Tag: charting

  • The Federal Funds Rate

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    Brendan Barry
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    In my new role as data visualisation manager at the Philadelphia Federal Reserve, I am learning a lot about what the Fed does and how it does it. Needless to say, this piece from Bloomberg interested me as it displayed how the federal funds rate has changed over time. What I really enjoy is how…

  • The Electoral College

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    Brendan Barry
    in

    Well today we elect the president of the United States. Wait! you say, did we not just do that a few weeks ago? Not really, no. In the run up to the election, I and others saw the possibility that this election could result in a gap between the national popular vote and the electoral…

  • Pennsylvania’s Polls

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    Brendan Barry
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    Again, the election is next week. And since I have moved from Chicago to Philadelphia, I now find myself in a contested state. This piece comes from the New York Times and explores the polling results across the blue-leaning-but-still-a-swing-state. I find it particularly interesting just how much red and purple there is in the suburban…

  • Baselines Are Important

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    Brendan Barry
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    Last week the Washington Post published a fascinating article on the data visualisation work of the Donald Trump media campaign. In my last job I frequently harped on the importance of displaying the baseline and/or setting the baseline to zero. When you fail to do so you distort the data. But maybe that is the point…

  • UK Performance at the Olympics

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    Brendan Barry
    in

    The Olympics are over and Team GB did rather well, coming in second in the medals table with 27 gold medals, more than they won back in 2012 when they hosted the Olympics. (See my piece four years ago where a colleague of mine and I accurately predicted the UK’s total medal count.) Consequently the…

  • Bye Bye, Yahoo

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    Brendan Barry
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    Happy Monday, all. Some big news stories going on today, but I wanted to take a look at this piece from the New York Times. They report on the sale of Yahoo to Verizon for almost $5 billion via a piece that takes short written analysis and blends it with clear and concise charting. The…

  • Covering Terrorism

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    Brendan Barry
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    Last week we witnessed the lorry attack in Nice, France. This week we have the axeman attack on a German train. Does anybody note, however, the recent terror attacks in Dhaka, Bangladesh? Probably not, according to this insightful piece from FiveThirtyEight. They took a look at journalism’s coverage of terror attacks and whether there are…

  • Expensive Wines

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    Brendan Barry
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    Another Monday, another week, another post. But this week we will try to get by without any more Brexit coverage. So what better way to cure a hangover than with more booze? So let’s start with some fancy wine. I meant to post this piece a little while back, but yeah that unmentionable thing occurred.…

  • Comparing the Brexit Results Designs: Part 3

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    Brendan Barry
    in

    Last one of these critiques—I promise. Earlier this week I looked at the New York Times’ coverage and the BBC’s coverage. Well, today I want to examine the Guardian’s coverage of the Brexit vote results. This piece differs the most from the preceding work and it starts right from the top, literally. I am not the biggest fan of the…

  • Critiquing Brexit Results Designs: Part 2

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    Brendan Barry
    in

    So now it is two weeks since the Brexit vote. Yesterday, I looked at the results designs from the New York Times. Today I want to take a look at those of the BBC. Not surprisingly the two share in the use of choropleth maps; the choice makes a lot of sense. People vote within…