Examining How We Measure Our Lives
Commentary, critiques, and observations on information design and data visualisation
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Hotter Muggier Faster
Read on…: Hotter Muggier FasterLast week we looked at a few posts that showed the future impact of climate change at both a global and US-level scale. In the midst of last week and those articles, the Washington Post looked backwards at the past century or so to identify how quickly the US has changed. Spoiler: some places are already significantly warmer than they…
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Lunar Cycles
Read on…: Lunar CyclesYesterday in the early hours of the morning was technically the latest full moon. And so since today is Friday and we all made it to the end of the week, it seems like a good time to let xkcd educate us all on lunar periodicity. Credit for the piece goes to Randall Munroe.
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How Warm Will It Get? Part II
Read on…: How Warm Will It Get? Part IIYesterday we looked at a nice piece from the BBC showing how big cities across the world will warm from the impact of climate change. It did a really nice job of showcasing the numbers. But it was admittedly number heavy. (And for the Americans in my audience, you probably were left out in the…cold…because the rest of the world…
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How Warm Will It Get?
Read on…: How Warm Will It Get?In Philadelphia, this summer has been warmer than average. But with most recent years being warmer than average, that might not mean much. However, a valid question is that with climate change, how much warmer will the city get on average? The BBC recently published an article that explored the temperature changes in cities around the world according to several different…
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Urban Boom Towns
Read on…: Urban Boom TownsToday we look at a piece from the Guardian about the blossoming of some cities from, essentially, out of nowhere. Think similar to how there is really no reason for Las Vegas or Phoenix to exist—cities of hundreds of thousands situated smack in the middle of the desert. But most of these new growth cities, cities from scratch as the…
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Seal of Disapproval
Read on…: Seal of DisapprovalThis is not exactly data visualisation or graphic design. But it made me laugh the other day. And since we all made it to Friday, we could all do for a good laugh. Classify this under my interest in branding and visual identities. Two weeks ago President Trump gave a speech at a conference for young conservatives. Uncontroversially, the organisation hosting…
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Water, Water Everywhere Nor Any Drop to Drink Part II
Read on…: Water, Water Everywhere Nor Any Drop to Drink Part IIYesterday we looked at the New York Times coverage of some water stress climate data and how some US cities fit within the context of the world’s largest cities. Well today we look at how the Washington Post covered the same data set. This time, however, they took a more domestic-centred approach and focused on the US, but at the…
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Water, Water Everywhere Nor Any Drop to Drink
Read on…: Water, Water Everywhere Nor Any Drop to DrinkMost of Earth’s surface is covered by water. But, as any of you who have swallowed seawater can attest, it is not exactly drinkable. Instead, mankind evolved to drink freshwater. And as some new data suggests, that might not be as plentiful in the future because some areas are already under extreme stress. Yesterday the New York Times published an…