After learning that my roommate had meticulously documented his diet and exercise data in Excel down to the individual breakfast, snack, and dessert over a year's time, I knew I had to make a fun visualization of it.
Luckily, I was assigned in my Prototyping course to create a screen-based data viz using Processing, then make a video sketch showing how the visualization could be used. (Processing is a developing environment and language that extends the programming language Java.)
After the project was finished, I created a web version using d3.js. It's here. This is the first project I've made using d3.
You're also free to download the executable that contains the Processing applet by clicking here.
I found that the video sketch is a really convenient way to make a video that explains a product idea. This project also helped me come to terms with a rather obvious tenet of design and programming—the importance of making a plan for how to code something, even something as simple as this, before digging in. I hadn’t always taken this concept to heart. Of course this type of work is moreso the domain of engineers, but I think my experience working on this project gives me insight into their work while also helping me understand better ways to create my own digital prototypes when I’m called upon to do so.
