Olivia Rouse is a true Potterhead. Not only has she read the series more than 10 times, but she also has attended the book launch events and has willingly stood in the line to get the opening night tickets of the films. What’s more, she is a frequent visitor to the Pottermore website, which is the ultimate source of the Wizarding World. This recent graduate of Northeastern University has now devised a way to incorporate Harry Potter into her senior project. She has made a data-driven visual guide for the depiction of the Potter World.
Rouse is a graphic designer, with a degree in Bachelor of Fine Arts. “I initially wanted to do eight large data viz posters, but I had too many ideas and couldn’t choose just eight”, she says. “And I wanted something I could hold onto in the future, so a book felt like the right fit for my portfolio”. The book went on to become an 80-page hardcover book. However, it was not easy for her to assemble the project; there was no Accio Information here. Months of research, surveys, planning, and execution were spent to create this masterpiece of the Wizarding World.
There’s a periodic table which categorises the ghosts, the Purebloods, the Muggles, and more, with the help of different colors. Another infographic is in the shape of a pinwheel, illustrating how the characters are connected to each other. Another example to give would be how the various countries around the world reacted or were impacted by the color scheme used on the covers.
“I tried to use as many different types of graphs as possible to show the range of infographics you can do in data visualization”, says Rouse. She single-handedly created each and every graphic shown in the book, using Adobe Illustrator. Her book ‘Accio Data’ is a wordplay based on the famous Potter spell. It is now showcased in the Art + Design Senior Exhibit at Northeastern’ Gallery 360. Now, she is selling her book in hardcover and paperback versions online. Rouse also plans on opening an Etsy store and launching her created-from-the-scratch designs. She also has plans to do a similar project on Game of Thrones, Bob’s Burgers, and The Simpsons.
Rouse found how important it is to present complex information in a simplified manner due to ‘Accio Data’. “You have to left the data to speak for itself, and choose wisely the best way to present it”, she says.
Pranjali Wakde
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