Examining How We Measure Our Lives

Commentary, critiques, and observations on information design and data visualisation

Nuclear Tests

Jan 6, 2016

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by

Brendan Barry

in Infographic

Last night, in the States’ time at least, North Korea purportedly tested a hydrogen bomb. How does this differ from their previous tests? Well, those were all nuclear fission bombs, this is a nuclear fusion bomb. (Admittedly, I am simplifying a lot here.) Hydrogen bombs, the H-bomb, are more powerful and more efficient in that […]
Read on…: Nuclear Tests
Details in Charts

Jan 5, 2016

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by

Brendan Barry

in Infographic

Today we are looking at a smaller piece from the Washington Post. The graphic fits within an article about US stock prices. What the graphic does is show the total scale, i.e. starting the chart on the 0 axis, and then showing in detail the fluctuations near the maximum end of the scale. And yet […]
Read on…: Details in Charts
Married Men

Jan 4, 2016

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Brendan Barry

in Infographic

Sorry for not writing the last few weeks, but I was on a much needed holiday. But I’m back now. And first things first, one of my good mates got engaged whilst I was back in Philadelphia. And so in honour of that we have today’s piece. As the graphic might hint, it’s about marriage. […]
Read on…: Married Men
Trump’s Poll Ratings

Dec 14, 2015

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Brendan Barry

in Infographic

The news this morning carried the latest polling data out of Iowa for the Republicans. And in that state, Ted Cruz now polls above Donald Trump. And so I wanted to share this post from the Economist last week that looks at how Trump rises every time he says something ridiculous. Could it just be […]
Read on…: Trump’s Poll Ratings
More Mass Shootings Than Days in the Year

Dec 8, 2015

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Brendan Barry

in Infographic

A week on from the San Bernadino shootings, I want to touch on the frequency of mass shootings in the United States. This chart from the Washington Post’s blog Wonkblog looks at when mass shootings occurred in the States. And as of 2 December, 355 shootings in 336 days. That’s more than one mass shooting […]
Read on…: More Mass Shootings Than Days in the Year
Syria’s Refugees

Dec 2, 2015

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Brendan Barry

in Infographic

We go from one crisis to another, as we go back to Syria. This piece from Bloomberg is very nicely designed and is almost entirely in black and white. We often think that because computer, everything needs to be in a rainbow of shiny, shiny colours. But here we have places where the designers smartly […]
Read on…: Syria’s Refugees
Climate Change in Charts

Dec 1, 2015

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Brendan Barry

in Infographic

So yesterday we reimagined a less-than-stellar BBC chart. Today, we look at a good chart from the BBC about climate change, timed to coincide with the start of the Paris climate talks. This comes from an article with six charts related to climate change, but it is the best in my mind. Nothing but nice […]
Read on…: Climate Change in Charts
Sugary Sweet Donut Charts

Nov 30, 2015

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by

Brendan Barry

in Infographic, My Work

I know, I know. You probably expect some sort of climate post given the whole Paris thing. But instead, this morning I came across an article where the supporting chart failed to tell the story. So today we redesign it. The BBC has an article about MPs backing a tax on sugary drinks. Within the […]
Read on…: Sugary Sweet Donut Charts
What do People Look for on Black Friday?

Nov 27, 2015

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by

Brendan Barry

in Infographic

Well, today is Black Friday. And so there were probably lines at the door of your local department store at the wee early hours of the morning. But I was working, and partly to bring you this. Google has data on what each state searches for the most. And Vox turned that into a map. […]
Read on…: What do People Look for on Black Friday?
A Royal Nation

Nov 23, 2015

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by

Brendan Barry

in Infographic

You may recall a year and a half ago a post I wrote up about a New York Times piece looking at the fandoms of baseball in the United States. Well fresh off their hometown Royals’ World Series victory, the folks at the Kansas City Star revisited the graphic—driven by Facebook likes—to see if there […]
Read on…: A Royal Nation