Category: Uncategorized

  • The 2013 Budget Proposal Visualisation Comparison Part II

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    Brendan Barry
    in

    The previous two entries have been about visualisations of the administration’s budget proposal for 2013. Today’s will be (probably) the last in such a theme. Perhaps some wonder if not the bubbles and circles of the Times’ visualisation, what? Some might answer bar charts. Because we all love bar charts. But, as in this example…

  • The 2013 Budget Proposal Visualisation Comparison

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    by

    Brendan Barry
    in

    Yesterday’s post was about the administration’s 2013 budget proposal as visualised by the New York Times. This morning we have a brief comparison to the visualisation of the Washington Post. The main visualisation shows spending by department compared against revenue, the difference between being the grey box of deficit. Of note is that this piece…

  • 2013 Budget Proposal

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    Brendan Barry
    in

    Normally, I look forward to the release of the president’s budget proposed budget—fully understanding that it will never pass as proposed. We get to see lots of visualisations trying to show that we really do spend quite a lot on defence. And an awful lot on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. And a little bit…

  • Adding Guided Context to Maps

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    Brendan Barry
    in

    Maps are cool. They show the geographic distribution of data. And that is fantastic if there is a story in said distribution. But even if there is a story, sometimes given both the scale of the map and the amount of data encoded in the map, how could you possibly expect to find the story?…

  • Circle Charts ca. 1937

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    Brendan Barry
    in

    Another image from my 1930s algebra book is on pie charts, or what was then called circle charts. And while the utility of such a chart form has not changed, especially in these examples, the circle chart of the 1930s had one particular good use for students. Constructing it. Today a student plugs in numbers…

  • How to Use Good Data Visualisation in Your Private Life

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    Brendan Barry
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    Often we think of graphs, charts, and other forms of data visualisation as a means to exploring the economic growth of so and so, or visualising traffic patterns, of explaining the complexities of science, or the reporting of yesterday’s news. But, we can all use data visualisation in our own lives to help make better…

  • Comparing the (Display of) Results in Colorado

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    Brendan Barry
    in

    Mitt Romney lost badly last night. No way around that. But as I watched the results come in through various sources, I noticed two interesting design decisions that made me think; one from the Guardian (the British perspective), and the other from the New York Times. Using only Colorado as an example, here is the…

  • Replacing the Bay Bridge for the Long Term

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    Brendan Barry
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    Bridges are vital parts of infrastructure networks connecting two separate pieces of territory, but often they can be choke points. Damage to a bridge can result to isolation at worst and at best long, circuitous reroutes that add significant time to travel. In the San Francisco area authorities are building a new bridge to replace…

  • A Win for New Jersey

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    Brendan Barry
    in

    So apparently there was a game last night? I didn’t get the chance to watch it, I was busy updating this blog here. The changes ought to make it easier to be more social, since that’s the thing these days. But, so about that game, apparently New Jersey won. Congratulations to the New Jersey Giants of…

  • Picture Graphs ca. 1937

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    Brendan Barry
    in

    Among my legions of books are a few from my grandfather’s days when he was a student. After going through some photos yesterday, I realised that I had taken photos of his elementary school algebra text book. Among the first chapters was an entire section on graphing and chart types. I hope to go through…