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