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We first considered creating pages for every factory location. We mechanically produced a site containing 400 pages with information about factories around the world organized several different ways.
Experimental translation from a database dump to federated wiki pages with embedded datasets rendered by d3.js force-based graph layout. (private link)
We then experimented with mapping factories to approximate locations by simulating "pushpin" placements on a basemap rendered with d3.js.
I argued that approximate physical simulations running client-side will become an important part of the graphic designer's pallet, not for the science, but for the visual effects.
See About Pushpin Plugin for details of this work in progress.