PROCESS BOOKGraphic Design 352

Spring 2012

This semester was focused on how to represent research and

information effectively. There are many ways to represent

statistics and information. There are bar graphs, pie charts,

Venn diagrams, flow charts, and scatter plots to name a

few. These can all be used to represent the data visually,

but whether or not these sterile templates can impart a real,

emotional response I tend to question. Without the context

given by good graphic design many very startling data sets

become rendered cold and distant. Distant numbers from

distant lands that do not affect our lives in the least. Sim-

ply put, a Microsoft Word bar graph probably isn’t going to

change much in the world.

My strategy this semester was to not only represent the

information effectively but also to make the user actually

want to be involved with the data. With this in mind, I wanted

to pick a topic that most people viewed negatively and make

it into something neutral or even positive. I wanted to get the

user’s input and then by the end of the experience allow them

to discover new conclusions on their own using the data that

I provided.

information with emotion2054

Once again, I ended up picking an animal for the basis of

my project. This time, it was the rat. This is a creature that

most people either hate or don’t even consider and I thought

it would be interesting to try to change people’s attitude

towards them. I did not necessarily want to try to make

everyone feel at the end that rats were amazing cute crit-

ters...that would be too difficult of a task considering the

way our culture has painted them. Rather, I wanted people

coming away from my project thinking about how interest-

ing the history is or to respect them as an animal. Or maybe

they will just be a little less scared of them if they see one on

a subway.

I personally two pet rats of my own, so I already have an affin-

ity with them, but beyond that the history between rats and

humans is long and filled with twists and turns. It is also an

animal many have strong feelings about. Most people hate

rats and think of them as filthy gigantic rodents with a freaky

tail. This over exaggeration causes people to have a phobia

of a creature that is relatively harmless just as long as we are

prudent in our waste management and keep our homes well

sealed. Something else I find interesting is how some other

cultures see rats as a positive creature. For example, they are

the first animal in the Chinese Zodiac, the one closest to god.

People born under the sign of the rat are said to be charming,

lucky, and intelligent. They are also a fairly common source of

protein in many countries around the world.

In the West, however, they are seen very negatively, despite

the fact that we were the ones who domesticated the rat in

the first place as companion animals. Soon after, varieties of

A study in rats rats were bred for scientific research. Many advancements

have been made because of studies with rats, especially with

antidepressants and other similar drugs. In the US, we have

no way of knowing how many rats are actually used in testing

because rats (along with mice and birds) are not considered

“animals” according to our animal protection laws. It is esti-

mated that 250,000–1,000,000 rats (but probably more) cur-

rently are being used in labs around the US. People tend not

to think of the sacrifices that are being made by these gener-

ally disliked rodents for the sake of mankind.

Overall, this project is about education. If people come away

from the project feeling with a slightly different view about

rats I will be very happy. They are a creature that I really

respect. Rats are affectionate, intelligent, easy to care for,and

fun to observe. I think of more people owned rats or knew

their historical significance the world would be a better place.

The reason that we humans probably dislike rats so much is

because we are so alike. They eat what we eat, live where we

live, and the things that are terrible about our own species

are the very same qualities that we hate in rats. Here are a

few interesting similarities between rats and people.

• Ratsandhumansareomnivorous-we will both eat any

sort of food, be it plant or animal. We both especially like

grains and cereals.

• Weliveinthesameplaces-rats have followed humans

to every part of the globe. They like the warm, safe envi-

ronments that our infrastructure provides such as attics,

sewers, and alleyways.

• Similar physiology - rats and humans both have very

similar digestive and nervous systems.

• HighlySocial-we both absolutely need the company of

our own kind and generally live in communities.

• Intelligent-one of the reasons that it is so difficult to

remove them from our homes is because they are so

smart. The know not to eat poison and can often predict

a predators movements and escape.

• Hands-rats have hand-like paws which they can use for

basic manipulation of objects (usually food).

• Overpopulation -we are both too smart for our own

good and tend to overpopulate, causing the balance of

nature to tip. We are not environmentalists.

Humans and Rats,We’re a lot alike

• Contract same diseases - with our similar physiolo-

gies we often can contract the same diseases. The Black

Plague (carried by fleas on rats and other animals) not

only killed humans but also the rats.

• Passon information fromgeneration togeneration

if a rat colony becomes ill because of a particular type

of food the colony will avoid it for generations. Certain

populations of rats show social learning. In specific areas

rats dive for mollusks, or will hunt down sparrows using

learned skills from other rats.

• Highly adaptable - rats are highly adaptable, just like

humans and can thrive in almost any area. The brown rat

is especially hardy.

• Supraprimates-we are both belong to the group “Su-

praprimates” along with rabbits, other rodents, other

primates, and tree shrews. Therefore, rats and humans

are much more closely related to each-other than to

the Laurasiatherias, a group which includes basically all

other mammals including cows, wolves, cats, moles, gi-

raffes, whales, etc.

• Laugh-most rat vocalizations are in the ultrasonic range

meaning we can’t hear them without special equipment.

It has been shown that rats make a noise similar to a

laugh while playing, being tickled, mating, or in other

positive situations.

• Empathetic - rats are very empathetic creatures. In

studies, a rat will always try to free a trapped cage mate,

even if it hasn’t met the other rat before.

wild vs. domesticatedWild and domesticated rats are as different from one another

as dogs are to wolves. Rat domestication has it’s origins in

the blood sport “rat baiting” where a dog is thrown into a

“pit” with a hundred rats and is timed to see how fast it can

kill all of them. Supplying this sport on captured wild rats

alone became too difficult because of this sport’s popular-

ity so rat catchers started breeding them. One of the most

infamous rat catchers was Jack Black, rat-catcher and mole

destroyer by appointment to Her Majesty Queen Victoria dur-

ing the middle of the nineteenth century. He would supply the

pits, but would also keep rats with interesting colors which he

bred as pets for sophisticated ladies. They would keep them in

guilded squirrel cages and often decorate them with ribbons.

It is said that even Queen Victoria kept a few pet rats. Later,

several strains were developed for use in scientific research.

WILDRATS

• AgoutiColoration -wild rats can be brown to grey in

coloration, but they have agouti fur, meaning that each

hair has three stripes of color in it.

• Avoidshumans-wild rats will never seek human com-

panionship unless tamed from infancy.

• Highlyaware-wild rats are hyper aware and will flee at

the first sign of danger.

• Latermaturity-wild rats sexually mature later than do-

mesticated rats and have smaller litters.

• Average lifespan lessthanayear-wild rats usually

die of illness or predation before their first birthday.

DOMESTICATEDRATS

• ManyColors-domesticated rats have been bred to have

many different types of colors and patterns. Berkshire,

hooded, siamese, and dalmatian are just a few.

• Seekshumancompanionship-domesticated rats will

often seek out human interaction on their own.

• Lessobservant-domesticated rats have decreased sen-

sitivity to light and sound.

• Earlymaturation-domesticated rats can start breed-

ing at 4 weeks old and have larger litters.

• Average life span2years -domesticated rats have a

longer life since they are protected from predators.

cunning, cute, or creepy?(our complex relationship with rats)

submit

They are creepy/dirty animals.

They are intelligent and interesting creatures.

They are pests that destroy food supplies and infest buildings.

They make playful and loving pets.

They are a common food/protein source around the world.

what do you think about rats?firstly,

cunning, cute, or creepy?(our complex relationship with rats)

submit

They are creepy/dirty animals.

They are intelligent and interesting creatures.

They are pests that destroy food supplies and infest buildings.

They make playful and loving pets.

They are a common food/protein source around the world.

what do you think about rats?firstly,

around the world

Karni Mata temple

They are a common food/protein source around the world.

They are petsts that destroy food suppliesand infest buildings.

The resultsnow

3.5 Million years ago

50,000 years ago

10,000 years ago

genus “Rattus” first evolves.

Modern humans first appear.

transition to agricultureRats have been our constant companions ever since.

rats in history

first ideaMy first idea was to draw people in with an interactive web-

site. It was going to be HTML5 powered site where in order to

get to the next page you would scroll down. That way, the user

would have to go through the site in a very specific order.

My idea was to start off the experience with a quick one ques-

tion poll, “What do you think about rats?” At the very end,

after going through the whole site, they would be asked the

same question again to see if after getting more information

about rats if they had changed their mind. The things that I

thought were sucessful about this iteration were the cheese

wheel pie chart and the rathistory timeline.

I decided to move away from this idea as it was overly compli-

cated and just started to get really bogged down, especially

when I decided to animate it. I ended up switching to a iPad/

iPhone app instead.

3.5 Million years ago

50,000 years ago

10,000 years ago

genus “Rattus” first evolves.

Modern humans first appear.

transition to agricultureRats have been our constant companions ever since.

rats in history

around the world

Karni Mata temple

They are a common food/protein source around the world.

They are petsts that destroy food suppliesand infest buildings.

The resultsnow

Animation storyboardsThese storyboards were for when I was going to do an ani-

mated version of the scoll-down site. Even though I didn’t end

up animating this, it was still a crucial step to developing the

final app.

Final APpBecause of suggestions by classmates, I ended up changing

my concept entirely, turning it into more of a game. From the

very beginning the user is encouraged to like rats because

he or she becomes the owner of one. I tried to lighten the

mood a bit as well so that the app would be more appealing to

children. As the user reads articles they get more sunflower

seeds and if they read all of a certain type of article or achieve

an accomplishment they will get a badge. They can trade in

their sunflower seeds for things to decorate their rat’s home

with or for gift cards and pet stores.