Next week, visit The Stacks to watch data come alive: an act of magic situated at the fertile intersection of the quantitative and the creative.
Student artwork from Professor Mia Cinelli’s A-S 541: Advanced Graphic Design course will be on display from April 29 to May 6. During the opening reception on April 29, students will discuss their work with attendees over light refreshments. The exhibit opening is free and open to the public.
From habitable exoplanets and hydrangeas to winning Kentucky Derby silks and the experience of eight first dates, the students' work shows an astounding range of possibilities of data visualization, celebrating the often wild ways that numbers and values can transform into shape, color, texture, and story.
The class of 11 advanced graphic design students found, assembled, or created datasets large and small, which they represented pragmatically, narratively, or poetically.
“Data sets can tell many different stories. The challenge facing designers is to discover the kernel of the story embedded within the data: what is the data telling us? That kernel then informs the aesthetics of the visualization,” said Cinelli.
“Part of what this medium can do is to reflect and expand on the data set,” added Research Data Librarian Isaac Wink, who collaborated with Cinelli to bring the exhibit to fruition. “The design brings forth information in ways that can subvert expectations, reveal preferences, and present illuminating dissonances. It’s a powerful way to interact with data.”
Some student work will be interactive, allowing users to zoom in to fine-grained details. Other work will be printed and mounted. All promise to demonstrate the capacities of a medium growing ever more important for making sense of our world, from the cosmic to the highly personal.
“Collaborating with SAVS students to put on this exhibition has been wonderful for demonstrating the endless ways to explore and present data,” said Wink. “Our mental image of a data visualization is often an Excel graph, which limits imagination somewhat on how data can be presented. Mia's students have pushed past those limits, creating visualizations with original structures that still faithfully convey the underlying data. I was honored to get to contribute my feedback on structure and storytelling to these pieces.”
“It's been such a joy to work with Isaac and UK Libraries to put together this exhibit,” said Cinelli. “One of my favorite things about teaching at the University of Kentucky is how interdisciplinary collaborations can create new connections, opportunities, and resources for students. My students have been hard at work on projects showcasing their unique interests – from lists of read books to the characteristics of US Air Force planes. I can't wait for visitors to see their final works and learn from their data visualizations.”
With more data available than ever before, UK Libraries plays a critical role in providing and guiding access to high-quality datasets and sources across an astounding range of subjects, from climate data and public opinion polls to health statistics and 16th century sermons, and everything in between.
Our Digital Scholarship & Data Librarians provide tailored assistance at every stage of the research lifecycle, offering data support services that help users create, share, and manage their research data.
With specialized software and equipment in The Stacks, we can help bring data to life with analysis, visualization, and modeling tools.
Browse data sets available to UK researchers by subject and find books on data visualizations.
