Analyzing & Visualizing Data

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Select any example of a visualization or infographic, maybe your own work or that of others. The task is to undertake a deep, detailed ‘forensic’ like assessment of the design choices made across each of the five layers of the chosen visualization’s anatomy. In each case your assessment is only concerned with one design layer at a time.
For this task, take a close look at the annotation choices:
1. Start by identifying all the annotation features deployed, listing them under the headers of either project or chart annotation
2. How suitable are the choices and deployment of these annotation features? If they are not, what do you think they should have been?
3. Go through the set of ‘Influencing factors’ from the latter section of the book’s chapter to help shape your assessment and to possibly inform how you might tackle this design layer differently
4. Also, considering the range of potential annotation features, what would you do differently or additionally?
Submit a two-page document answering all of the questions above. Be sure to show the visualization first and then thoroughly answer the above questions. Ensure that there are at least two-peer reviewed sources utilized this week to support your work.

 

Sample Solution

Visualization:

[Insert visualization or infographic here]

Annotation features deployed:

  • Project annotation:
    • Title: “Global Internet Usage by Country”
    • Subtitle: “Data as of 2023”
    • Source: “Internet World Stats”
  • Chart annotation:
    • Axis labels: “Country” (x-axis) and “Internet users (millions)” (y-axis)
    • Data labels: Number of internet users in millions for each country
    • Legend: Indicates which color represents each continent
    • Gridlines: Help to make the data easier to read and interpret

Suitability of annotation choices and deployment:

The annotation choices made in this visualization are generally suitable and effective. The project annotation provides all of the necessary information about the visualization, including the title, subtitle, and source. The chart annotation is also clear and concise, providing helpful labels and gridlines.

One potential improvement would be to add a footnote to the chart annotation explaining that the data is as of 2023. This would help to ensure that viewers are aware of the age of the data and can interpret it accordingly.

Influencing factors:

Here are some of the influencing factors that may have shaped the design of the annotation layer in this visualization:

  • Purpose: The purpose of the visualization is to inform viewers about global internet usage by country. The annotation choices reflect this purpose by providing clear and concise information about the data and the visualization itself.
  • Audience: The visualization is likely intended for a general audience. The annotation choices are appropriate for a general audience, as they are easy to understand and do not require any specialized knowledge.
  • Data: The visualization is based on data from Internet World Stats, which is a reputable source. The annotation choices accurately reflect the data and its source.
  • Design: The visualization has a simple and clean design. The annotation choices are consistent with the overall design of the visualization.

How I might tackle this design layer differently:

One way to improve the annotation layer of this visualization would be to add more context to the data. For example, the annotation could include a brief explanation of the factors that influence internet usage in different countries. This would help viewers to better understand the data and its implications.

Another way to improve the annotation layer would be to make it more interactive. For example, the annotation could include links to additional information about internet usage in each country. This would allow viewers to explore the data in more depth if they are interested.

Potential annotation features:

Here are some other potential annotation features that could be used in this visualization:

  • Tooltips: Tooltips can be used to provide additional information about data points when viewers hover over them. For example, a tooltip could provide the exact number of internet users in a country or the percentage of the population that uses the internet.
  • Drill-down: Drill-down allows viewers to explore the data in more detail. For example, viewers could drill down from the global view to see internet usage data for a specific continent or country.
  • Contextual information: Contextual information can be used to help viewers understand the data in context. For example, the annotation could include information about the population of each country or the level of economic development.

Overall, the annotation layer in this visualization is well-designed and effective. However, there are a few potential improvements that could be made, such as adding more context to the data and making the annotation more interactive.

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