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visualization + design
The art of Pi (π), Phi (φ) and e
Happy Pi Day!
Hug π on March 14th and celebrate Pi Day.
Those who favour τ will have to postpone celebrations until July 26th.
The posters were inspired by the beautiful AIDS posters by Elena Miska.
4ness of Pi (π)
A concept created for this visualization, the iness of a number measures how close each of its digits is to a given number, i.
The iness is calculated for each digit from the average of the relative difference between i and the digit's neighbours.
The 4ness of Pi (π) is a specific case of an iness, for i=4.
Thanks to Lance Bailey for suggesting how to measure iness.
example
In the sequence of Pi (π) 3.1415 the neighbours of the 4 are 3, 1, 1 and 5. The relative distances to 4 are -1, -3, -1 and 1. The average, which is the 4ness, of this digit (which is also a 4, coincidentally) is -1.5. The 4ness of each of the other digits is computed identically.
In the iness posters, the 4ness is mapped onto a color and the standard deviation of the differences onto a size.
accidental similarity number
The accidental similarity number is a kind of overlap between numbers. I came up with this concept after creating typographical art about the 4ness of Pi (π).
example
To construct this number for Pi (π), Phi (φ) and e we first write the numbers on top of each other and then identify positions for which the numbers have the same digit.
3.141 … 3589793 … 7067982 … 7019385 … 1.618 … 8749894 … 1137484 … 5959395 … 2.718 … 8459045 … 6427427 … 6279434 …
These digits are then used to create the accidental similarity number. In thise case,
asn(π,φ,e) = 0.979 …
Circos numerical art
Numerology is bogus, but art based on numbers is pretty, in a random non-metaphysical way.
news + thoughts
Choosing Plotting Symbols
In this months column, Bang and I consider how to choose effective plotting symbols in the Points of View column Plotting Symbols.
Choose symbols that overlap without ambiguity and communicate relationships in data.
Figure Design and Writing — Two Goals, One Process
This month I look at how creating effective figures is similar to the process of writing well in the Points of View column Elements of Visual Style.
Using Strunk's Elements of Style as an example of writing guidelines, I look how these can be translated to creating figures.
VIZBI 2013 Keynote—Visual Design Principles
When we create figures, we must communicate and design. In my talk I discuss some of the rules that turn graphical improvisation into a structured and reproducible process.
The fractal tree was created with OneZoom, which received the best poster award at the conference.
Happy Pi Day— 3.14
Celebrate Pi Day (March 14th) with a funky modern posters. Transcend, don't repeat, yourself and watch the dots shimmer.
The posters were inspired by the beautiful AIDS posters by Elena Miska.