Intent of linear progression.

I think that since I have been reading alot of facts, and collecting, categorising and collating data, I am going to look at timelines. This concerns religious progressions, or campaigns, or inventions that turned the way people viewed - or interpreted the world - on its head. So obviously I will be looking into data flow, and how to graphically achieve this. It is a subject I am not fully capable of, in terms that I am breaching yet another of my comfort zones: Time Management, and how the effect of time, technology and ideals have changed, and continue to shape the ever changing course of post-post-post human perception, and communication.

As a starting point, I am going to visit the library and find some books i can start my research on, including data flow, and visual timelines on a more abstract level. I also have a huge selection of history books concerning political development, murderers from different time periods (and effects on popular culture) dictatorships throughout the entirety of human consciousness and even books on inventions that helped to spark industrial revolutions, or just helped people to navigate the sea better.

This is my starting point. Let the chaos (theory) begin!

"Catastrophe theory is....er... "

To question our existence based on some one else's own questioning of our existence is all very well and dandy, however it seems no one has really questioned the feasibility of recording, or visually performing such a task, however I think some sort of book is in order. As I think that a good idea to drive on is recorded events, like a timeline, or, as I am into, parts of our history and prehistoric existence.

Anyway, enough of the warble, as I watched "monkey business" and enjoyed some desert baboons hunt some fennec foxes - whilst easting my tea, I saw this Citroen advert. It is a series of disasters and catastrophes in it, which can be theoretically implied upon my chosen focus with the brief thus far. Its almost like a book or catalogue into how these sequential events may or may not happen in the same sequence, but each action, depending on its influence or effect, determines, or rather strips away the sense of patterned, or pre-cognitive outcome.
However if all else fails, I will just have to find a bally good illustrator or graphic artist to use as a basis for study.
Heres something I did when I was smoking a fag. Yes it is with biro, yes I'm not sorry, and yes, you are looking at some low resolution, but i thought it had something to do with what i was hearing that made the outcome....my own little history.

Strangemaps, Maps, Book Maps, Mapping on a bit am I not?

I found this great interpretation of my worse vice: smoking, and how our "cousins" from over the sea managed to monopolise a harbinger of death, the idea was so simple, but probably cost them alot less than i t would for us, I mean to start with there is at least 100 Fags there, which would total well over 35-40 pounds. Besides that, i like the type, it matches that of the evil brand Marlboro. Also a load of great map design on this guys blog on StrangeMaps.
Great use of sans serif, the "informant" typeface, the utilisation of superimposed imagery makes this book something special, and unique, despite someone most probably has done this typeface before, it still holds the readers attention. After cruising on some of Wired 's back catalogue, I found this book which book has 175 items highlighting 3,500 years of cartographic progress, Wired gave it 5/5, but then again, who does'nt like maps? Second thoughts, better not answer that one.

Whats booking my maps up?

After floundering under false hopes of ideas just coming to me and 3 weeks with no real finance to begin to fund, or have any directive with my development process, I went to visit my Gran.
Yes you heard me right, i sat with my nana, did the washing u p and cleaned up a stain my Grandpa forgot about, she insisted I went to look in "the Works" Upon reaching my destination in my merry hometown, and overhearing some children pointing at a stitched image of a spaniel, and questioning if the SLIGHT possibility it MIGHT be a wolf.

I found this rather dandy book called "Encylcopaedia of World wildlife", which i used for the basis of new research and more ideas into layout and format, even if the format is stale and somewhat dull. It seems to me that most factual books, be they aimed at children, students, or the general public, the books are uninteresting, and have no real impact, even I was starting to lose my patience with the text and starting to just stare at the images of animals i have never heard of, but saw some animals which reminded me of my primary school days, when I used to be a very adept reader, and used to stay in at break with my friend Scott and listen to Mark and Lard on radio one, then read and amaze each other with silly facts and endless lists.

Penguins!

Some great examples from the legendary publishers Penguin. Their simplicity and effective design makes orange an acceptable colour... almost. Even got this great illustration of an elephant from the website!
This is the design I loosely based my A5 mock on, 1940's progressive indeed! Its also an almost common fact that everyone one loves penguins, maybe its because the books started the hype?
I need this book, I will own this book. Just not for its starting price. The entire back catalogue of penguin design!

All it takes is a little bit of divine circular intervention.

Recently, after watching "Catastrophe" the best visually engaging, yet somewhat irritatingly repetitive programme on how the world we know it today was born simply out of a series of random events that triggered the most astonishing evolutionary cycle that moulded and formed all of what we live in today. Using a varied range of sources from geologists in africa, to glacier watchers in the Alaskan tundra, it gave a great insight into how the pieces of I think from this perspective, it has shattered my boundaries of perception.

This programme Originated from the French mathematician Rene Thom in the 1960s, "catastrophe theory" is a. It studies and classifies phenomena characterized by sudden shifts in behaviour made apparent from small changes in circumstances, or events. Catastrophes are between different equilibria, or fixed point attractors. Due to their restricted nature, catastrophes can be classified based on how many control parameters are being simulataneously varied. For example, if there are two controls, then one finds the most common type, called a "cusp" catastrophe. If, however, there are move than five controls, there is no classification, more of a varied non sequenced output of

 randomised events.

Catastrophe theory has been applied to a number of different phenomena, such as the stability of boats at sea, bridge collapse, and, with some less convincing success, the fight-or-flight behavior of animals and prison riots, this alone can link

 back to our instinctual patterns within ourselves.

Not only this, but are we not taught or rather we perceive our infinite space and time continuum to be littered and speckled with almost giant atoms, with mixed chemical components, constantly at war with each other, ripping apart or creating new life, or visually changing and shaping the galaxy at a rate not even our eyes can keep up with. Molecular structure itself is part of this holy sacrament of circles, ever balancing out the vast expanse of our lives, and the interlinking of other planets. Even planetary orbit is circular. Duh.

The reason why I am going on about this is because are planets not circles? Our eyes? Maybe our own perception is tainted with the "Kill/Create, Negative/Positive..." subliminal influence of the makeup of the galaxy that is continually shaping our perspectives and visual culture. Maybe.

Timelines and Past wives

The most obvious other subject I am looking at would have to be historical timelines, and how they are portrayed in information graphics. While surfing i found www.drawingfromexperience.wordpress.com which is a blog from a compilation of authors, from artists, to doctors, keeping an eye on the world about them visually and informatively. This graph is from an image I found on the blog from a book i have not yet read, "Visualizing information for Advocacy"