This. Our goal here was to consider how (or even if) mapping can translate social, cultural, or environmental conditions into visual media. This exercise explores the viability for digital modeling as media for representing data, but much more importantly this process presents an analysis of the potential for informational patterns to manifest as space. This transition makes use of modelling and drawing techniques as well a scientific approach in the articulation of legitimately qualified data.

Thanks to realclearpolitics.com, pollster.com, and inTrade prediction markets for data.

(image credit: Joshua Stone)

Relationship between issue coverage and candidate popularity, David Fischer

Spatializing TIME covers, Christine Arnold

"The main goal for this exercise was to find the effect and influence the 2008 presidency candidates had on several toss-up states during their campaign. The analysis is based on the percentages each person had on a monthly basis right until election month." - Gisela Marquez

"This set of conditions represents the percentage popularity of Obama vs. McCain in the states on the East Coast. The percentages range from 30 percent to 60 percent. These conditions are mapped over the time period of January to November 2008. The east coast states are shown as connected in this graphic to reveal the change in popularity of the two candidates as one travels down the east coast. I achieved this by creating a lofted shape of the popularity of Obama and the popularity of McCain. These shapes are connected to show one whole image of each candidate’s popularity. The intersection of the two images signifies a change in preference of one candidate over the other." - Brad Kern

"I started with an election poll of generation Y adults which range from age 18-29, both registered and unregistered, on percentages for Obama vs. McCain. The second poll was again for generation Y to see how many were registered. The numbers fell at 78% registered, 22% not. This means that although the majority of generation Y picked Obama, only 78% of our generation will vote on election day. I went back and applied this percentage to the original polls, demonstrating four separate scenarios. Scenario one is if 100% were registered, scenario two is if that 22% that did not vote were all Obama supporters, scenario three is if the 22% were all McCain supporters, and scenario four was if the 22% not voting was spread evenly through both parties. The final graph I used was from a separate source showing a graph of age and declaration of party. As the ages get younger through all ages and into the generation Y category, the percentage of democrats increases and republican support decreases, widening the gap and showing the movement towards a democratic majority in our generation." - Samantha Driscoll

"I mapped data from the swing states only to look at how often each candidate (McCain and Obama only) visited each place. At the bottom, I mapped both McCain and Obama in popularity polls against the rising gas prices. I found this to be a relevant statistic because of economic factors and the candidate’s differing policies on energy. I made two images, one including the states where the data corresponds, and one with no context. Any comments on which is more successful? As a diagram, it is better without the states because it can be interpreted differently and is more about the spatial relationships and clustering of data, but having the states allows you to read it as a political message– showing who visited what state more and whether the end polls were leaning republican or democrat." - Laura Williams