An Excuse for a Snack
So, if we met in person for class, this is a day I usually bring snacks for you. It’s hard to do that online! But, as you’ll see, junk food is an analogy for the design principle we’re talking about today, so it’s totally relevant and justified. And engaging all five senses can help you retain information, so if you need an excuse for an unhealthy snack (or healthy, that’s fine!) it is fully recommended for your educational outcomes.
Photo by Neff Conner/Flickr
Lecture: The problem with “chartjunk”
We previously talked about design philosophy and Edward Tufte’s principles of data density and data-ink ratio. Now we’ll continue with his idea of “chartjunk” and why it can be a problem when your goal is clearly communicating to people.
Follow along with the slides here: Chartjunk & Common Mistakes
Video not showing up? Watch on YouTube here.
Readings
• Stephanie Evergreen’s Data Visualization Checklist
• Designing for the Human Brain
Discussion
To reinforce the idea of “chartjunk,” we’ll gather more examples. Maybe you already have an example in mind! If not, a good way to find examples is by searching for a topic that interests you along with “infographics” or “powerpoint graph,” like “infographics tennis” or “powerpoint graph tennis.” (Please do not just search “chartjunk” — most of the results that come up were created for instructional purposes, so they’re somewhat artificial or exaggerated.)
Finding Chartjunk: What is your selected chartjunk example? Include the image embedded in your post and answer these questions:
- How did you find this particular example?
- What about it would be considered “chartjunk”?
- What is one change you could make to eliminate the chartjunk?
- Do you think there’s any argument for keeping the chartjunk in this case?
Assignment 7: Pet Ownership
In this assignment, you’ll create two charts using data about pet ownership in the U.S. — one that demonstrates Tufte’s principles for good chart design, and one that creatively demonstrates chartjunk.