Creating art & visualizations with Go (Go Time #305)
Feb 27, 2024
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The podcast discusses creative coding in Go for art & visualizations, the evolution of visual storytelling, combating racism with data representation, the impact of AI in art, and Linux desktops vs. Mac's M1 Series.
Using Go for data visualization and generative art
Importance of structuring data for visualization and leveraging Go's command line capabilities
Deep dives
Combining Art and Code in Visualizations
Anthony Starks, an independent developer and designer, discusses his journey of combining art, visuals, and code. Starting in the 1980s as an IT person, Starks transitioned to creating tools for data visualizations and generative art. He shares the origin story of using Go for visualization, influenced by conferences and tools like processing, highlighting the seamless fit of Go with his programming style.
Using Go for Data Visualization Tools
Starks delves into the efficiency of using Go for visualization tools such as SVGGo, Deck, and DChart. He explains how Go's simplicity and familiarity with languages like C led him to create tools that excel in data representation and art visuals. Starks emphasizes the importance of structuring data for visualization and leveraging Go's command line capabilities for seamless pipeline workflows.
Philosophy Behind Visualizations and Tool Creation
Starks shares his philosophy on visualizations, simplifying them to fundamental elements like text, graphics, and canvas arrangement. He emphasizes the power of programmatically arranging visual elements and leveraging markup languages for flexible data representation. Starks highlights the versatility of Go-based tools like Deck and DChart for creating a variety of visuals, from architectural diagrams to charts and graphs.
Creating Tools for Data Visualization Challenges
Starks introduces his creations such as SVGGo and Deck or Deck, emphasizing the focus on programming pictures and generating SVGs from data. He explains the iterative process of developing tools, such as starting with bespoke markup languages for presentations and evolving to tools like DChart for charting elements. Starks also touches upon the Du Bois Data Stories Challenge and the community's involvement in recreating historical visuals.
Angelica is joined by the wonderful Anthony Starks to discuss creative coding to create art & visualizations with Go. Anthony is an independent developer/designer interested in data visualization, generative art, building tools & combining art + code.
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