Ben Fry (of Processing fame)'s PhD thesis: "Computational Information Design".<p>Abstract:<p>The ability to collect, store, and manage data is increasing quickly, but
our ability to understand it remains constant. In an attempt to gain
better understanding of data, fields such as information visualization,
data mining and graphic design are employed, each solving an isolated
part of the specifi c problem, but failing in a broader sense: there are
too many unsolved problems in the visualization of complex data. As a
solution, this dissertation proposes that the individual fi elds be brought
together as part of a singular process titled Computational Information
Design.<p>This dissertation first examines the individual pedagogies of design,
information, and computation with a focus on how they support one
another as parts of a combined methodology for the exploration,
analysis, and representation of complex data. Next, in order to make the
process accessible to a wider audience, a tool is introduced to simplify
the computational process for beginners, and can be used as a sketching
platform by more advanced users. Finally, a series of examples show
how the methodology and tool can be used to address a range of data
problems, in particular, the human genome.<p><a href="http://benfry.com/phd/" rel="nofollow">http://benfry.com/phd/</a>