Narrative II
Building on the Time Series, Tufte gives examples of a few distinct types of narrative visualizations. The illustrative example of the life cycle of a Japanese beetle, which shows not only the development of the beetle over time, but it’s relational activities and location, inspired one of my students to visualize a skateboarding move.
Andrew’s visualization of a Backside Kickflip represents time in seconds while also breaking it into sub-sequences of the move. Furthermore, it represents the spatial position of the skater on the same axis in two dimensions: the distance traveled and the height of the jump.
The spare use of color distinguishes the arms and feet from the rest of the body. The solid green cap accentuates the direction in which the skater is looking. Color also makes very clear which side of the board you are looking at.
The concept was exquisitely executed and would be worthy of a spot on one of Tufte’s pages.