Digital data is ubiquitous in contemporary culture: it documents environment, health, communication, government, arts, professional and private realms. For designers and creative practitioners, engaging with data offers a way to investigate, reveal and respond to this increasingly significant layer of our society.
This practical course grounds students in data practices: creative, critical and reflective approaches to collecting, interpreting and representing data. Through a series of hands-on exercises students will apply core principles of information design and come to understand the functional and poetic dimensions of visualisation as a creative practice through the production of creative work in a range of forms. The course introduces students to the cultures and contexts of data practice and information design, including critical perspectives on the questions of representation and interpretation that are central to the field. This course will be of interest to students from a wide range of fields including design, fine arts, digital humanities and information technology, where the communication of data offers both immediate challenges and creative opportunities.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
- understand, interpret and apply data in the context of creative practice;
- apply established principles of information design in creative practice;
- independently devise, develop and reflect on data practices for critical and creative outcomes; and
- interpret and respond to the cultural and technological contexts of data practices and information design.
Indicative Assessment
- Data Practice and Information Design Case Studies (1000 words) (20) [LO 1,4]
- Information Design Sketches and Exercises (30) [LO 1,2]
- Data Practice: Independent Project (40) [LO 1,2,3,4]
- Reflective Report: Articulating Data Practice (750 words) (10) [LO 1,3,4]
The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.
Workload
130 hours of total student learning time made up from:a) 36 hours of contact comprising lectures, tutorials / workshops.
b) 94 hours of independent student research, reading and writing.
Inherent Requirements
No specific inherent requirements have been identified for this course.
Requisite and Incompatibility
Prescribed Texts
There are no prescribed texts for this course. Details of required reading will be made available via Canvas.
Preliminary Reading
- Ben Fry, Visualizing Data: Exploring and Explaining Data with the Processing Environment. O’Reilly Media, 2008.
- Scott Murray, Interactive Data Visualization for the Web. O’Reilly Media, 2013.
- Edward Tufte, The Visual Display of Quantitative Information. 2nd Ed. Graphics Press, 2008.
- Toby Segaran, Jeff Hammerbacher. Beautiful Data: The Stories Behind Elegant Data Solutions. O’Reilly Media, 2009.
Assumed Knowledge
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
Commonwealth Support (CSP) Students
If you have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). More information about your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 12
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are a domestic graduate coursework student with a Domestic Tuition Fee (DTF) place or international student you will be required to pay course tuition fees (see below). Course tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Course fees
- Domestic fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2027 | $4320 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2027 | $6000 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.
Second Semester
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10046 | 26 Jul 2027 | 02 Aug 2027 | 31 Aug 2027 | 29 Oct 2027 | In Person | N/A |