Ok, so I said I would update after my first day, but I got home around 8p, and was just too tired to do anything. I forgot what it’s like to continuously work for 8 hours a day. It’s 9:30p right now, and honestly, I’m ready to pass out.
My first two days have been interesting, and it’s very clear that I have a lot to learn, in terms of visualizing graphics. I have yet to create an actual graphic. Rather I’ve been sifting through Iraq data, looking for stuff that’s interesting, and then putting it in a spreadsheet. I was also given an article to read that could possibly benefit from a graphic, but it turns out that the writer already got some amazing photos and a small map, so that was a no-go.
I think my strength is R, so I’m going to try to improve (um, learn) mapping in R. I think if I can do that, I will be of much more help. I was asked today if I could do maps, but unfortunately, I’ve only done very basic things, and the task was time-sensitive. Sigh.
Am I rambling? I feel like I’m rambling. I need to sleep. But I need to learn R. Alright then.
On a completely random note, I was able to see Matthew Carter, a master font designer, who has designed fonts like Georgia and Verdana, speak today. I never really put much thought into type faces, but wow, there’s a whole lot that goes into it. A lot of subtleties that involve making more text fit on a page without cluttering or techniques to make text easier to read on a newspaper or from a magazine.
Oh yeah, I also saw my idols — the IBM Visual Communications lab. I didn’t get a chance to talk to them though, but they looked like a friendly bunch.
