Creating Visual Data Online Short Course
Course description
Course overview
During this course students will learn to transform raw data into visually compelling narratives through a variety of visual arts media, techniques and processes. Students will be encouraged to push creative boundaries of data representation and build out a contemporary art project in response to their data.
The course explores the creative practices of various artists whose work is informed by data and investigates how this data is translated into engaging outcomes. These contextual references will inform students' creations in practical activities throughout the course and support discussions around the ethical considerations of data use in art.
Through the study of visual hierarchy, composition, and colour, students will analyse real-world examples of data design, experiment with redesigns, and explore new ways to enhance information clarity, impact and visual appeal. Students will be supported in collecting, organising and analysing their own datasets, including text-based, numerical, and image-based data.
Through experimenting with a range of media students will be encouraged to push creative boundaries through visual realisations of their data and develop these into personal project concepts. Group reflection and discussion will allow students to share their project ideas and developments and provide feedback and support to one another.
Each student will finish the course with a body of creative work, including data sketches, creative data-capturing experimentation, media experimentation and a developing personal project.
Who this course is for
This course is aimed at anyone interested in exploring the links between visual arts, data and numeracy, and pushing creative boundaries of visually representing data.
It is an excellent fit for practicing artists, visual arts students, novice artists, visual arts professionals (designers, filmmakers, etc.), and data professionals (data analysts, data architects, etc.). However, prior experience in visual arts or data is not required to engage in this course, just an enthusiasm to create.
Key information
Topics covered
- Interdisciplinary use and ethics of data in art
- Visual hierarchy, composition, colour, shape and layout
- Creative data collection and analysis
- Data sketching
- Contemporary art techniques and processes to represent data
- Personal project development and reflection
Learning outcomes
- Identify ways in which data is used in visual arts and discuss the ethical implications of data-driven artwork
- Explore a range of contextual references across various visual arts disciplines
- Experiment with different techniques for visually representing data, including data sketching, digital design and mixed-media processes
- Develop an understanding of visual hierarchy, composition, colour and layout to improve the clarity and impact of data visualisations
- Create a body of work that pushes creative boundaries of data visualisation, and develop into a personal contemporary art project using self-sourced or researched datasets
- Discuss personal project concepts and gain/provide feedback
- Receive a digital badge and certificate of attendance
Materials
Recommended materials:
- Pencils/pens (any that you like using)
- Paper/sketchbook (ideally 150-300 gsm paper thickness)
- Preferred medium for applying colour – coloured pencils and/or pens, pastels, chalks, paints etc.
- Mobile phone with camera and sound recording
- Access to Pixlr (free online Photoshop equivalent), or Photoshop
Please see our Guide to taking online short courses
Tutor
Jessica Page
Jess is a qualified tutor and practicing artist, with over 6 years experience tutoring visual arts, creative numeracy, maths and creative business at a wide range of levels. She is committed to facilitating creativity and learning, providing students with the tools to confidently and independently navigate their art practices and education.
Over the past 5 years, Jess has been developing and delivering visual arts courses that heavily involve mathematical concepts, showing how creativity and numeracy are interconnected and share multiple cognitive processes such as problem solving, critical thinking and information processing.
Jess has a Level 7 PGCE in Further Education and Training from the University of Brighton and a First Class Bachelor of Arts with Honours Degree in Fine Art.
Book a course
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