Zen and the art of interactive diagrams

I spent much of the afternoon today making interactive diagrams. These are for a class I’m teaching at NYU in computer graphics.

To make these, I start by writing down rough notes for the lecture, so I can see the sequence of things. Then at each point in that sequence I think about what picture (if any) I would draw on the blackboard to get that particular point across.

Where there is such a picture, I ask myself, “What is the story this picture wants to tell?” It’s usually a mini-narrative — a single concept that I am trying to get across in that moment.

In the case of computer graphics, this mini-narrative is usually some key insight about an algorithm. If I were lecturing about “Pride and Prejudice”, each picture would probably represent a transition in the relationships between characters over the course of a scene.

Then comes the fun part. Using the tools I’ve built in my Chalktalk system I sketch the thing out in code, first as a static picture to draw, and then with gradually more behavior.

I usually spend way too much time tweaking each diagram, but that’s because working on them is do darned fun. I’m very much in a state of flow while I’m making them, having a grand old time.

I’m also learning all sorts of things at once — about effective design, about how to improve my tool set, about storytelling, and about the subject that I’m teaching.

If you ever want to know a topic better, I strongly recommend trying to teach it. 🙂

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