Explain me visually: exploring information design through multimedia

To convey a complex piece of information, we often use devices such as maps, graphs, and charts. Edward Tufte (1983), in his book Visual Display of Quantitative Information, points out that these devices help us convey information with multiple dimensions. Tufte holds that to convey a complex piece of information, one needs to break away from the analogies of reality and to maintain distance from illusionary representations of objects. This research project aims at analyzing visual communication devices such as maps, charts, graphs, and dance notations that are abstract in nature. Through an interactive multimedia program, the project helps users explore individual concepts as well as their relevance to one another. The content of this multimedia program is structured to better assist users to explore relationships between the concepts mentioned above and to form their own connections in the process.