Weather Visualization
Pulling location-based weather data from the OpenWeather API, I designed an abstract visualization of the weather for a give location. I have two final versions for this work, one in which you can select the location that you view the weather visualization for, and one in which you can view randomly generated locations, from a preselected list. Here you can select your own location to view, and here you can randomly generate one.
Here’s a look into the process…
In my initial proposal I knew I wanted to represent the data in a 3-dimensional way. I was excited about taking a physical thing, such as the weather, bringing it into a physical space and then bringing some dimension back into it. In my initial proposal I showed my initial concept and also explored what it would look like at weather extremes.
Execution of the initial concept. Users can input the name of a place to generate weather data visualization. Wind tunnel’s size and speed are based on the speed of the wind. Each object rotates and translates based on a function dependent on both the wind speed and magnitude of its respective attribute (clouds, humidity, temperature).
Feedback + Observations: It made me motion sick while working because there was so much motion on the screen. Having each feature represented as a different object makes them feel less cohesive - this would make sense if the shapes were identifiable but since they are abstract it just makes it feel less visually connected.
Users can input the name of a place to generate weather data visualization. Wind tunnel’s size and speed are based on the speed of the wind. Each object rotates and translates based on a function dependent on both the wind speed and magnitude of its respective attribute (clouds, humidity, temperature). All objects are now of the same ring shape to make the visualization more cohesive, and wind translations have been slowed to prevent motion sickness.
Feedback + Observations: Think about the “satisfying videos” that feel cyclical and complete, try to make the rings rotating within each other to find patterns in their motion and make it even more visually cohesive. This is most interesting when you can see different places and find examples of extreme weather conditions. How can I encourage or guide the user to follow this behavior?
Final Iteration
Users can press a “go” button to generate weather data visualization randomly from preselected locations that typically will have an extreme weather case. Wind tunnel is removed but objects continue to rotate based on the wind speed. Each object rotates based on a function dependent on both the wind speed and magnitude of its respective attribute (clouds, humidity, temperature). All objects are now of the same ring shape to make the visualization more cohesive, and aligned to make the objects feel more connected.
