Reuben Fischer-Baum is an American journalist, designer and developer. He is an editor on the graphics team at The Washington Post, where he leads a group of reporters focused on interactive projects including data trackers and reader tools. He previously was a visual journalist at FiveThirtyEight and Gawker Media. He has taught data visualization at Parsons School of Design and given lectures and workshops at Harvard, Columbia, Tufts, NYU, Rice, Skidmore, Ithaca and Microsoft Research.
He was a 2021–22 fellow at the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard and a 2017–18 Paul Miller Fellow at the National Press Foundation. His work has been recognized by the Society for News Design, the Information is Beautiful awards, and the Malofiej awards. He received a BA in Environmental Studies with a concentration in urban planning from Yale University.
Courses
Fall 2024 Courses
GRAPH 330G-01 - GRADUATE STUDIO ELECTIVE I
LevelGraduate
UnitGraphic Design
Subject Graphic Design
Period Fall 2024
Credits 3
FormatStudio
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date
GRAPH 330G-01
GRADUATE STUDIO ELECTIVE I
LevelGraduate
UnitGraphic Design
Subject Graphic Design
PeriodFall 2024
Credits3
FormatStudio
ModeIn-Person
Start and End2024-09-04 to 2024-12-11
Times: M | 1:10 PM - 6:10 PMInstructor(s): Reuben Fischer-BaumLocation(s): Center for Integrative Technologies, Room 502AEnrolled / Capacity: 12Status: Open
SECTION DESCRIPTION
This graduate-level studio elective – Data Narratives – will explore the use of data visualization in creating complex narrative experiences for viewers and readers. The course will serve as a technical primer in how to write code that compiles, analyzes and visualizes data, but it will also deepen the abilities of students that have some existing skill set in these areas.
“Data” will be defined in a broad sense, and course examples will include formats like text and image analysis, as well as spatial data and cartography. Students will be encouraged to work with subjects and sources that intersect with other projects they’re undertaking at RISD.
The course will examine the core design considerations in the creation of world-class visualization, as well as approaches to the field’s “hard problems” such as variability and uncertainty. It will also interrogate the fundamental tensions that exist within storytelling across all mediums, with reading and discussion on story structure, narrative ethics, and the narrative lens.
