Examining How We Measure Our Lives
Commentary, critiques, and observations on information design and data visualisation
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Read on…: Chocolate All Over the World
There are a few things in this world that I really dislike. Two of them are coffee and chocolate. So this map from the Guardian, a map made of real melted chocolate, is not quite to my liking. While I can appreciate the concept behind it—regardless of the chocolate-ness—I am left to wonder if from […]
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Rising Seas
Read on…: Rising SeasVia the Guardian, Stamen Design has teamed up with Climate Central to create an interactive piece that maps the potential effects of rising sea levels. The user has control over the amount of the rise—this graphic says four feet—after which the coastline recedes to reveal the devastation. This is complemented by statistics of the land, […]
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The First Rule Is You Don’t Talk About It
Read on…: The First Rule Is You Don’t Talk About ItThere are two things one is not supposed to discuss in mixed company, and let us face it, the internet is some rather mixed company. One of those things, politics, I frequently mention and bring up on this blog. The other, religion, I do not. Until now. (I think.) From the National Post comes this […]
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Comparing Surgeries
Read on…: Comparing SurgeriesWe have an obesity problem in the United States. And in some cases, obesity leads to diabetes. A study was commissioned to discover whether surgery is more effective than the usual prescription of drugs, diet, and exercise. It turns out that surgery may very well be more effective. The New York Times produced an infographic […]
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Follow the Money
Read on…: Follow the MoneyFollow the money is almost always good advice. And in this case, the journalists over at ProPublica have done just that. They have visualised just where the campaign (and Super PAC) dollars are going using an interactive Sankey diagram. And then for those interested in how this was made, ProPublica provides those details as well. […]
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A Timeline of Deaths in Syria
Read on…: A Timeline of Deaths in SyriaThe civil war in Syria rages on. The following graphic from the New York Times accompanies the article and uses a calendar-style timeline to look at the mounting death toll. The visualisation type appears more and more often for time-based data sets shaped around days; we all (usually) understand how calendars work and are shaped. […]
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21st Century Prohibition
Read on…: 21st Century ProhibitionThis map comes from the BBC, which investigates prohibition in the 21st century at the local level, as the national policy ended in the early decades of the 20th century. Credit for the map goes to John Walton, Harjit Kaura, and Nadzeya Batson.