AE 12: Apply Cairo’s qualities of great visualizations

Note

This application exercise is completed in class and submitted via a worksheet.

The five qualities of great visualizations

Alberto Cairo, in his book The Truthful Art, outlines five qualities of great visualizations:

1. Truthful: The visualization should not distort the data.
2. Functional: The visualization should be easy to read and interpret.
3. Beautiful: The visualization should be aesthetically pleasing.
4. Insightful: The visualization should help the viewer understand the data.
5. Enlightening: The visualization should help the viewer see the data in a new way.

Instructions

For one of the visualizations below, critique the visualization using Cairo’s qualities. What is effective about the chart? What could be improved?

Identify at least three design choices that could be implemented to improve the visualization. Be detailed. Possible approaches could include:

• Different chart type
• Additional layers
• Employ facetting
• New color palette
• Annotations (text, arrows, highlighting, etc.)
• Different graphical theme()

Visualizations

Group A

Views on social issues, the economy, and immigration. Source: x.com/janzilinsky

Group B

The Aging United States Congress. Source: ptrdo on r/dataisbeautiful

Group C

The Big Map of Who Lived When? Source: profound_whatever on r/dataisbeautiful