A two-week professional program for practicing designers interested in using data and design to tackle a real-world problem.

The amount of data we create and consume in everyday life is increasing at a staggering rate. Over the past few years, we’ve seen companies and organizations of all sizes create–and make public–data for people to use. But only good visualizations tell a story.

This two-week summer program teaches students methods and techniques for telling stories with complex data. Students will learn how people process images, methods for making data clear, how to access APIs and other data sources, and how to make data interactive with tools such as Processing.

STRUCTURE

The two-week program takes place June 18-June 29 Mondays through Thursdays. In the afternoons from 4PM-6PM, students participate in a project-based studio where they apply the methods they learn to a problem in the urban environment in New York City. In the evenings, students take part in courses from 7PM-10PM. The week kicks off with a briefing on the first day. 

CURRICULUM

Data Narratives is a credit-bearing, concise yet comprehensive program in data visualization, comprising the following courses:

Telling Stories with Data
Instructor: Jennifer Daniel
Thursdays, 7PM-10PM
In this course, students will focus on the story that graphics can tell through a focus on communication design displays with type, with points and lines, with area, and with color and organization. How do students use these principles to find and tell stories with data?

Developing Narrative Structures
Instructor: Daniel Goddemeyer
Wednesdays, 7PM-10PM
Building on a foundation of core design concepts like typography, color and composition, students proceed through graph and map-making best practices toward advanced topics of data structure and programmatic visualizations.

Programming for Designers
Tuesdays, 7PM-10PM
Using Processing as a central programming language, students will be introduced to concepts for making data concrete, including brief introductions to other tools such as Protovis. Students will have a firm understanding of geo-coding and how to integrate APIs to make data visual.

Visualizing New York
Instructor: Hilla Katki
Mondays-Thursdays, 4-6PM
New York City is an infinite stream of infinitely intersecting datasets. Using the physical space of the city as inspiration, students will create a visualization that evokes a specific quality (or set of qualities) of New York City, and has the capacity to change over time or in response to the city. The visualization should push the boundaries of the ways that data is conventionally defined, conceptualized, and displayed by experimenting with ideas of utility, aesthetics, structure, typography, and image. The final project must be presented as a response to a particular site/location in the city, and may be installed at the site, if time permits. The program will culminate in a public show of the projects in the form of a (virtual) tour of the city.

RESIDENCY

The program is collaborative residency program, and each student can work individually or collaboratively in the loft-like space during the course of the program. Situated on its own floor of a light-filled building in the Flatiron District, the MFA Interaction Design space has the workflow of designers in mind.

PREREQUISITES

Participants considering attending should have some prior experience with information design. A basic familiarity with programming is highly recommended to move along quickly within related lessons. Experience with JavaScript, Processing, ActionScript, or similar scripting languages should suffice. If you’re unsure if the program is right for you, contact the department. For those new to interaction design, consider attending the Summer Intensive in Interaction Design (July 9-August 2) instead.

 FEE

The cost for the Data Narratives program is $2,000 USD.

REGISTRATION

Registration will remain open until all sessions are full. A partial waitlist will open once the program sells out to accommodate any late cancellations.

Payment may be made by American Express, Discover, MasterCard, or Visa. For payment via check please contact the department at interactiondesign@sva.edu. Unfortunately, the department cannot accept cash payments.

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

The Interaction Design Data Narratives seminar is a credit bearing program, that does not meet the requirements for the F-1 student visa.  A letter of invitation will be issued in support of entry to the U.S. as a visitor participating in an educational seminar.  For more information about the U.S. entry requirements as a B-1/B-2 visitor or the Visa Waiver Program, please contact the U.S. Consulate in your home country.  For information regarding the F-1 student visa for degree programs, please contact the International Student Office at iso@sva.edu.

HOUSING

NOTICE - SVA SUMMER HOUSING IS SOLD OUT! - 6/1/12

The School of Visual Arts has several affordable and comfortable housing options for visiting students coming to work, live and experience New York City this summer. SVA offers MFA Interaction Design Summer Program students single rooms with private bathrooms and air conditioning in our George Washington Residence Hall.  Housing is available for the duration of the program from June 17th - July 1st at a flat rate of $420. For details and further assistance visit Summer Housing for Special Programs.

REGISTRATION CANCELLATION & REFUND POLICY

To withdraw from the summer program in Data Narratives, you may email your request to interactiondesign@sva.edu. Failure to complete a course does not constitute official withdrawal, nor does notification to the instructor, lack of attendance, or dissatisfaction with a course. A written notice of withdrawal must be received before the first class session for a student to receive 100% tuition refund. There will be no refunds after the start of the first class session.

All refunds for payment made by American Express, Discover, MasterCard, or Visa will be credited to the appropriate credit card account. Payment made by check or money order will be refunded by check, payable to the registrant. Processing of check refunds takes approximately four weeks.