Today’s Guest

Troy Griggs is a graphics editor at The New York Times. Most recently, he worked at The Guardian as a special projects editor for Guardian Visuals.

Final Project

You will be telling the story of your block. The aim, similar to the midterm, is to design an experience that weaves together different types of storytelling devices and embraces the possibilities of digital to create something richer than text alone could provide. Consider:

  • The story: There are so many ways to tell this story. What’s the best? Is the story of your block a story of the people who live there — maybe even one individual? The workers? What about its history? Its future? Is it a block in transition? Is there conflict or unity? What communities exist? Pick your targets, this project isn’t intended to be encyclopedic or exhaustive. Don’t attempt to cram a little bit of all these dimensions into a single interactive narrative. Ask yourself: What are the most compelling stories around me?

  • The experience: What types of multimedia might best tell this story? You don’t need to decide anything now, but as you report and brainstorm consider the potential of maps, audio, video, photography, 360° panoramas, data visualization, animation, illustration, quizzes or any of the building blocks we’ve seen or discussed.

First deadline: Start reporting and researching. Talk to your neighbors. Go into businesses, churches or organizations. Dig into census data, city records and news archives. By next Wednesday, upload an initial pitch that outlines possible approaches and points of focus.

(The final will be due on May 11. Other notes, which will be detailed in subsequent weeks: You will be expected to hand-code this project and host it on Github, instead of relying on a platform like Medium or The Atavist. Grading criteria will be similar to the midterm. You will be evaluated on both the quality of the story and experience.)

Critique: The Story of a Place

Select one of the stories below to critique — focus on how different storytelling devices helped tell the story of a place.

  1. One Block
  2. 10 Years After Katrina
  3. The State of Your Block
  4. One in 8 Million
  5. Unearthing the Secrets of New York’s Mass Graves
  6. New York Above 800 Feet
  7. Walking New York
  8. Beyond the Stoop
  9. Brooklyn, the Remix: A Hip-Hop Tour
  10. The American Thanksgiving
  11. What Kids Around the World Eat for Breakfast

Before next class, submit a critique that generally answers the following questions about each piece (fewer than 300 words).

  • Substance: What story was this project attempting to tell? Was it successful? Was the narrative compelling? What scenes or characters most resonated?
  • Form: What decisions did the authors make about what to show and how to sequence the story? Were they effective? Was integrating multiple mediums effective? Was it intuitive? Did the experience ask too much of the reader?

Deadline: Submit your critiques on Canvas by midnight on Wednesday, April 12.