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Lollipop Charts
A lollipop chart is a novel spin on the classic and universally appreciated bar chart. Applicable in the same situations as the illustrious bar chart, lollipops serve the same purpose but have the added benefit of cutting back on unnecessary clutter. When your data has a large number of data points being compared or you’re just aiming for a simpler visualization (that saves on ink!) a lollipop chart stands out as a strong alternative.
Some research (Blasio & Bisantz, 2002) even shows that lollipop design can lead to faster response times and greater accuracy (Gillan & Richman, 1994). Some other studies have shown (Inbar, Tractinsky & Meyer, 2007) that lollipop charts are not viewed as visually appealing as the timeless bar chart. As time goes on and these new minimalists styles of data visualization command more mainstream use, who knows what the future holds?
Below is a chart showing the percent of National GDP each of the top ten states makes up:
A simple, no-frills method that shows the single important value for each data point clearly and quickly, that is the strength of the lollipop chart.
Using Visualization in Health
The implementation of visualization in health is a very crucial part in simplifying health literacy for the average individual/patient. This is especially true when one considers that patients come from many different cultures and backgrounds, all of which have an abundance of different languages. If done properly, a visualization transcends language barriers and cultural differences between a patient and a healthcare provider. With that being said, the Visualization in health website offers a variety of resources in order to create a proper visualization. To begin with, the website offers many different options for the types of graphs someone can use in order to measure a certain topic. There are disparities graphs and individual risk graphs which measure the likelihood of someone having a certain type of diseases/condition. There are also very simple risk graphs which can tell one their likelihood of contracting a certain type of disease based on the individuals health. As seen above, a simple graph was created in order to show the likelihood of someone contracting type 2 diabetes within their lifetime. The data being shown is very easy to understand and the graph properly conveys the values with proper labels. All of this was done in the span of 2 to 3 minutes and the features were very user friendly. People all around the world can use these features not only to see their likelihood of contracting a certain medical condition but also to find out what their current level of fitness is. All in all, this website can be used by both health professionals and regular patients in order to find out information and is a major part of data visualization.
Insightful Data Visualization
Data graphics are an especially useful way to share information quickly and effectively. Somewhere data graphics can be useful is the classroom. To summarize from “8 Examples of How Middle Schools Can Incorporate Infographics in the Classroom” article from Venngage; within a classroom there is so much information for student to absorb. Having data graphics on the walls of the class would greatly help students in retaining information. Other ways data graphics could be used is for introducing new material to students, the visuals will be a nice aid for student who are learning topics for the first time. In conclusion information graphics can be a helpful tool for students.
The Importance Of Infographics and Data Visualizations
https://visme.co/blog/best-data-visualizations/
Infographics is an everyday part of our lives. There are many instances where it can be used to aid others in understanding certain complex concepts through the use of visual aids. It can be used anywhere from teachers trying to teach a class about a certain topic, or a marketing firm presenting a new product. One such method that uses infographics includes the use of data visualizations to not only observe but also predict the current course of asteroids in space. According to Visme, NASA’s eyes on asteroids visualizations ” provides up-to date information on the position and trajectory of asteroids”. This means that NASA is able to use the data visualization to possibly see any threats that could be approaching our planet and prepare ahead of time. Furthermore, as shown by the picture above, the data visualization contains a plethora of information about many asteroid paths with their names and projected paths. There are even some planets that are within our solar system such as Jupiter. The abundant amount of information being shown in such an easy to understand manner is only possible because of infographics. To add on to this, there is also a higher chance of the information being shown to be retained by the audience because of its simplicity. It has long been known that people are typically more likely to remember information that leave a strong impression on them, and portraying a 3D real time model of space is definitely one way to do that. However, predicting asteroids isn’t the only thing that infographics are used for. There are also many data visualizations that analyze the social or historical aspects of society such as the seven wonders. With that being said, Infographics is a major resource that can be utilized in many ways in order to learn, retain, and predict information.
Tools that may help us construct Infographics
There are many tools and websites that can help you construct an infographic with one easy search on Google. From my quick research, I found that the easiest websites to navigate (not the best) and create an infographic are Canva, Adobe Express, and Infogram. Canva is known for its user-friendly, intuitive interface that makes it usable by users with different degrees of design ability. To produce infographics with a professional appearance, you are not required to be a graphic designer. Infographic templates in a variety of designs, topics, and uses are available from Canva. These pre-designed, eye-catching templates can help you get going quickly. You can pick a template based on the type of content and presentation you prefer. Adobe Express makes it so have precise control over the design of your infographic, it enables you to generate scalable visuals and icons, utilize a variety of drawing tools, and work with layers. Infogram makes it easier to create infographics by providing a user-friendly interface, pre-designed templates, and data visualization tools, enabling users to quickly create informative and aesthetically pleasing infographics.
Sources : https://www.practicalecommerce.com/tools-for-creating-infographics
- https://www.unboxsocial.com/blog/tools-to-create-engaging-infographics/
- https://shrutideshpande.co.uk/why-infographics-are-important-to-your-content-marketing/
Infographics
By Shaun Sneddon
- Examples of insightful data visualizations:
- First example I found that very interesting because I do love Star Wars was a graph of all the characters (over 20,000) are connected.
- The second example I found intriguing was a 3D data visual of where higher populations are located in Europe. When you look at a map of Europe you see the cities and can think that’s where a lot of people live but with this 3D visual you can see where people are vastly located.
- Example datasets for potential project use:
- Airline Safety
- Traffic accidents in a community
- Fatal Car accidents by country
- Stress at universities
- Tools that may help us construct Infographics:
- There is many websites that can help students construct Infographics such as Infogram, Adobe Express, and many more.
- Tools such as accessing data and images on the Internet.
- Website used for the images https://careerfoundry.com/en/blog/data-analytics/data-visualization-examples/
Sankey Visualizations
A Sankey Diagram is a visualization that Is used to depict a flow from one set of values to another. They help locate the most important contributions to a flow. Sankey visualizations are best used when the topic is energy, time, or money.
Although there is a ton of information presented in this visualization and it seems cluttered, I think this is the most effective way to view this data. This visualization is super effective considering that there are so many different aspects on this chart that are combined into one piece. Firstly, the energy system is broken down into the types of energy on the left hand side. The visualization allows you to click on each tab. When you click on each type of energy, it shows you what percentage of energy is expended and where it goes. For example, when you click on solar energy it shows you that solar energy accounts for 0.42% of all energy expended, and that 0.17% goes to electricity, and 0.25% goes to residential use. The infographic then breaks it down even more. It shows the amount of energy that is unused, and used from each category (electricity, residential, commercial, industrial, transportation). The thickness of the flow indicates the amount of energy. For example, you can see that most of the energy from transportation is unused because a larger flow moves from transportation to unused energy. All in all, there is so much information that can be digested from this visualization. It appears to be a lot, but when you break it down into pieces it is very effective. I believe this is the best way to display this information.
Pie Charts
This data set is a perfect case for a pie chart. The percentages add up to 100. This means that all of the parts add up to a whole, which is a crucial part of a pie chart. A pie chart is also good to use here because there are only 6 categories. There is not too much going on and the chart does not look cluttered. It is very easy to read and the audience can easily compare the sizes of the slices to each other to tell which sport is more popular.
The data here is not served better as something other than a pie. A bar chart would work, but a pie chart is the most effective visualization for this data set.
I came across multiple design strategies to make this pie chart more appealing. First I color coded the different slices. This makes it easier to differentiate the slices from one another. Another thing I did was I put the category name and percentage in every slice of the pie. The percentage provides a more in depth look at the data. Also, adding the category name allowed me to take away the legend. This makes it easier for the reader to digest the information. They no longer have to glance at the legend, then to the chart, then back and forth. All of the information is in the pie chart.