The Shape of History is an interactive website that delves into the idea of visualizing data by using Elizabeth Palmer Peabody’s way of communicating history through the use of shapes, charts, and colors. The website not only explains the method but also provides examples of historical facts placed within grids. The users are able to experience first hand how the method works. In another section of the website, the user is also able to create their own grid featuring whatever timeline they choose to create. A friendly, design intuitive user interface is provided.
SOURCES
The visualization project uses Elizabeth Palmer Peabody’s textbook that contains her method of displaying information in grids, as well as a biography about her. The other source that is used is the “Cartographies of Time: A History of the Timeline” by Daniel Rosenberg and Anthony Grafton.
PROCESSING
The website team digitized Peabody’s method and made it interactive, using data-driven documents, also known as d3js.
PRESENTATION
The site is presented in the same style as Peabody’s method of displaying information. The website is made up of 6×6 squares that each display different information regarding Peabody and the visualization of data. An absolute creative way to display such information.
The Shape of History was a fun website to explore and learn about how data has been visualized by an intellect like Elizabeth Palmer Peabody.
What a neat post! I really enjoyed the flow and structure of your blog. Reading it felt like I was talking to a friend about this web project. The Shape of History seems like a project anyone can benefit and create from. As someone who aspires to do data visualization as part of his career, websites like these help show what options are out there for us! It would be great if we got to make something like this in class this quarter! Keep up the great work.
I love how you broke down each step to your reverse engineer of The Shape of History. This makes it really easy for readers to follow along. However, I wish you explained a bit more on how the processing was for the site. Other than that, I think your introduction is great!