All posts by Carolina Acosta

Makeover Assignment

mobileusers2

mobileusers2

 

MAKEOVER ASSIGNMENT

After searching for a data visualization to redo did I realize how many terrible data visualizations there are out there. In many ways, they can confuse, overwhelm, and/or un-impress. This info graphic was not so terrible and simple to look out but held little information that was not rendered for impact to the viewer. The visuals were supposed to show what percentage of each country’s population were mobile-only internet users. The size of the bubble for each country’s label is supposed to show the percentage size compared to other countries. The map shows the location of each country, the gray areas shows the countries that didn’t have sufficient data.

My info graphic is different in that instead of visualizing just the percentages comparing each country, the viewer can also see the population of each country, the percentage of mobile users in comparison to that country in order to see numbers overall of users. In the original map, Egypt has the largest circle because 70% of its population is mobile-only. However, in the new map, India and China have a lot more people that are mobile-only despite the fact that each hold a lesser percentage than Egypt. The  color of each country changes as well, showing the density of users in comparison, the  countries with a low percentage are a lighter blue while the higher percentage are darker.

Research Assignment

Link

Hi there.

After the most intense internet searching of my life, I found some pretty cool things to share with you all. Here they are:

Data Visual Aggregator: webdesignledger.com 
It’s one of those conglomerate websites that shows lists of interesting web related things, many of them info graphics. What was most appealing of the website was the pretty good tips in a few of the articles/lists and the topics that curated the visual data.

A Visualization: Josh Worth’s Pixel Universe 
This is by far the most time consuming search I did but it really puts into perspective the solar system like you’ve never seen it before. Definitely fun to read and very well considered in design.

Artist/Designer: Loren Munk
An oil paint artist/ you tuber/art critic that paints wildly intricate, text heavy paintings of NY city life, geography, and art scene. It combines the complexity of data and digital with the painterly and organic look of a fine arts piece. My favorite
 Tatiana Plakhova is also incredible! She creates works within what she calls ‘network  visualization‘.

Visualization Tool: Tableausoftware
Tableau uses a body of different databases and other software (VizQL, Live Query, and In-Memory Data) to create a cleaner understanding of data for companies.

Data Collection Tool: IBM SPSS Statistics Software 
An extreme version of Excel, SPSS Stats uses basic data management and documentation with the addition of several features that simplify the experience for the ease of the user.

Discussion Forum: Devshed.com
One of the cleaner forums in my search, devshed is organized by programming language forums, tools, and articles. It contains a lot of information but is navigable through a pull down menu and icons for almost everything.

Criticism: Slate Blog Criticizes Rape Infographic 
By Amanda Marcotte. A simple visualization of rapists tried, convicted, and falsely accused compared to the amount of actual rapists demonstrated how impactful visual data could be to those without the facts and those with. It fired up a conversation over not just accuracy issues but the incorrect message given out to internet users.

Data Source: Data.gov
This database is clean and simple. Organized by categories, one can dive into any large theme and find several documents with government- found, reliable information.

Data Ethics: A Code of Ethics for Data Visualization Professionals
This straightforward article discusses what is to be expected out of a data visualizer. Three important tips I received were do not assume and if necessary make it known, give credit to all sources being used, and create a hierarchical system that communicates the data clearly.

A Book:
TBA