After going through the assigned readings for this week I found “The Knotted Line” to a be a very interesting website. As the website describes, “The Knotted Line is an interactive, tactile laboratory for exploring the historical relationship between freedom and confinement in the geographic area of the United States”. After launching the tool the website becomes an interactive timeline with a very peculiar layout. The simple visualizations become greater in detail as you pull apart the black line and find new pictures underneath. Sometimes there are dots to indicate a significant event along the timeline, which provides further information when clicked on.
Another feature of the tool was including a way for viewers to not only passively view the timeline but participate as well. While searching for specific events, questions at the bottom of the screen would pop up and allow viewers to answer them. These questions largely consisted of injustices and instances where rights were violated. Furthermore, individuals could also see answers by others and hear about a wide array of experiences.
Among the other unique features of “The Knotted Line” I found the constant audio to be very obtrusive. The sound was both unpleasant and strange. There was no explanation on the website to detail its significance. While navigating through the timeline, the noise would react and become even more unpleasant. My only guess for the reasoning behind the audio was to create a setting that was dark and emphasize the ugliness of injustice in a country so determined to represent righteousness.
Unfortunately, no other source came to mind after navigating through “The Knotted Line” website. I found the features and the overall visualization to be quite unique. It did not look like a typical timeline yet had the fundamental aspects of one. Additionally, the experience was far more immersive than any timeline or visualization tool we have used throughout the quarter. Therefore, I would just like to point out how unique we can choose to represent the data we gather. We have looked at various visualization tools that all function fairly similar and appear quite basic. “The Knotted Line” exemplifies how a timeline can be turned into something interesting and even fun. The creative element provided a breath of fresh air and an enjoyable experience. Hopefully this level of detail will be replicated in further data visualizations to deter away from the stale and even intimidating representations that are often seen.
Sources:
1. http://knottedline.com/