Too Much "Tell"

Gifford’s cranioplasty

This graphic is supposed to portray the medical procedure of removing a portion of the skull and later replacing it, or a cranioplasty, but instead I think it misses the point of having an information graphic by relying too heavily on text to explain the procedure instead of actually illustrating the steps. This violates a fundamental journalist’s rule –especially an information graphic journalist’s — to show, not tell. The skull graphic, in my opinion, lacks imagination. It could have been way more detailed and vividly portrayed. For example, in step two of the procedure, when it describes how “surgeons pull back the scalp flap, and the bone fragment or implant is attached with minuscule titanium screws and plates,” this could have been supplemented by a graphic of the surgeon pulling back the flap and securing the fragment with a detailed image of the tiny screws (and does this involve a drill? Is it similar to a drill one would use for a screw?) Needless to say, it is hard to visualize as it reads now.

That said, the graphic does do a good job of anticipating reader questions, such as what a patient does while waiting for swelling of the brain to subside (wear a helmet) and what a replacement fragment is typically made of (special plastic or original bone). It would have simply been nicer to see more visual depictions of the procedure.

http://www.azcentral.com/ic/pdf/0311giffordscranioplasty.pdf

Simple but effective line graphs

This simple AP line graphic fthat appeared in an ABC News article shows the relationship between the U.S. demand for oil and the price per barrel. I think it is interesting how the graph clearly shows how the demand reached its lowest point between 2007-2008 before the oil prices started to lower accordingly. By seeing the two graphs side by side with their corresponding timelines, this information is presented much clearer than a text piece could have explained the relationship. By being able to visualize the patterns in the data, it is easy to see why the accompanying article predicts a drop in oil prices would still be a long time coming, even after the demand drops.

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=13345964

How much text is too much?

Here is an interesting graphic from the New York Times that presents information about the newcomers to Congress in an unusual way. The article is called “Freshman Voices in the Budget Fight” and it lists the stand-outs with accompanying superlatives, much like the “Most Likely to …” titles bestowed upon high school graduates. It is a very simple graphic, but the blocks of text somewhat deter the eye away from the subject matter—I think it would have been more eye-catching to start with the pictures, with their superlatives and states in larger bold print underneath. That way, the eye is encouraged to continue reading down the column to find out more about the members.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/04/07/us/politics/20110407-tea.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=thab1

Interactive Straddling Bus from Graphic News

Incredible interactive graphic from Graphic News: Follow this link to see an interactive model of China’s new “straddling bus”— designed to combat Beijing’s traffic congestion, the bus glides over lower lanes of traffic, running on electricity and solar energy. The graphic opens in a new window and plays a demonstration of how the bus works. The red dots allow the viewer to click to see more detailed descriptions of the elements of the system, including the statistics on cost, safety features and capacity. The inset shows a locator map of where the trials for the bus will begin in relation to the rest of Beijing, giving it context by showing that the trials will begin in an outlying district and not in the city center. There is also another inset at the bottom left showing an active map of the bus and the direction the bus and cars underneath it are going, and how changes in direction will work with the straddling bus.

Don't commit a graphics Fox - er, faux - pas!

One more reason why it’s important to remember that with all the cool stuff you can do with graphics these days, you can’t forget that it is still JOURNALISM that information graphics are supposed to achieve — one of the major tenets of which is VERIFICATION. Yet another lesson we can learn from Fox News, given its recent faux pas of a map of Japan’s nuclear reactors … and a nightclub. Fox News mistakenly identified the nightclub in Shibuya, Tokyo, the “Shibuya Eggman”, as nuclear reactor “Shibuyaeggman."

But Fox News isn't the first, and certainly won't be the last to commit fact errors in graphics. Take this mistake from the graphics department of the WGN during the 2010 World Cup, for example. Apparently, someone confused the country of South Africa, host to the World Cup, with the continent of South America. Ouch. You would think that a copy editor would have caught this sort of thing before publication, but sometimes time constraints can affect the editorial process, allowing errors to slip in. This illustrates one of the first elements of designing infographics as described in an article by Daniel Dejarnette titled "Looks Aren't Everything," and that is: it's still the graphic artist's responsibility to ensure the accuracy of the graphic.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/15/fox-news-japan-map-nightclub-nuclear_n_835840.html

Mercury News shows how to survive an earthquake

This graphic from Mercury News gives a detailed view of what to do to be safe in the event of an earthquake. The graphic features a 3D cutaway of a two-story house and a view of the rooms inside. Several features inside the house are highlighted in yellow, directing the eyes to the most important tips for securing the house. The instructions are organized along the margins of the paper and aligned in an organized way, and the bold print at the top of the page clearly indicates where the reader should begin reading. The page is also divided into sections, using varying typography and design elements to direct the eye to separate categories and distinguish between elements of information. The page has both elements of active and passive graphics, since the diagram of the house represents the location of elements in relation to each other, while other elements on the page represent action and are indicated by arrows, such as the turning of the wrench to turn off the gas.

http://www.mercurynews.com/portlet/article/html/imageDisplay.jsp?contentItemRelationshipId=2670227

A critique of Reuter's reactor graphic

A recent article in Reuters following the Japan earthquake and subsequent fears over Japan’s nuclear reactors described the similar fear that reactors in the U.S. may also be vulnerable in the event of a major earthquake. This graphic shows the extent to which the area surrounding New York’s Indian Point nuclear reactor would be affected by a similar natural disaster. But, to be honest, there are a few obscure elements on the graphic that don’t convey any real meaning to me, at least at first glance. For example, the peach-colored circle around the Greater New York City area—why is that denoted the way it is? Also, the chatter says “Affected areas within potential evacuation radii,” which, besides being jargon-y, does not clearly tell me the degree to which these areas would be affected. The subtle color change between the concentric circles (dark blue, light blue, etc.) show there is some degree of difference, but I think a key would have been a much better informational tool.

http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/11/03/US_NYCNUKE0311_SC.gif

TIME Charts the Decline of America

This graphic from TIME and the related articles it accompanies paints a pretty somber picture of the state of the union. Titled “Charting the Decline,” this graphics package includes two bar graphs, area circles, a numbers comparison using arrows. The first bar graph shows the drastic percentage changes in employment across various sectors such as sales and labor from 1997-2007.
http://www.time.com/time/interactive/0,31813,2027156,00.html

A Year at War from The New York Times

This interactive graphic is brought to you once again by the world leader in interactive graphics, The New York Times. This graphic is incredibly detailed, poignant and powerful, not only because its subject matter tells the story of American soldiers going to Afghanistan and tracks their journeys for a year, but also because of its easy interactivity. The design allows viewers to hear the story from the beginning, or skip to the sections that interest them the most.

It is also the ultimate multimedia package: videos, audio slideshows, powerful photography, text interviews from soldiers, an enlargeable map of the areas they are/were stationed. The photo gallery of the soldiers even contains updates on their statuses. This graphic is much, much more than a graphic: it is an entire story, actually several stories, wrapped up in an interactive package that allows the viewer to decide how to receive the information in the story. The epitome of multimedia journalism.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/world/battalion.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=thab1#/NYT

Interactive Graphics

The New York Times
1. This interactive map from The New York Times uses circles of varying sizes to show the amount of toxic elements found in drinking water as a result of a method for tapping into natural gas reserves. The circles show the location as well as a key comparing the size of the circle to another circle of acceptable levels to show the difference in magnitude much better than sheer numbers could. The interactivity element comes from the option to click on the names of the elements found, e.g. radium and uranium, in the sidebar to see the total number of wells found containing those elements and a comparison of the levels of that elements found vs. acceptable levels.
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/02/27/us/natural-gas-map.html?scp=2&sq=interactive&st=cse

2. This graphic, also from the New York Times, shows the results of a recently published survey on the quality of life for Americans by district. It is a rollover graphic in which a bold outline appears around each congressional district as you roll the mouse over and a white box showing the name of the district and the score. For example, if you roll over the 9th Congressional District of Missouri containing Boone County, you see a composite score of 64. You can also click on any of the categories in the sidebar, such as happiness or depression, and see how each district fared. The weakness of this graphic, although it is very impressive and detailed, is that it could not stand alone because it lacks an explanation of what the composite score means, therefore I have no context to tell whether a score of 64 is good or bad.
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/03/06/weekinreview/20110306-happiness.html?scp=4&sq=interactive&st=cse.


The Wall Street Journal
3. From the Wall Street Journal, an incredibly cool interactive graphic “Speech Patterns:
Obama’s addresses to Congress” shows the speech patterns for President Obama. The graphic is set up like a horizontal bar graph showing the length of each speech by year (i.e. 2011, 2010 or 2009) and each speech is divided into segments of various complementing shades, which the viewer can click on to see a word cloud for each segment, showing the most common words the president used in his speech and when. Clicking on a plus symbol at the end of each speech line gives you the most commonly used words for the entire speech.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704698004576104951112319700.html

4. Also from the WSJ, this interactive timeline/line graph shows the “Tale of a Selloff” in tobacco bonds from November to February. The viewer has the option of clicking on highlighted markers at the top of the timeline graph, or pressing play to see the entire progression from the beginning like a slideshow. Each marker indicates a major incident that sparked action and helped lead to the resulting downgrade in tobacco bonds. This is certainly a linear display of the information, showing a progression on timeline that looks like a stock market line, and it makes sense to do it this way because it simultaneously conveys the chronology and the stock fluctuations.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703300904576178421273525518.html?KEYWORDS=interactive+graphic

PBS
5. This interactive diagram from PBS.org titled “Secrets of the Pharaoh’s Tomb” presents a rollover graphic showing a 3D cutaway of different rooms inside a tomb and what one would likely find there. As you roll over each element in the room, for example the ritual couches, the object is highlighted and a picture with explanatory text appears in two boxes in the sidebar. The viewer can also click in the bottom left-hand corner to switch rooms within the tomb and explore what each room has to offer. Incredibly cool non-linear display of information. Additional style element: the blinking pharaoh’s eye in the upper right corner. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/pharaohs/tut.html

Much Ado about Diagrams

1. This diagram from the Wired Science website shows the movement of glaciers in Patagonia and the reduced erosion they cause under lower temperatures—however, it took me a few minutes to decipher even that much, as the diagram is heavy with technical jargon. The pictures themselves are also similar, so it was hard to tell what exactly the diagram is supposed to show us. Perhaps the average reader of Wired Science is able to tell right off the bat what meaning this is supposed to carry, but for me, I would at least need an accompanying text piece to grasp the significance of what I’m seeing in the diagram. It does attempt to convey an active process of tectonic movement with the arrows.
http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/wiredscience/2010/09/Nature-Glacier-diagram.jpg



2. I thought this diagram by Stacey Schutzman in the Columbia Missourian was a novel one: it shows the step-by-step simplified process of how potholes form in the road. It is easy to read, does not contain too many distracting colors or details, uses clear and simplified language rather than nuanced terms and jargon, and shows an active process of the way water moves through the pavement and the resulting cave-in. This graphic could stand alone as a story in itself, but I can also see why they would use this to complement the story on potholes in Columbia. http://www.columbiamissourian.com/multimedia/graphic/2011/02/08/how-do-potholes-form/


3. My vehicle has been giving my problems lately, and it made me think of those confusing (to me) diagrams they show in car manuals that require you to at least know all the parts and their functions before you can even begin to figure out what to do with them, or what they’re not doing and should be. So I went to freeautomechanic.com and found this diagram showing a basic air conditioning system to illustrate my point. This actually isn’t the worst diagram in terms of complexity, but it still uses quite a bit of technical terms, and I wasn’t quite sure where to start. I realize I am showing my ignorance here, but if the idea is to communicate information to anyone, they have to assume that they should also be talking to the ignorant, I think. It does give me a basic idea of how refrigeration works, as in the process it goes through, without telling me exactly how it works. For example, I still don’t understand how the high pressure liquid changes to a low pressure liquid when it comes to the expansion valve, only that it does. Maybe this information requires a separate article, or even a separate course, for that matter.

http://www.freeautomechanic.com/airconditioning.html

4. I think this diagram from Geek Tyrant is possibly my favorite: It’s immediately recognizable what it is conveying, and it’s entertaining. The designer used a Venn diagram to show the differences and similarities between those three often-confused monsters — robots, zombies and aliens. I would say this is a passive diagram, since it does not show an active process, but rather a static set of characteristics. The illustration is simple enough that it is not distracting, having only three circles and shaded portions. It is able to stand alone, but as a humorous form of explanation only, and not as a story in and of itself.


http://geektyrant.com/news/2011/2/4/zombies-robots-and-aliens-venn-diagram.html

5. Another one using the same humor tactic to display information comes from The Huffington Post. This Venn diagram shows the qualifications of those people who “Get Paid to Touch Your Junk,” namely, doctors, prostitutes and Transportation Security Administration agents. Like the monsters diagram, this one also shows a static set of traits and compares and contrasts a set of three different categories using the overlapping circles of a Venn diagram.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/27/touch-junk-venn-diagram_n_801531.html

A Look at Maps

Krysta Brown
Infographics 4150
Maps Assignment

1. One map I saw appeared in a Columbia Missourian article on Feb. 17, and it talks about the city council’s proposal to set up late-night taxi stands. The graphic is trying to show the areas of downtown where the stands would be located, and which zones would be off-limits, in the council’s effort to control where the cab drivers can park and when they can accept passengers.
The strength of this map is its simplicity—it is fairly easy to tell where the lines are drawn against cabbies, so to speak. It gets the message across. But in terms of eye-catching appeal, it is not the most visually appealing. I think this may be because of the bold red line and simple red dots for the taxi stands. To make it more interesting, I think the designer could have been a little more creative, maybe by putting yellow cars instead of red dots and putting in simple graphics of well-known downtown landmarks, like the Tiger Hotel or whatever is on Ninth Street to allow viewers to get their bearings in a more engaging way. Also, this graphic could not stand alone but would be better paired with an article explaining the story.


http://www.columbiamissourian.com/multimedia/graphic/2011/02/17/city-council-considers-late-night-taxi-stands/


2. Another blog called “Medical Marijuana by State” is a simple colored map of the U.S., with varying shades of green for the states used to connote the degrees of leniency and tolerance that state has regarding medicinal marijuana based on policies and laws passed. To provide additional context, the caption reads: “The dark green represents states that allow medicinal marijuana. Light green represents states with marijuana-friendly laws or pending legislation. Alaska and Hawaii (not pictured) allow medicinal marijuana.” The graphic includes a sidebar of medicinal benefits it says the plant has been proven to possess, as well as a click-through gallery of state-by-state legislation/policies, which definitely provides a clear indication of the locations the map is showing.



http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20345389_1,00.html

3. I really like this map that ran in the San Diego Union Tribune. It shows a very detailed, organized, clean map of where an air show of about 200 Navy planes from over the various eras will be flying over the San Diego Bay and the Naval Air Station for a signature air show. The map shows the direct course the planes will take, and includes several explanatory paragraphs that enable it to stand alone, though the Tribune did have an accompanying story.


http://apple.copydesk.org/uploads/2011/02/1102SanDiegoAir12.jpg

4. Likewise, this map, though slightly dated, comes from some of the world’s best in graphic design, The New York Times. It is from May of 2010 and it shows a colored map of the U.S.—divided into counties—and shaded with varying degrees of reddish-orange to show the highest rates of unemployment and the percentage change over the course of a year. In addition, it is also a roll-over graphic that lets you see each individual county’s rate and percentage change. Boone County’s was 6.7 percent, down 0.5 percent from the previous year and less than the national average of 9.6 percent. Strengths: visually appealing, detailed, not too cluttered, maximum information in short amount of time, interactive and engaging. Weaknesses: this graphic still probably couldn’t stand on its own, simply because it requires more context to explain the impact of the recession.
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/03/03/us/20090303_LEONHARDT.html

5. Another amazingly interactive map on The Guardian’s website shows all the earthquake activity around the world and is updated live. It shows a map of the world in panoramic view and allows you to click on an area to zoom in and get more information about the earthquakes there.For example, if you click on the North America region and zoom to the circle showing activity in the Missouri/Arkansas area, you will see that Arkansas has had 3 earthquakes/seismic activity occurrences in the past two weeks. It’s easy, illustrative, and once again engaging viewers in learning information that is most relevant to them.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/interactive/2011/feb/22/earthquake-map-world

A Look at Charts

1. One of the graphics I found appeared in the New York Times online. The graphic accompanied an article about companies reacting to rising commodity costs by raising prices on basic consumer goods, from lunchmeat to shoes. The graph was actually a set of three fairly simple fever charts depicting the rising costs of cotton, copper and corn since 2005. The data on the chart clearly show a spike in costs in 2011. The graphic’s other strengths include its simplicity, its legibility — as in, no extraneous figures or lines cluttering the view of the data — and its consistency between the 3 graphs charting different commodities. I thought that style tied the information in together and allowed readers to be able to immediately tell that the price of those goods had spiked, whether or not they read the article. That said, it’s still not the most exciting or eye-catching graphic, and it might have a hard time catching someone’s eye if they did not already have an interest in the topic.
http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2011/02/14/business/0214-prices-gfx.html?ref=business



2. I really liked a chart in the Missourian called “Battle of the Sexes” because it was an entertaining, creative way to illustrate the relationships between the team members on the men and women’s teams and their coaches. The strengths include the creativity and interesting topic, as well as a visually appealing design using just half of each player’s face and a vertical alignment of that player’s response to each question. Weakness: I think it would have made more sense to place Coach Pingeton’s face on the far right side, since Coach Zimmerman’s was on the far left.
http://www.columbiamissourian.com/multimedia/graphic/2011/02/11/tiger-tipoff-battle-sexes/



3. This chart from shows the stock prices for CBOE Holdings Inc. for the past eight months. Strengths: it is immediately visible what the article wants you to see: that the stock prices plummeted last year, then evened out somewhat and now have risen 5.3 percent in the last month. Weaknesses: based on the headline, if you are unfamiliar with stock market jargon, you would be lost in the headline alone. Also, for one unfamiliar with stocks, it is unclear what the price range is for the closing figures until you read the article and see that it is in millions of dollars.
http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=178228


4. This chart appeared in the Columbia Tribune. It’s a fairly basic chart showing the hierarchical structure of the Columbia Police Department. Its purpose was to illustrate the changes in the chain of command that are happening under the new system as it is being reconstructed. It was part of the article “Reorganizing the Law.” The weakness for this graphic are that it is unable to stand alone; it does not make sense to someone unless they also read the article.
http://www.columbiatribune.com/photos/2011/feb/13/24264/


5. This graphic appeared in a blog about the Hudson Bay ice coverage and how it has been affected in recent years by certain environmental factors, and whether these trends have been incorrectly attributed to El Nino and La Nina in the media. The weaknesses of the graph are that it’s not easy to pick up on what it is talking about if it were standing alone; even after reading the article, it was difficult for me to understand what was being shown, since it looked as though the end result was the same in all of the data trends. Upon second glance, however, I realized that what I was seeing is the amount of ice coverage being much less at the beginning of the winter months for each subsequent year.

http://nsidc.org/images/arcticseaicenews/20110202_Figure4.png