[Visinfo] response to Shedroff (week 3)

[Jennifer Bernstein]

Hi all,
Frankly, I'm not sure when this is due. Here it is
anyways.
best,
-jenn

Response to “Information Interaction Design” by Nathan
Shedroff

I agree with Mike that this essay seemed both slightly
dated and coercive. I imagine that the last 10 years
produced more opportunities for a more formalized
Information Design education, although perhaps not
many. The style reminds me of 50’s advertising, which
I find slightly heartwarming. 

His explanations of information and interaction design
 could be simplified- information design is visually
representing conclusions derived from a dataset, while
interaction design allows for exploratory data
analysis by the user. The novel part of his essay is
the advocacy of sensorial design. It was given a brief
treatment in the essay, and I was left wondering why.
While I understand the cognitive aspects of how a
viewer receives information, I feel like it’s a bit
much to take on their sensorial experience as well.

One last criticism is the amount of space his graphics
occupied. Tufte might take issue with the data/ink
ration- you’re not being given a whole lot of
information per unit of ink-space.

Although I must agree wholeheartedly with Mr. Sheriff
when he says “I believe that one of the nicest
experiences you can have is to enjoy a stimulating
conversation with another person over great meal.”