Lessons

Now that we’ve encountered a wide variety of graphics, it’s a good time to review common chart forms, explore variations on the basics, and examine the family of tree diagrams that show connections and hierarchy.

We’ve discussed dot plots, but they’re generally underutilized compared to bars, lines and pies. So it’s time to take a closer look at dots and why they can be useful for large datasets.

Maps can be great, but there are also times when a different data visualization type can be more effective.

Why map projections are necessary but imperfect, plus clarifications about spatial data and chart types that include the word “map” even though they don’t display spatial information.

This week we’re focusing on a type of visualization you probably have lots of experience with: maps. We all use maps in our everyday lives, but making maps requires thinking about them differently.

It’s time to hear from all of you! Please watch each of the short midterm presentations from other students in the class.

What is the role of beauty in data visualization? We’ll hear from David McCandless, whose ideas often contrast with those of Edward Tufte, and consider what is meant by “beautiful” data.

As you analyze examples of professional graphics for your assignment this week, it’s a good opportunity to broadly look at how data visualization works in news and other industries.

Lesson: Part-to-Whole Relationships Beyond Pie Charts As discussed in the previous lesson, pie charts are sometimes good at representing part-to-whole relationships — but they’re not the only option. Charts that show the pieces of something larger are called composition charts or proportion charts, because they show how a large category is composed of smaller subcategories…. Read more »

Pie charts are a beloved, familiar chart for many people. But they’re also derided by experts. So what’s wrong with them? We’ll discuss what makes pie charts uniquely effective in very specific circumstances, as well as alternatives.