Re: [IxDA Discuss] Could use some eyes on this chart
Took a lot of your comments into account, as well as some of my own thoughts. I tried to vastly simplify things. Here is an update, be glad to hear any thoughts. http://dl.dropbox.com/u/48702/timeline2.jpg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=48697 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Could use some eyes on this chart
On Tue, Feb 2, 2010 at 5:12 PM, J. A. Fitzpatrick jaf...@gmail.com wrote: My only real confusion point in the original version was lining up the jump back to the original timeline, and the new version fixes that completely. Personally, I think the legend is confusing rather than helpful. Otherwise, it looks great :) Cheers, Jean-Anne Great, thanks Jean-Anne! I only threw the legend in there because it was suggested, but I tend to agree. I don't think it really helps. Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Could use some eyes on this chart
This orientation and numbering is much easier to follow, but a few things still stand out for me: 1. Using timelines implies that the dates are laid out to some sort of scale, but they aren't. For example, the distance between 1642 and 1646 (4 years) is about the same distance as between 1646 and 2059 (419 years). So, it looks like the placement of dates on the timelines is driven by the text layout of the associated descriptions. Instead, I think you need to first lay out the dates on the timeline in a way that makes sense without the descriptions (which doesn't have to be exactly to scale), then find a way to add the text descriptions within that framework. 2. That the alternate timeline is at an angle suggests that time is progressing at a different rates on the two lines, but it seems that's not the case, since 1627 lines up vertically. Either it needs to be clearer that time is progressing at different rates, or just use parallel lines. 3. It seems the dotted line for the targeted return should drop down to the original timeline. Regards, Adam On Feb 2, 2010, at 2:51 PM, Tom DellAringa wrote: Took a lot of your comments into account, as well as some of my own thoughts. I tried to vastly simplify things. Here is an update, be glad to hear any thoughts. http://dl.dropbox.com/u/48702/timeline2.jpg Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Could use some eyes on this chart
Thanks for the comments I haven't responded to yet. I'm working on revising it with many of these things in mind. @Oliamwright - can't see any comments at that link :( . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=48697 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Could use some eyes on this chart
I left some comments about it here http://tinyurl.com/ybu2kqn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=48697 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Could use some eyes on this chart
If anyone knows how to remove a post in a thread - Jonathan didn't want his email on the site. I can't seem to do it. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=48697 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] Could use some eyes on this chart
I've been working on this chart for awhile that has to do with my comic. It supposed to explain some large events that happened in the story via time travel. I could really use some more sets of eyes on this thing, because it's driving me crazy! It's also an exercise in information design for me, so it's not just for fun. It's my first real attempt at info design in fact. Anyway, I'd like to see if people can make heads or tails of it without any explanation from me. I would love any comments, pro or con. The info I'd give you is that the story takes place on Mars, Geborga are Martian scientists and John and Lian are astronauts that arrive later. The design - colors, fonts, I still consider somewhat rough. I'm trying to get the layout nailed first. See it here: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/48702/timeline.jpg Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Could use some eyes on this chart
Tom - I found the chart, with a few moments of review and reading, was very clear. The one element that was not is the circular path where the alternate timeline starts. Why is this not a straight line to a new path, versus a circular path that seems to suggest travel in both directions? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=48697 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Could use some eyes on this chart
The new timeline starting at 0 instead of -40 is confusing. Also, as Rob said, the circular path is unclear. Since all of the other triangles on the paths correspond to specific dated events, maybe you should remove the five on the new timeline that don't correspond to specific events. --Jarrod . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=48697 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Could use some eyes on this chart
I think the chart is clear, except that it doesn't specify whether the numbers represent days, months, years, etc. Also, is there any reason why someone would want to look at the chart in order to track a particular character? The text expains everything, but there are no visual clues as to the path of each individual character. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=48697 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Could use some eyes on this chart
Thanks for the responses! I realize I made a couple mistakes when I changed some things in the alternate timeline. I wasn't sure if the circle would confuse people or not, it seems half and half. I'm open to suggestions as to what my help indicate a break from the old and a creation of a new timeline in that spot. I could have just made a straight line, I suppose. Here's what maybe people are not getting: 0 - Travel Origin is where the Geborga start going back. They go back 40 years to -40. They make a change, and the new universe spawns. That's the reason for the negative numbers - although I can see how that might not make sense reading it top down. They spend 24 years in the alternate universe, at which time things work out, but they are starting to suffer weird effects. They need to get back. They think jumping ahead 16 years will put them back at year 0 again - travel origin. And things will be all fixed and they are back where they started. Instead they are yanked back to their own universe. Because the universes are rushing away from each other though, time dilated (or whatever) and they went WAY into the future of their old universe, landing 432 years ahead. So maybe if I had dates instead of /- figures - at least in the original, that might help? (Numbers do represent years Dan.) It would be nice if somehow you could kind of follow one path through the chart, but it's hard to figure how to accomplish that. The tricky part is the lost years from 0 - 432 in the original. I can see how that is confusing to what is going on. @Dan - I have to explain this at a high level in the comic. I'm not sure if I am going to break this down and draw it to do that or what. I suppose I could make various versions based on which character you tracked. That might help things. Thoughts? Thanks for the great feedback, this is a pretty difficult thing to get my mind around. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=48697 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Could use some eyes on this chart
Thanks for the great feedback Sabine. I agree a Legend would help. I guess I kind of wanted to avoid that if possible, maybe as others suggested, a single character path might help. Some comments below: On Wed, Jan 27, 2010 at 4:56 PM, sabine morrow designsa...@gmail.comwrote: 1. In the original universe, the starting point is time 0 (zero). You can move back in time and what appears to be forward in time. But what is confusing is that at +15 you describe Geborga travel *back* in time to build It would be intuitive to think +15 is moving ahead in time, not backward. Maybe I should just use dates - that might be easier? 4. The travelor moves ahead in time in the alternate universe and some event happens and I end up back in the original moving ahead in time. They return to the original but there is gap from where they left the original and ended up in the alternative to where they are back in the original. A time warp? They try to go back to year 0, they get sucked back to their original universe, far ahead of their target date, where they find their world ruined. The alternate universe continues, but without them. 5. What is the time spread? According to your chart, because alternate path is on diagonal, I would think time accelerates in the alternate like is shown in the original - you go from +19 to +432. Maybe the original path should be on diagonal and the alternate path is completely vertical to indicate the jump forward in time with the travelors jump back into their original universe. Because they are moving away from each other, time is distorted and when they return, that accounts for all the added time. The gap from 19-432 is the time distortion. 6. In sum, travelors go back in time, and end up in alternate universe but they don't realize it. They try to come back to their time zerom, which triggers their acceleration forward into their original universe? Not sure that is what you intended. But at +24 in the alternate, the caption discusses +16 years but that does not match up across the grid to the original. It would definately help to have legend explaining the calibrations - what they are in each universe and how they relate from one universe to another. 24 + 16 = 40. They are trying to get back to 40 years total. I realize that is not clear though. 7. As regards design, try using more visual cues - different font for alternate universe, color code the time calibrations to show at exactly at what point the travelor crossed from one universe to another. Font is a little plane. Maybe use boxy, tech font for this futuristic, sci-fi theme? I will definitely try and add more visual cues and I iterate this. Thanks for the feedback I will post back an updated version! Tom Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Could use some eyes on this chart
I really like it, but wan to echo some confusion. It seems like the orange line should go up and curve back down, but should not include a loop there, unless they are actually circling in time there (the notes don't imply this). It think the confusion about the numbering is that they aren't absolute values, but rather relative to the time travelers themselves. The numbers represent their own perception of the passing of time. This is why the zero point where they begin their time travel matches to their arrival 40 units in the past. (There is an implication here that the time travel is instantaneous for them. Is this correct?) Another point of confusion comes from the fact that the timelines are not scaled linearly, and so correlations between the lines at horizontal points are inaccurate. (more in next post.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=48697 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Could use some eyes on this chart
On Wed, Jan 27, 2010 at 6:13 PM, Jonathan Rez jonat...@rez.com.au wrote: Tom hi, My two cents' worth... Ground rule: Add a title to the page/chart Flip the chart, so that negative values are towards the bottom of the page, not the top. Minute detail. because you are using the minus symbol, it may be good to avoid dashes, for example in 0 - Travel Origin Triangles along the path infer one way, but you're describing a going back in time scenario. Revisiting the diagram (but not deleting my last comment) it reads like once I'm on the orange line I'm in the alternate timeline, but what you'e saying is that I'm in the alternate timeline once I reach -40. In addition, is the duration of going back in time the same as moving forward, or are they jumping back in time? According to the current visualisation it's the same. If it is a time jump then a different line style should be used, eg: thin, dotted (green, as we're not yet in the alternate time space) or gradient from white to green to indicate fast motion. I guess they start at 0 being on the orange timeline, and in hindsight that reads oddly - they are going back but not yet on the alternate. Good points. The idea of having the time jump be visually distinct is a good one I think. To make it more coherent it would help if points in the parallel time space were horizontally aligned with points in the original time space, i.e. a base line time grid where +19 is parallel to +19 And while it's a big challenge, see if you can make distances reflect time span rather points in key points in the story. I don't think I'll have the room for that. I planned on indicating breaks where big gaps are. If the new time space start at zero, the current diagram shows they are loosing 40 years between the time they start the new time space and the time they reconnect to the original time space. See rough draft attached As you say, this is information design – why are you posting this to IXDA? Good input, thanks. Posted here because I knew I'd get good feedback, and I did :) Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Could use some eyes on this chart
In the original green timeline, the distance from -40 to -25 (15 units) seems to correspond to 0 to 3 in the new orange timeline. As I said, I like it. I wasn't even a little confused about the 408 unit jump, but I read a lot of time-travel related stories. Even so, if it didn't cost them any personal time to travel back 40 units in their original timeline, it should be made clear that they return to 432 when they are only aged 24, right? So they are returned to their own timeline, but way in the future, but without serious personal aging. Right? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=48697 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Could use some eyes on this chart
Tom, What's this graph about? (i.e., where's the title?) I'm probably being presumptuous but I like graphs to be stand-alone things that don't need reference to information outside. Is it in the document that the graph is embedded in? If so apologies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=48697 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Could use some eyes on this chart
Cool stuff, but I couldn't figure it out. Here are some notes: -Timelines are usually horizontal. Forward in time is left to right. You may want to stick to convention when explaining something out of the ordinary. -Are the numbers in years? They need a label. -The two timelines should be easier to compare. Try aligning the increments of one time line with the increments of the other. Thus, you could see how events on one are different from events on the other. Thanks for showing this!!! -Jake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=48697 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
