IwB Guest Lecturers: Brendan Cormier and Christopher Pandolfi
Student response by: Apostolo Zeno
November 26, 2010
Cool name for a presentation, right? That’s what I thought too. But just like the Double Rainbow guy, I had to pose the question “what does it mean?” Luckily, the IwB had the opportunity to meet with Brendan Cormier and Christopher Pandolfi – two experienced urban designers with a great vision of transforming ideas, concepts, and statistics into info graphics. Brendan earned an M.Sc. from the Bauhaus Universität-Weimar; while Christopher earned an M.A. from Domus Academy in Milan.
The lecture was intriguing right off the bat. How could it not be, when the first slide read “Department of Unusual Certainties”? Christopher explained that their work centers on how the research process leads to the final product.
The presentation allowed us to see the thought process behind some of their many info graphics. During the past summer, DoUC spent one month in Windsor, Ontario working on “storefront success stories.” They conducted interviews with business owners and customers, and mapped out their findings. What resulted was a “Tip Sheet” to be distributed to every business owner in the BIA, as well as the city planning department. The purpose was to collect information, and return it to the city in a way that could be easily understood. Check out the project at: http://storefrontsuccess.wordpress.com/
Another interesting project is one titled “It’s Mayor Time.” DoUC collected and compiled vast amounts of data pertaining to all of Toronto’s past mayors, and created an info graphic timeline to visualize it. It was featured in the Fall 2010 issue of Spacing Magazine. When asked what the purpose of this graphic was, Christopher and Brendan responded that this type of design creates coherence and allows for a visualization of events.
It is very intriguing to see how pages and pages of text-heavy research can be converted into such visually appealing graphics. According to the team, projects take roughly two months to complete, but it is also dependent on deadlines. As for how the graphics become a reality, Christopher and Brendan admit that at times, they have hunches that things will work out in a certain way. Other times, however, the research compiled can change the results of the info graphic.
This all got me thinking. How does this relate to our major project in Lota? This past semester has been all about both qualitative and quantitative data. Our research document is full of knowledge and we have a wiki page with an abundance of information (www.worldhouse.ca/wiki). But how do you make sense of it all? How do you condense a semester’s worth of information, and more importantly, allow the general public and the client to understand it, while empowering them to make a change within their city? This is where we look back at what Christopher started the presentation with: it’s all about how one goes from the research process to the final product. The IwB has to create a final product. We are going to have to back it up. Why not learn from those who are really good at it? Info graphics not only simplify information, but are also visually appealing, and contain layers of information that can be explored. It is imperative that we look at the process of creating info graphics next semester while working on our major project.
So what is the future of info graphics? According to DoUC, the field is constantly expanding. As technology develops, and people become more dependent on it, the information that one obtains will be more elaborate and interactive. Imagine having to read a newspaper laid out in infographics – is this the future? Christopher and Brendan ultimately believe that the individual must become more graphic savvy. Throwing clip art images into a word document will simply not be good enough.
So back to my Double Rainbow conundrum: What does the Department of Unusual Certainties mean!? Let me try to explain what they explained to us. They are simply describing how cities and systems are results of a long sequence of unusual certainties, each more unusual, yet more certain that its predecessor. Doesn’t that blow your mind? It blew mine!
Check out their website for more information on their projects. http://departmentofunusualcertainties.wordpress.com/
