8/14/2019 Information Design in My Life Spread

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RutgeRs Campus Bus sChedule

Hanging in Hill Center on Busch campus is a Rutgers bus

schedule that graphically displays the operating times of each bus

route for dierent days of the week. For each day, colored lines repre-

senting dierent routes span horizontally across the page. The posi-

tion and length of each line is determined by the route’s start and end

times. In addition, the frequency of each bus is overlaid on top of each

line. This schedule its 5 variables (start time, end time, route name,

frequency of arrival, and total length of operation) in each one-dimen-

sional line. The technique of compacting a multitude of information

in a lat, two-dimensional document is recurring theme in Tufte’s En-

visioning Information. Tufte argues, “in latland, … every opportunity

to spread additional information over an already available dimension

must be cherished” (Tufte 24). The Rutgers bus schedule uses color

and overlaying text in this way to add extra information in an already-

constrained space.

JoB posteR

Recently at my job, I was asked to hang some liers up around

campus advertising a job opening. This is a Level 2 document, because

it mimics the style of a product advertisement. While the design of the

lier is not outstanding, I think it portrays all of the important pieces

of information rather well. The job title – “Student Computing Sta” –

is laid out in a large font, attracting the reader’s attention right away.

The pay rate is also rather large, mirroring the importance of that 

particular piece of information to the potential applicant. A stylized,three-dimensional dollar sign also invokes the feeling of earning mon -

ey. Three aspects of the job are arranged in a list underneath the rate

(an example of Waller’s topical structure, much like his to-do list). In

a smaller font, tucked away in the corner of the page, is the date of the

posting. This correctly minimizes the importance of the date, which is

probably the least pressing (but still necessary) piece of data on the

lier.

The InformaTIon DesIgn In m y LIfe42 The InformaTIon DesIgn In m y LIfe

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InformatIon

DesIgn

LIfeInmy 

By Christopher Eskow 

pRinteR maintenanCe diagRam

I work for the Rutgers Department of Computer Science,

where (among other duties) I help maintain the department printers.

This informational diagram consists of rows of drawings that i nstruct 

the reader on how to clear print jams. Each row corresponds to a dif -

ferent model of printer. For each model, the sequence of drawings

informs the reader of the steps needed to clear the paper from the

printer. The rows are separated by horizontal lines, and the images

are each numbered sequentially across the page. These are examples

of access structure, a term Rob Waller uses to deine page layout tech-

niques that “are there less to explain the topic than to help the reader

navigate within the [document]” (Waller 4). The lines separate eachtype of printer, allowing the reader to vertically scan down the length

of document for his or her chosen model. Then, the numbers guide the

reader across that particular row, enumerating the steps that he or

she should take to clear the paper jam.

telesCope opeRatoR’s manual

For my astronomy class we were given an op

that instructs us how to use Rutgers’ 10-foot radio

document outlines the basic features of the telesco

information about the software used to control it. Th

to the left includes some interesting structure. First,

tiier and title (“1.3.3 Information Sidebar”) is an ex

structure. There is no topical meaning to “1.3.3” – it i

guide the reader to the correct page when scanning

tents, and also to give the reader a sense of where he

document. The layout of the text following the sectio

troductory paragraph is an example of topic structure

dentations, and boldface font convey the hierarchy of

the sidebar contains. To the right of this text is a igur

itself, which mirrors the layout of the descriptive tex

ture which helps the reader compare side-by-side th

and descriptions of the data it contains.

histoRy of pRogRamming languages posteR

Hanging in a hallway at work is a poster that illustrates the

history of popular computer programming languages. The informa-

tion is portrayed in an interesting and unique way: a combination of 

historical timeline and hierarchical family tree. Time increases hori -

zontally across the x -axis, and each language is represented by a line

starting at a particular point in time and moving through history to-

wards the right of the poster. Most programming languages were de-

signed based on the ideas of previous languages. This is representedby diagonal lines that branch o of existing timelines and converge

to form new languages. Major versions of the language are marked

along its line. The overall structure of this poster allows the reader to

learn not only when a language was created, but also from which its

properties were derived. It also has the ability to portray the death

of certain languages: lines that do not reach the far right side repre-

sent languages that have either evolved into other languages or were

dropped completely. This is another example of multiple dimensions

of information compressed into a two-dimensional document.