information – Doodling Doo

Small summary for my project:

1)family tree (4 generations, start from my grandparents)
what: to discover the relationships between my family and the extended family based on the year of birth and generation
how: design a visualization diagram based on the concentric tree rings instead of a vertical hierarchical chart (information: english name, chinese name, year of birth, relationship)

First draft for family tree - it seems like quite successful and workable for my idea — First draft for family tree – it seems like quite successful and workable for my idea

2)migration path of my family (map)
what: to show the migration path of my family from the start of my grandparents immigrated from China to Malaysia. Also, to show the fact that the children have moved to other cities to seek for more job opportunities after they grew up.
how:

Go back to the initial mind mapping of time concept, order and sequence have mentioned in the previous post. From there, I integrated the meaning of Lin 林, the tree. From there came to the idea of the order and the sequence of a tree grows. It starts with a seed and needs time and nutrition to produce all of its parts – roots, trunk, branches, leaves, flowers and fruits – and to grow larger.

So, I am thinking to use the growth of tree to be the idea of visualisation diagram and integrate with Malaysia map to show the migration path of my family which is

China is the root of my family
why? because there is a Chinese proverb called 寻根溯源，“寻根” literally means seek root and “溯源” means trace to the source. Undoubtedly, our ancestors were from China.

“Root-seeking culture is part of traditional Chinese culture, and features elements suchas ethnic groups, family names, characters, and classics. As its name suggests, root-seeking culture refers to practices of seeking one’s roots and finding one’s blood ties andemotional bonds.”
Resources: Root-seeking culture booms in China
my grandparents were the trunk of my family – support us, educate us
my father’s generation is branches – because they become older and start to settle down without big moving, so they have more time to gather around
my generation is leaves – having education, seek for job opportunities, organise our own family
my next generation is fruits – protected by leaves from insects, external factors

However, generations represented by different part of the tree are my perspective for now since we will grow up and the role will keep changing and changing. For visual and aesthetic aspects, I have no idea of how to fit this idea into map to show the migration for now.

3)memories and stories
what: mainly to narrate my grandparents’ story. eg, how he survived in those tough times, how he started his business, how he taught his children and etc.
how: stories, old photograph, some documents

Resources :
Forest Fact: How a tree grows
Tree trunks – general facts and information

Continue researching on Chinese Surname and developing the visual concept.

林
No. of Chinese Strokes : 8 (More research on the meaning of 8)
PinYin (Chinese Pronounce) : Lin
Min Nan (Hokkien)/ Cantonese (Malaysia/Singapore) : Lim
Cantonese (Hong Kong): Lam
English Meaning : Woods, Forest, The Man of Wood

Meaning of Number 8 in Chinese culture
1)Eight (Ba in Chinese) has the similar pronunciation with 发 (Fa, meaning wealth or fortune), this number is very welcome among Chinese people.
2)The Chinese deem number eight as a number of initiations and spiritual ascension because eights represent the forces within the world of phenomenon. For example, Eight immortals, Eight Diagrams, Ba Zi.

Study on Tree Diagram

Tree Diagram :
1) a way of representing the hierarchical nature of a structure in a graphical form.
2) resembles a tree, even though the chart is generally upside down compared to an actual tree, with the “root” at the top and the “leaves” at the bottom.

Nodes: the tree elements
Branches: the lines connecting elements
Leaf nodes/ end-nodes/ leaves: Nodes without children
Root/ root node: starting node, a member that has no superior in finite tree structure

Fan Chart:
1) features a half circle chart with concentric rings
2) the person of interest is the inner circle, the second circle is divided in two (each side is one parent), the third circle is divided in four, and so forth.
3) depict paternal and maternal ancestors.

Resources : Wikipedia Family Tree, Wikipedia Tree Structure

Besides having the conventional family tree with “root” at top and “leaves” at the bottom, are there any other direction that can consolidate the visual concept of my family chart? How can I link my family chart to the meaning of 林 “Lin”, which is woods/ forest/ the man of wood? How can I link back the whole family chart to the concept of TIME? Can woods or forest tell time?

The questions above linked to the answer of the way to determine the age of a tree.

Count the tree’s whorls. Estimate the tree’s age. With conifers, these commonly show a regular pattern of growth, producing a whorl of branches each year. A whorl of branches all radiating out from the trunk at the same level, followed by a clear section, then another whorl and so on.

2. Count the rings on the stump.The number of rings indicates the number of years the tree lived. The rings are made up of bands of light- and dark-coloured wood.

Resources : Tree Age, Wikihow How to Determine the Age of Tree

The visual concept for my family chart will be designed according to the concept of tree rings based on the variables: generation, year of birth.

Mood Board