Visual Complexity

I came across this website, Visual Complexity, while I was researching information for my NYC map post. This site is fantastic! From the site: "VisualComplexity.com intends to be a unified resource space for anyone interested in the visualization of complex networks." That would be me! Networks exist everywhere, we encounter them on different levels every moment of the day. As a designer, I am very interested in infographics and presenting complex ideas simply and beautifully; taking information and turning it into art. Several weeks ago I came upon this great post on NotCot covering artist Stefanie Posavec. Posevec created maps that illustrated patterns in literature, more specifically Jack Kerouac's "On The Road," for a exhibition entitled "On the Map." The resulting work is jaw dropping.

Posavec's work is included on Visual Complexity's site along with hundreds of others from such categories as: Art, Biology, Music, and Political Networks, to name a few. Much of this work is born out of the philosophical idea of deconstruction. The term was coined by philosopher Jacques Derrida in the 1960s; from the dictionary: "a philosophical movement and theory of literary criticism that questions traditional assumptions about certainty, identity, and truth; asserts that words can only refer to other words and attempts to demonstrate how statements about any text subvert their own meanings." I don't claim to be an expert in this area whatsoever, it's actually a little hard to wrap my head around, but I do find it fanscinating how this idea can tie into so many facets of graphic design. I also found this interesting explanation if you've got some time, and patience, to read it.

Some of my favorites on Visual Complexity include the following:

Graphic visualization of text similarities

PhylloTrees: Phyllotactic Patterns for Tree Layout

The Force of Things

Genealogy of Pop/Rock Music

The Joules of the Universe

TextArc Visualization of The History of Science

Genome Diagram

Another cool link to check out, which I found on Visual Complexity, is The Shape of Song site. Enjoy!