Analysis the picture (Design major)
plolmss
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."
(1998)