Flow Chart Shows You What Chart to Use

Amit Agarwal, of Digital Inspiration, posts this flow chart that helps you decide, well, what type of chart to use. Start in the middle with what you want to show - comparison, relationship, distribution, or composition - and then work your way out to the number of variables. Pretty timely for our brand new Visualize This project.

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Ford Turns to Design and Data Visualization to Boost Sales

http://flowingdata.com/2009/01/13/ford-turns-to-design-and-data-visualization-to-boost-sales/

Ford sales are suffering. In an attempt to improve, they're going green with hybrid vehicles, and in doing so, had to shift their design. In their initial studies with IDEO, the Palo Alto-based design group, they found that drivers who were interested in fuel efficiency were "playing a game." Getting more miles to the gallon was like earning points. With that in mind, Ford worked with Smart Design to create a high-resolution LCD dashboard to show drivers how efficiently they drive.

In order to play into the research finding that drivers are looking for a high score when it comes to fuel efficiency, one high-resolution LCD screen on the dash features an eye-catching rendering of curling vines blooming with green leaves. It's more than a decorative element; it's a data-visualization tool intended to change the way people drive. If a driver wastes gas by aggressively accelerating or slamming on the brakes, for example, the vine withers and leaves disappear. More leaves appear if individuals drive more economically. The system will be standard on all new Fusion Hybrids, which will start at about $27,000.

There's still another 6 months until we see the results of this design shift, but what do you think of this futuristic-looking dashboard?

[via BusinessWeek | Thanks, Alastair]

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Here's an update from Suguru:

Music Theater Now" 

From the 20th to the 23rd of November

Presentation - Suguru Goto

Date:

Friday 21/11/08

13:00

Venue:

RADIALSYSTEM V

Holzmarktstr. 33

10243 Berlin

Germany

http://www.radialsystem.de/

http://www.iti-germany.de/Praktische%20Informationen%20eng.pdf

"Augmented Body and Virtual Body" is awarded at "Music Theater Now Award 2008" in Berlin, Germany.

Nearly finished with a three year project this team has crafted experiential fly-thrus of ancient cities. Much deeper than 3D visualizations, viewers can navigate the visualization with their cursor. With the help of modern research data, societies can obtain a more "robust", or accurate sense of the magnitude of Ancient endeavors. Next development goal: Modern Cologne for comparisons. Learn more at the Colonia 3D project website hosted at the Koln International School of Design http://www.colonia3d.de/

3D MODEL OF ANTIQUITY

Program Allows Virtual Tour of Ancient Roman Cologne

http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/0,1518,584005,00.html

A team of archaeologists, scientists and software programmers has created a 3D virtual model of the city of Cologne as it was 2,000 years ago. Though not yet online, the software allows visitors to fly through the city in its Roman glory.

A new computer program will allow the curious to see Cologne, Germany's fourth-largest city, as it was almost 2,000 years ago, when it was a major northern outpost of the Roman Empire...

Hamburg and Berlinalready have 3D city models that allow users to take virtual flights through the cities using Google Earth. Virtual models of other historical places also exist -- for example, for Rome, Pompeii and Herculaneum -- but in a different form. "Those were more like computer-generated animations rather than large-scale models that you could navigate," says Jürgen Döllner, a professor of computer graphics at the HPI, who led the technical implementation of the project.

Read the full article:

http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/0,1518,584005,00.html

When you're hunting for that next new exciting and never-seen-before Image of economic disaster, there are just so many versions that can be taken of sad, sadder, saddest stock traders in this global market downturn. But, read how creativity always seems to turn up new avenues of expression in this story,

The Best and Worst of Financial Crisis Photography

http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/0,1518,584127,00.html

By Charles Hawley

The world's photojournalists have been doing their best to find original ways to illustrate the global financial crisis. Some of their efforts have been commendable -- others, not. SPIEGEL ONLINE has collected the best of the best, and some of the worst.

"It's a major difficulty," Martin Oeser, a photographer for the German news agency DDP, told SPIEGEL ONLINE. "There are always new images, but one can't help but feel there isn't anything left to take pictures of."

Oeser has taken pictures on the floor of the German stock market, the DAX, since 2002. And he has been lucky, in that the DAX is home to a number of particularly expressive traders, a couple of whom have become famous for their grimaces far outside the borders of Germany.

But in the last few weeks, photographers seem to be going out of their way to illustrate the financial crisis in new ways. A picture of a bank reflected upside down in a puddle, for example. Or bankers holding umbrellas. Or storm clouds over world capitals. Anything to symbolize an economy in freefall.

"Sometimes you sit there for two hours and don't see anything to photograph," Kai Pfaffenbach, a 13-year DAX veteran who takes pictures for Reuters, told SPIEGEL ONLINE. "But I think there are many original images. The DAX index conflated with an emergency exit sign, for example. But yeah, it is difficult to do something that nobody else has done yet."

Launch the photo gallery:

http://www.spiegel.de/fotostrecke/fotostrecke-36128.html#backToArticle=584127

Read the full article:

http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/0,1518,584127,00.html

On behalf of I-Open and the Defrag Ohio network, we would like to invite you to attend our upcoming I-Open Retreat at Punderson Resort and Conference Center on December 3, 4 and 5.  Please go to our link  below for detailed information and registration information.  The URL is:
http://i-open-education.near-time.net/wiki/i-open-leadership-retreat-at-punderson-resort-and-conference-center-december-3-4-and-5-2008. 

After you have had a chance to review the material, we hope you will consider attending.  Ed Morrison, who is a gifted speaker and strategist will lead the workshop. This is Ed's premier Open Source Economic Development Workshop targeting workforce development professionals, economic development practitioners, academic, business and government leaders across the country, focusing on community and regional economies.  Ed is a great teacher and leader; everyone who attends this workshop comes away with at least one principal and/or practice that he or she can utilize in their work.

If you cannot attend, perhaps you can recommend someone else you think would benefit from this 2-day program. 

If you have any questions, please contact Susan Altshuler at susanaltshuler@gmail.com or 216-577-9957.

Hope you can attend - please register soon.

The I-Open Team: 

Susan Altshuler

Betsey Merkel

Gloria Ferris

Dennis Coughlin

Ed Morrison

Just in from Gary Little, a strong supporter of the Inaugural Defrag conference Dec 2006 hosted at the Cleveland Institute of Art FUTURE Center for Design and Technology Transfer founded by David Moss. (Not sure if the Center is still an active entity.)

The Shawnee Conference is similar to the Defrag initiative and gatherings. IDT is funded by WIRED – Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development – a grant from the Department of Labor Employment Training Administration. You can learn more about the exciting innovations in regional development funded by the Department of Labor and the Employment Training Association on WIRED Nation,a collaborative online community built on the Near-Time platform.

Educators, Students, Entrepreneurs

Economic and Workforce Development Professionals!

Register Today for Shawnee Conference 6.0 on Interactive Digital Technology (IDT)

Friday, October 31, 2008

10 am to 3:30 pm

Vern Riffe Center for the Performing Arts

Shawnee State University

Portsmouth, Ohio

Keynote Speaker, Jason Conaway, Project Engineer

Electronic Arts (EA)

Learn about the growing new profession/workforce in Interactive Digital Technology (IDT) from top professionals in the field of computer animation, simulation, computer game development, training applications for health, homeland security first responders, and classroom applications in science and math.

Special focus will be given to Appalachian Ohio’s

WIRED – Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development – grant from the Department of Labor Employment Training Administration.

Over 600 students are now enrolled in these high tech, demanding, and rewarding degrees at Ohio University, Kent State University Tuscarawas, and Shawnee State University.  Efforts are underway to help these students start their own businesses, connect with new companies being attracted to the region, and create a Region of Excellence in IDT.

Reserve this date: October 31, 2008.  Its an exciting day of presentations, exhibits, meeting IDT company professionals and just plain ole fun with all the video game and cyber technology that will be on site.

Go to www.ovita.org for more information and registration.

Go to www.shawnee.edu for campus information.

Shawnee Conference 6.0 on Interactive Digital Technology (IDT) is funded, in part, by the OVITA WIRED Initiative under the WIRED Initiative as implemented by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment Training Administration.

Follow up meetiing: Tuesday, Nov 21, 4:30 - 6:15PM, FUTURE

Attendees: D Moss, D Mistelske, D Carl, D Coughlin, B Merkel, S Altshuler, B Sopko, S Scalabrino, R Weiss, J Eikenburg. Accepted but not present: T Nosek, M Brown 

SIDE 1: NEXT GENERATION CLUSTERS: NEO VIDEOGAME INITIATIVE

SIDE 2: OUR REGIONAL INNOVATION OPPORTUNITY: LINK AND LEVERAGE: IOPEN

________________ 

SIDE 1: Winter Video Game Expo 

OBJECTIVES:

I. Strengthen exisitng industry cluster 

a. Demo projects

b. Share best practices in the form of presentations, programs, youth, developers, artists. Proposed presenters:  Microsoft, T Nosek & Tower of Learning, M Buchner, D Grampa, M DeAloia, Kasumi, Li Chen, FORM, Flipline

SIDE 2: OUR REGIONAL INNOVATION OPPORTUNITY

OBJECTIVES:

I. IDENTIFY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES IN EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, CONNECT RESOURCES AND CAPABILITIES, IDENTIFY INITIATIVES AND NEXT STEPS

a.  Opportunities in creative industries: Programming, design, computer, inforrmation design, media networks, simulation/VR,digital arts

b c Communicate Open Source Economic Development (OSED) opportunities for global and regional

c. Identify transformative initiatives 

d. Support Strategic Doing processes

e. Social network mapping

II. PRESENTATIONS

a. Ed Morrison - overview

b. Regional -

AUDIENCES/MARKETING:

Technical/Funders/Foundations/VC/Students - college, HS - ECity, T Jordan, Overdrive DLR, OneCommunity, Max Hayes HS, Cleveland School for the Arts /Clubs - Game Dev Group/Real Estate/Media - Crains, PD, NEO Live, CaseDaily, CIA, UCI, etc./Meet The Bloggers/Private Industry - ThunderTech, Nead Brand Partners, Webtego, EDR Media, 9 SIGMA, Ideastream, Nottingham Spirk, Kno Base, Skateboard company/NEO Universities & Colleges - LCCC, KSU, Case, Virginia Marti, Urseline, BW/International Community - Chinese community, Chinese Erie Journal, Case International Studetn Group

PARKING LOT: 

CIO Network

Add in new areas of discovery and research that can push out innovation: such as, informations design, audio design, cognitive science , userability

Factory tours and internships between artists and industry - idea from Sarah Morrison 

NEXT STEPS:

Logistics

Tech Requirements

Marketing/Branding - David, Betsey

Follow up meetiing: Tuesday, Nov 21, 4:30 - 6:15PM, FUTURE 

Read the post on Innovating Networks by Stacy Wagner about creative thinking and innovation in America's future employees - integrated arts education. Click here to read more.

Also be sure to take a couple of minutes and watch Sir Ken Robinson's video when he presented at TED.  Ed Morrison said that the presentatioln is one of the most inspiring he has seen. And it is hilalrous. Watch video here

Writer, director Florian Henchel von Donnersmarck and his team won a 2006 Academy Award  for the film, "The Lives of Others", a film about East Germany Stasi police activities and the subsequent damage to German citizenry just before the fall of the Wall.

Von Donnersmarck  coached actors from the simple rule, "Find big things in small things. If you can do small things well, you can change big things. Pay attention to tiny,seemingly unimportant moments."

 This is solid advice for the value of exploring passions, hunches and intuition when focusing, aligning and innovating original work in any project.