Timeline Design

This week we are pushing farther into Flash and will be analyzing one of the key design components of an animated map: the timeline. No, I'm not referring to the "timeline" in Flash but rather the component of the animation that relates key legend information and controls. A poorly designed timeline is difficult to use and interpret, and takes away from the animation regardless of how nice the maps are. The goal is to have buttons and dates and visuals that are intuitive and easy. You want the viewer to spend their time on the map, not figuring out how to play it!

Here are some links to some animated maps with timelines from a similar class at Univ of Wisconsin:
Poverty in America
History of the UW Campus
Central Africa's Rainforest
Peak Oil
School Finance in Wisconsin
FEMA Disaster Declarations

We'll discuss these in class today and will have our first Topic Review. See you in IN320!