Information Graphics and Engineering Design

Documentation for engineering design requires succinct project descriptions, often with information and data visualizations. In an effort to expose students to these types of visualizations students were asked to summarize each individual chapter of a technology-based book of their choice using a different visualization method. This exercise exposed students to a wide range of methods and gave them tools for future engineering project document design. The Periodic Table of Visualization Methods(1) website was used as a starting point for the types of visualizations students could explore. This site is an e-learning site focusing on visual literacy: the ability to evaluate, apply, or create conceptual visual representations. This paper discusses and describes the visualization methods used to assist students with this project, examples of student chapter summaries (Figs. 1 and 2), and the importance for engineering students to be able to read documents and summarize important information in a graphically concise and relevant manner. [GRAPHICS] .