1. Johanna Drucker: Graphesis - Visual Forms of Knowledge Production

In the reading, the author argues that visual representation is not just a pure display of information; it can also produce new knowledge and could be understood systematically through different structuring principles. The concept of “language of forms” could also be applied to some historical architectural drawings, where a systematic approach to graphic expression encoded a new form of knowledge. Vitruvius’s classical texts contain detailed drawings of architectural proportions, compositions, and classical orders. The visual system of how that information is presented becomes a form of language that inspires many later writings on the topic. It is through the graphical presentation people can understand and compare different features, styles, and decorations. Texts and numeric data itself alone wouldn’t support the comunciation of knowledge in this case.

2.W.E.B. Du Bois’s Data Portraits: Visualizing Black America Plate 24, 35 and 36 are very powerful in showing the life and progress of the African-American population in the US. The hand-drawn images using black and red convey unique aesthetics. It also makes a strong political statement through the statistical visualization charts about the African American population’s progress.