{"id":2157,"date":"2022-10-03T02:00:02","date_gmt":"2022-10-03T09:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/murrowcourses.com\/graphics\/?p=2157"},"modified":"2022-10-03T07:46:42","modified_gmt":"2022-10-03T14:46:42","slug":"food-consumption-pictogram","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/murrowcourses.com\/graphics\/food-consumption-pictogram\/","title":{"rendered":"Food Consumption Pictogram"},"content":{"rendered":"

How much does the average American eat in a year? In this assignment, you\u2019ll interpret federal government data on food availability and create a pictogram to show how Americans\u2019 food consumption has changed over time.<\/p>\n

Find Data<\/span><\/p>\n

In this part, you’ll be choosing data to use for your chart. It\u2019s strongly recommended that you read through all the steps for Part 1 before getting started so you know where this is going when you select your data.<\/p>\n

1. There will be several files you’re saving for this assignment, so it’s a good idea to create a new folder on your desktop to collect everything.<\/p>\n

2. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has department called the Economic Research Service<\/strong><\/a>, which collects and publishes data on many topics<\/a> related to U.S. agriculture issues. We\u2019re going to be using information from the Food Availability (Per Capita) Data System. Before we look at the data, read the FAQ page that explains limitations of the data: http:\/\/www.ers.usda.gov\/data-products\/food-availability-per-capita-data-system\/faqs\/<\/a><\/p>\n

3. Look at the list of data tables available to download from the Food Availability (Per Capita) Data System<\/strong> page: http:\/\/www.ers.usda.gov\/data-products\/food-availability-per-capita-data-system\/<\/a><\/p>\n

You will choose your own food product to feature in this assignment. (We\u2019re going to use cheese as the example here, so you may not<\/strong> choose cheese. You can choose a specific type<\/em> of cheese if you want.) Download and look through the available data files to find a product you want to feature. It\u2019s ideal to choose a product where consumption has changed significantly over time, and where the final year is 2010 or later.<\/p>\n

In most cases, look for the “Per Capita Availability” label. Some of the spreadsheets split products into categories that are difficult to understand. Make sure you are looking specifically at consumption<\/strong> data, and if anything is unclear you should read the documentation or choose a different product. Per capita<\/em> means “per person,” so make sure the amount and unit seems plausible. For example, it seems reasonable that a person could consume 26 gallons of coffee in a year (1.14 cups per day), but not 3,200 pounds of coffee. That would be more than eight pounds of coffee each day!<\/p>\n

4. Within your chosen spreadsheet, use a color to highlight the data that applies to your product. You might also want to copy this data into a new spreadsheet to avoid getting it confused with the other columns. You will need this data later on, after you finish the pictogram.<\/p>\n

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Highlight the data you’re going to use. The spreadsheets are organized differently for different food products, so you need to read carefully.<\/p><\/div>\n

5. Your pictogram will compare two years to show an increase or decrease over time. In a new tab or spreadsheet, create columns for the year and the values for the oldest data point and most recent data point. Then, create a column to translate those amounts into whole numbers to calculate the number of icons you\u2019ll need to represent consumption in each year.<\/p>\n

Also consider whether the unit given in the spreadsheet makes sense to people \u2014 for example, it may make sense to count eggs by dozens, or to convert gallons of coffee to cups of coffee.<\/p>\n

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With the example cheese data, the units work well for making 1 icon equal to 1 pound.<\/p><\/div>\n

If your numbers are smaller than 5 or larger than 30, you will need to do a little math to reach a manageable number of icons. For example, if you want to show a value of 100, you might use 20 icons with each icon representing a value of 5.<\/p>\n

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You may need to try different numbers to find one that works well. For small numbers, you may be able to change the unit, like changing gallons to ounces.<\/p><\/div>\n

Chart the Data as a Pictogram<\/span><\/p>\n

In this portion of the assignment you\u2019ll use your data to create a pictogram chart.<\/p>\n

\nThis portion of the assignment uses Adobe Illustrator. If you do not have access to Adobe Illustrator, you can complete these steps in PowerPoint or Google Slides instead. These programs do not have as many features, such as aligning and spacing icons, but you will be able to add the same visual and text elements by inserting images or icons and adding text boxes.<\/p>\n\"\"\n<\/div>\n

1. Illustrator is an excellent software program for creating scalable icons, but in this case we\u2019re going to find icons to use from The Noun Project<\/strong>. Go to the website and search to find an icon that represents your food product: https:\/\/thenounproject.com<\/a><\/p>\n\"\"<\/a>\n\"\"\n

Look for an icon that is mostly black if possible, rather than just an outline. Follow the instructions to download the icon file as an SVG file and add it to your project folder. (You may be prompted to create an account.) Choose the no-cost “Basic Download” option and copy the attribution information that is provided. Most Noun Project icons are licensed under Creative Commons, and are free to use with attribution.<\/p>\n