Data Visualization; Tracking plants
Julia B. McLean
Greenside Design Center, Jhb
To create a visual after effects video of the data of a Dianthus, an angiosperm which was recorded over the period of 3 days in order to study its movement. Their movement is predominantly dependent on the sun and their position to the sun but unfortunately one constraint was that this study took place over Winter. Fortunately the Dianthus is a fairly hardy plant which can easily survive in both cold and warm conditions. The plant was placed perpendicular to the window, receiving plenty of sunlight and a slightly warmer condition as opposed to being outside.
In order to accelerate the movement of said plant, three methods were used in total. These methods are called Traumatropism, and two more common ones, Hydrotropism and Phototropism. This is the impact that various factors such as light, water, and sudden trauma or movement has on the plant. The 'trauma' aspect was that the plant was placed on its side for a full 24 hours prior to the recording. The final timelapse is of the plant readjusting itself in order to balance itself out again. These natural pressures tend to accelerate their overall movement as a whole.
Plants tend to grow stretching towards their source of sunlight due to photosynthesis and I decided to challenge its movement and to what extent turning it to face away from the sun would effect its movement. The plant was placed perpendicular to the window with the flattened side facing away from the sunlight in order to encourage movement. The video displays the plant slowly stretching back up and opening its leaves to its initial position prior to when it was placed on its side.
The final video
Music: https://www.bensound.com
The temperature values change every six hours in order to see how the varying degrees affects the plants movement as this is one of the most important factors of the overall study. The humidity according to most weather reports is recorded four times a day, so the average was taken and this final value is replaced once a day in the video. The photographs within the timelapse were taken once every five minutes for three days so this value does not change and the time and frames increments continue to accelerate thorughout the length of the video.
The line drawn by the leaves of the flower are visible throughout the entirety of the video as it allows us to see the overall movement and where the plant began when the timelapse started. The lines drawn are the focal point as it is almost art which is solely created by nature, and then manifested on a computer. The purpose of this is due to the fact the it is difficult for the human eye to compare or view the movement without a set starting point in vision. The plant is thus the focal point of this project, meaning that it takes up the full screen realestate to fully show off its beauty and potential. The type is not at all distracting by being placed directly over the video as opposed to being placed in a text box to the left of the video, directing the user away from the focal point.
Lastly the design elements displayed on the video just for a more personal touch are the solid vertical strokes used to evenly space the increments and the create a line rule which follows through the body copy. These vertical strokes used as the design element are visible to the right of the video where they are placed at the same y-value as the original strokes on the left, but they obtain different x-values to create a fun and elegant theme as well as consistency.
Frames taken from a previous timelapse of the plant placed on its side for 24hrs
The plant slowly begins to lift itself up as the sun rises.
Attempting to create warmer conditions to encourage movement; greenhouse effect
Six other plants were studied but unfortunately were all completely dormant due to weather conditions.
Ensuring that the text was aligned properly, as well as design elements and that the tracking was seamless
The Fibonacci sequence was taken into account in order to create a visually appealing hierarchy and to ensure the best possible readable experience for the user.
The type was laid out in a way that the increments were surrounded by body copy to even it out. The headings were made bold in order to create a hierarchy so that the user can quickly skim to where they need to depending on the information that they are most interested in. The body copy is the light version in order to not overwhelm the user and the make it easier on the eye. The increments are size 55 in order to immediately catch the users attention at the increasing or decreasing values presented as the video rolls on. This text size is contrasted by the much smaller heading size which is visible just below the values at a size of 21, following Fibonacci’s sequence. The large increments and small headings were inspiration taking from the weather app and how fitting its overall hierarchy is. The text is all evenly spaced and the space in the left margin is the same size as the space above and below the text; emphasizing consistency.
One day post timelapse
The Dianthus has completely readjusted itself again to where it was prior to being flattened for 24hrs.
Previous process work: Experimenting with various ways of displaying the data
Project constraints
One main constraint would be time as I need to get a decent timelapse of a plant within the time frame. Only once the best possible recording has been made (which takes a minimum of 24 hours) then the actual work can begin. Multiple days will need to be taken to focus on getting the best pieces of information (data) from them. Multiple plants had to be closely observed in order to choose the best one for the video. The plant which moved the most in the first attempt of this assignment became the plant that moved the least during Winter. The plant used in the final is a Dianthus.
Weather is another constraint.
Many plants are dormant in Winter and therefore I had to adopt various methods to increase the movement of the plant (hydrotropism, traumatropism and phototropism).
Thank you! c:
