Cosmere.Info by Harvard University

Cosmere.info is a large-scale interactive data visualization that illustrates the expansive literary universe of Brandon Sanderson. The project represents over two months of meticulous manual data collection, consulting two dozen original texts and wiki sources to create comprehensive datasets cataloging every in-world interaction between characters.

The visualization consists of three main components:

- A network-based map reveals the interconnectedness of the different planets (and consequently book series) in the Cosmere universe. I encourage you to toggle the hulls and play around with hiding certain clusters to reveal groups that are wholly encompassed by others!

- A gallery of chord diagrams illustrate hierarchies and internal affiliations within in-world groups, spanning from magical abilities to political allegiances. Look out for a “settings” icon in the top right of certain cards to explore extra in-group filtering options!

- The last tab displays a gallery of priestley timelines dedicated to condensing down thousands of pages into a simple visual legend of who showed up where. It’s fascinating to see how Sanderson’s writing style changed over time—check out the difference in his use of POV in his first publication, “Elantris,” versus a more recent one like “Rhythm of War”!

The platform visualizes metadata for over 1,600 unique characters across 23 novels and novellas, condensing nearly FOUR MILLION words into clear, explorable interfaces. Users can pan, zoom, drag, and interact with different visualization layers, discovering connections that might be missed during first reads. Each component uses distinct color coding and interactive elements to maintain clarity despite the complexity of the source material, often coupled with textual tooltips for redundancy and accessibility.

In the same vein, each view has an "INFO" button in the top right with explanatory modals that describe the various data encodings being used.

This project was launched the same week as Sanderson’s (arguably) most anticipated release to date: “Wind and Truth.” As he continues to publish, Sanderson’s works have become increasingly interconnected, forcing readers to juggle relationships both within and across different series to stay maximally informed. As such, the tool was designed to be used by readers already familiar with Sanderson’s work as a way to refresh themselves on the entire contextual corpus before diving into the new text!

This project is dedicated to my friend and fellow Cosmere fan the late Dr. Johanna Beyer, who never got to see the end result but motivated the project’s conception. May her memory be a blessing.