconclusion,from thesepointsofview,thecompositionofthispicturecaneasilymakepeople

payattentiontowhichinformationandwhattimeisthemostimportantthroughpositionand

colourinformation.Intermsofthecompositionofthepicture,thisimageshowsusapretty

clearviewofwhoaretheinfluencersandhowmanypeopletheycouldinfluence.

ChapterIV.

SemioticSystem AnalysisBasedonMetaphor Student:WANG NING

Inthischapter,IwillanalyzetheSemioticsSystem ofthisimagebasedonmetaphor.

Ipresentthrough4aspectswhichis①SemioticSystem,SignifierandSignifiedinSemiotic

System,②TheroleofMetaphorsinsemioticsystem,③SemioticSystem④summingup

4.1SemioticSystem

Asystem ofsignsorarelationshipbetweenelementsofanykindis(1)symbolic,(2)

semi-symbolic,or(3)semiotic.(1)Whenonesignifierisassociatedwithoneandonlyone

signified,wecallthisa symbolicsystem.(2)Asystem is semi-symbolic ifanopposition

betweensignifierscorresponds(ishomologous)toanoppositionbetweensignifieds.(3)Lastly,

othersystemsmaybeclassifiedas semiotic.Languageissuchasystem. [1]

Inthisfigure,IdidnotfindtheSemi-symbolicsystem.Thereisnotanoppositionbetween

signifiers(ishomologous)tooppositionbetweensignifieds.ButIfoundthatitexistsastrong

associatedsymbolicrelationshipbetweendandelion(signifier)andkeycharacteristics (signified)

ofMetoomovementsinthissemioticssystem ofthisfigure.

4.2SignifierandSignifiedinSemioticsystem

AccordingtotheoriesbasedonSaussure's(therenownedlinguistfrom Geneva),thesignmay

bebrokendownintothesignifier(whichismentionedasexpressionplaninclass),whichisthe

perceivablepartofthesignandthesignified(whichismentionedascontentplaninclass),

whichistheunderstandablepartofthesign,orthesemanticcontentassociatedwiththe

signifier.

Signifiedservetoexpressthemeaningofthesignandhelpstoextendthismeaning.This

featureofextensionalityenablestheoriginalsignifierandsignifiedtoblendtothesignifierof

anotherlinguisticsign,withtheeffectthatmetaphoricalsensesarederived.

4.3TheroleofMetaphorsinsemioticsystem

Onacognitiveaccount,metaphors,basedonhumanexperienceandlikeness,ariseoutofthe

image-schematicmappingofasimple,specificsourcedomainontoanabstract,complextarget

domain,whichestablishesalinkbetweenthetwodomainsandactualizesthemetaphorical

process. [2]

Thedesignerofthisvisualizationfigureisseekingametaphortoreinforcesomeofthe

movementskeycharacteristics — itscomplexity,itsabilitytospreadandtakehold,andits

representationofbothstrengthandfragility.

Dandelion,asavisualmetaphor,isoftenconsideredaweed — andcertainlyapesttoanyone

pursuingtheperfectgreenpatch — thedandelionisrenownedforitsabilitytospreadandgrow

anywhere.Butfrom anotherangle,thedandelionisabeautifulandcomplexflower.Onewhich

hasbeenusedinpopularculturetosymbolizeendurance,growth,andthepossibilityofchange.

Whenweseethisfigurefirstly,thephysicalrecognitionconceptofdandelioncouldbe

stimulatedinourmentalleveloutofcertaindistance.Afterthat,wecouldassociatethe

characteristics ofthisplantwhichismentionedabove.Andthesecharacteristicsarealso

similartospiritsof#Metoohashtagmovements.

Whentheaudiencescometofigureoutwhatinformationandmeaningsofthisillustration

communicate.Theynaturallygetwhatcorevalueandproportionsofthismovement.

Metaphorisnotonlyacommonrhetoricalmethodbutalsoacognitivethinkingmode.Itisthe

onlywayforhumanbeingstounderstandthingsandestablishaconceptualsystem.People

makeabstractreasoningbymeansofmetaphorsinordertounderstandabstractconcepts.The

processofhumanconsciousnessisactuallyaprocessofsymbolizingtheworld.Thinkingis

nothingmorethananoperationprocessofselecting,combining,transformingandregenerating

symbols.Therefore,itcanbesaidthatpeopleusesymbolstothink.Theextendedmeaningof

thesymbolistobuildonthebasisofthephysicalsigns. [3]

Onceasymbolisinvolvedinasituationalnarrative,itisgivenaspecificconnotation.Humans

willalwaysneedtoexplainthemeaningbehindthesymbolsbylisteningtostoriesandtelling

stories.Byspecifyingthemeaningofsomesymbols,peoplehavetheabilitytoquicklyacquire

deepabstractinformationinanothercontext.

4.4Summingup

Wecouldseethataudiencecapturethespiritsandcorevalueofthe#Metoomovements

efficientlythroughthissemioticsystem basedonmetaphorsofdandelion. Dandelion’sability

tospreadandgrowanywhereislikethetrendingofMetoomovement.Anddandelionhasbeen

usedinpopularculturetosymbolizeendurance,growth,andthepossibilityofchange.Itis

symbolthatwomensin#Metoomovementsareattheforefrontofthiseraandleadthevalues

andsocialtrends.

ChapterV.InfovisAnalysis Student:BaoYifang

Inthischapter,wewillanalyzethisimagefrom theperspectiveofinfovisthroughfouraspects,

whichisthedatareduction,variablesandproperties,thelayoutandinsights.

5.1TheDataReduction

Theprincipleofreductionisbasedonparticularinformationanddatathatdepictthemain

purpose.Asforthisproject,inordertoexploretheabilitytospreadnewsoropinionsviasocial

mediachannels,theauthorfocusesontheMeToomovementinTweeterasthefirststep.Then,

theauthorcollectsthedatasetsampleoftweetswith#MeToohashtag,whichwerepostedin

themovement’sfirstsixmonths,from October2017toMarch2018.Further,insteadof

presentingallthecollectedtweets’data,theprojectfiltersthedatasampleofeachtweetswith

morethan1kretweets.Thereafter,thecomplextopicissimplifiedandthefinalsampledatais

obtained,whichincludesthedimensionsoftweets,retweets,followers,comments,likesand

sharedtime.ThewholeprocessofdatareductionisasPicture5.1shown.

Picture5.1datareductionlogic

5.2VariablesandProperties

AccordingtoLevManovich,‘Infovisusesgraphicalprimitivessuchaspoints,straitlines,curves

andsimplegeometricshapestostandforobjectsandrelationsbetweenthem.’ [4]

Theauthor

choosestousethepoint-circle(thedandelion seed)-torepresentatweetwithmorethan1k

retweets,andthecurve(thedandelion rhizome)torepresentrelativeinformation,suchasthe

dateitwasshared.‘Infovisusesspatialvariables(position,size,shape,andmorerecently

curvatureoflinesandmovement)torepresentkeydifferencesinthedataandrevealmost

importantpatternsandrelations.Otherlessimportantpropertiesoftheobjectsarerepresented

throughdifferentvisualdimensions–tones,shading,patterns,colors,ortransparencyofthe

graphicalelements.’ [4]

Asforthisproject,thelogicalanalysisforvariablesandpropertiesis

showninTable5.1.From thespatialproperties’aspects,whichismorehighlightedbythe

authorforthetopic,thepointdistancefrom thecenterillustratesthenumberofretweets,the

pointsizeshowshowmanyfollowersthetweeterhadatthetime.Besides,thecurvelength

representsthetotalnumberofretweets,andthecurvepositionisdecidedbythetweetshared

time.From thenon-spatialproperties’aspects,thepointcolorvariationrepresentsthenumber

oflikesthetweetreceived,thepointpatterns(shapedbydensityofthelines)representthe

numberofcomments,andthecurvepositionisalsorelativetothedateitwasshared.

signifier signified

variables properties value meaning

point shape(spatial) circle onetweetwith#MeToohashtag

point size(spatial) totalnumberoftweeter

followers

point color(non-spatial) totalnumberoflikes

point patterns(non-spatial) totalnumberofcomments

point angleposition(spatial) thetweetsharedtime

point distancefrom

central(spatial)

totalnumberofretweets

curve length(spatial) totalnumberofretweets

curve position(spatial) thetweetsharedtime

Table5.1variablesandproperties

5.3TheLayout

‘Themajorityofinformationvisualizationpracticereservesthespatialarrangement(layout)for

themostimportantdimensionsofdata,andusingothervisualvariablesforremaining

dimensions.’ [4]

Asforthiscoretopicquestion‘Whoweretheinfluencersinthe#MeToo

Movement?’,theinfovislayoutisbyarbitraryandsubjectivespatialarrangement.First,the

authorchangesthetraditionalhorizontaltimelineintothecenterringtimeline,showninpartA

ofPicture5.2,whichconcentratesthelargeamountofdataintothecenterpositionofthe

canvas,andimpliesthedandelionmetaphoraswell.Second,inordertopresenteachinfluencer

moreclearly,aforcedlayoutclusterhasbeenappliedtoavoidoverlap.Therefore,thetimelineis

anapproximationoftimeandthenumberofretweetsisnotaccuratelyrepresented.For

instance,contrastingwiththeonlineprogrammingversion,showninpartBofPicture5.2,we

canfindthattheauthorintentionallymagnifiedthedistanceofthemostinfluentialpeople(the

mostperipherallyscatteredpointsinthefigure),whichcanalsohelptheaudiencetoidentify

mostinfluentialones.Fourth,thetextlayout,showninpartCofPicture5.2,helpstodescribe

andsupplementinformationclearly.

Picture5.2datareductionlogic

5.4TheInsights

AccordingtoEdwardTufte,‘Clarityandexcellenceinthinkingisverymuchlikeclarityand

excellenceinthedisplayofdata.Whenprinciplesofdesignreplicateprinciplesofthought,the

actofarranginginformationbecomesanactofinsight.’ [5]

Sowhatinsightsdowedrawfrom the

infovis?From amacroperspective,thehugeamountsofdandelionseedscanreflectthehuge

influenceandparticipationofsocialmediaintoday’sdigitalage.From thedandelionseed

distribution,itcanbefoundthattheabilitytospreadnewsispervasiveviasocialmedia

channels,andthattheattentionandparticipationoftheeventwillincreasefirstandthen

decreasewithtime.Inaddition,wecanseesomerelationshipsamongthedimensionsof

comments,retweets,likes,andfollowers.Forexample,retweetsandlikesarealmost

proportional,whichmeansthatmoreretweetsrelatestomorelikes.Thepersonwhogetsthe

mostlikesorretweetsisnottheonewiththemostfollowers,whichshowsthatthecommon

peoplecanbecomeinfluencerseither.Besides,thecommentsseem morerandom distribution,

whichistosayit'snotcertainthatpeoplewithmorefollowersgetmorecomments.

Conclusion Inthischapter,wewillanalyzethisimage…

References

[1]http://www.signosemio.com/elements-of-semiotics.asp

[2]https://wenku.baidu.com/view/c803b5c49ec3d5bbfd0a740d.html

[3]http://semiotics.net.cn/userfiles/images/ce8f89639f552027cca4f4c8cacdceb3.pdf

[4]Manovich,Lev."Whatisvisualisation?." VisualStudies 25.1(2011)

[5]Tufte,EdwardR.,etal."Visualexplanations:imagesandquantities,evidenceandnarrative."

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