HelpMeViz » Interactive

Cross-Country Inequality

helpmeviz@gmail.com — Tue, 03 Jun 2014 02:08:49 +0000

For this visualization I decided to focus on the economic inequality within regions represented by the data. Highlighting each region with its own chart, one can see the dispersion of social equality or inequality within each region. I also chose to focus a viewer’s attention on the averages of that group. I decided that on the y-axis to show just how far from the median income those in the 10th percentile (low income earners) and 90th percentile (high income earners) are and the income distance between each group. On the x-axis each country is plotted on the x-axis where they fall on the Gini coefficient. As a static piece one can only view the averages with the other countries ghosted in and it still works. But in an interactive version one can mouse over and reveal which country is which.

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The Cost of War

helpmeviz@gmail.com — Mon, 07 Apr 2014 13:18:00 +0000

This request for help with an interactive visualization built in d3 comes from Tim Hayes.

This interactive visualization presents the thousands of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan between 2001 and 2014.

The data came from the Washington Post’s Faces of the Fallen site, which contains an impressive collection of information including the details behind each fatality alongside a photo. I appreciate the way the Post has humanized the loss of so many soldiers and I wanted offer a visualization of the individuals related to a big picture view of the total. To do so, I plotted all 6,774 data points separately rather than aggregating them in simplified charts.

It was a challenge to plot so many points in a visually interesting way and to do so while honoring those who have paid the ultimate price. How could it be improved?

Tim has posted the project on his GitHub page, the source data is available here, and you can get directly to the interactive by clicking here.

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Trajectories of Obesity

helpmeviz@gmail.com — Thu, 03 Apr 2014 13:25:31 +0000

This request comes from Joyce Lee at the University of Michigan.

I published this paper long ago on trends in obesity over people’s lives. The images from that paper can be found in this PPT file (the data is embedded in the charts).

I am trying to show the changes in obesity over time for birth cohorts, but I have been told that these graphs are really hard to understand. I am looking for feedback from others about how to more effectively communicate these trends. In this iteration, I will be creating an interactive version of the graphs, but am first looking for help on improving how the data are graphically displayed.

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Causes of Death and Disability

helpmeviz@gmail.com — Mon, 06 Jan 2014 14:30:42 +0000

Mike Freeman, from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, submitted this interactive visualization for feedback and advice. He is requesting comments on three specific areas (but, sorry, the data are not available):

1. Scales: When you switch categories (sex, for example), the scale changes to accommodate the new range. We put a lock icon to the left of the y-axis, but this only allows locking across years. Is there a good way to design scale schemas such that people don’t misinterpret updates when both data and scales change? Perhaps transition the data on the current scale, then change the scale.

2. Uncertainty: There is notable uncertainty around some of the estimates—in fact, I worked on another visual designed specifically to represent the uncertainty in the estimates. Any thoughts on a good way to represent uncertainty in a stacked bar chart?

3. Simplicity versus flexibility: We wanted users to be able to view the data however they wanted—to choose the metric, unit, sex, location, and year. Unfortunately, I think the number of controls can overwhelm users and there is nothing that simply states what the user is actually viewing (space was limited). What approaches have people used to offer simplicity to a broad audience while providing flexibility to advanced/interested users?

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State Migration Flows

helpmeviz@gmail.com — Tue, 17 Dec 2013 13:55:55 +0000

In late November, Chris Ingraham posted his interactive remake of a radial network diagram of state-level U.S. migration data. He’s asking the community for alternative approaches. Below is a sample of the text from the alternative on his bl.ocks page, but check out the full post for all the details. The data come from existing tabulations from the 2012 American Community Survey. (Please note that this is a request for help with an interactive visualization.)

“I thought there might be a better way to display these data, but I wasn’t right. I stuck with a map, drawing circles for each state sized by net migration (comings minus goings) and colored according to whether the state gained or lost residents overall. To get at individual state flows, click a state – paths radiate inwards and outwards from state to state, depending on the net migration flow between the two.”

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