Now that we’ve had some experience working with data, visual encoding and basic chart types, this week is all about best practices. What actually makes something a good chart? Opinions differ, so we’ll discuss several common approaches and what we know from data visualization research.
Lecture: Toward Information Graphics Principles
Today we’re starting with the perspective of Edward Tufte, whose ideas dramatically influenced the visual style of modern news graphics.
Follow along with the slides here: Edward Tufte and Best Practices
Video not showing up? Watch on YouTube here.
Here is a nice 1-minute video showing the ideas of data density and data ink ratio in practice:
Video not showing up? Watch on YouTube here.
Readings:
• Data + Design Chapter 14 and Chapter 15
Discussion
According to NASA data, all recent years have been among Earth’s hottest years on record. The year 2016 was Earth’s hottest year on record — which was true in 2014 and 2015 as well, so it’s been in the news repeatedly in recent years. This is a somewhat complicated dataset because different agencies measure in slightly different ways, but the trends and conclusions are consistent.
Explore these four different ways of visualizing this data:
- Where 2020’s Record Heat Was Felt the Most (NYT, 2021) – try this link if you reach a paywall, and here is a previous version for context
- Global Temperature Change (Bloomberg)
- Warming Stripes (read the FAQ portion)
- A Timeline of Earth’s Average Temperature (xkcd)
Earth Temperature: Which of the four visual explanations about Earth’s record temperature do you consider most effective, and why? Which one do you think Edward Tufte would like best, based on his design principles?
Assignment 5: Answering Questions with Pivot Tables
In this assignment, you’ll be combining skills from previous assignments to answer questions using pivot tables and creating charts to show those answers. (Like usual, access assignment instructions from the main schedule page or the “Assignments” menu link.)