Making-visualizations

List each item you identify using the following format. The easiest way is to copy and paste the template. For now don't bother grouping them, we'll collect a bunch first and then see what the appropriate categories are based on what we find.

Google Doc instead? Yes

Pattern

1. Another pithy idea. Why it's important. How to accomplish it. [Where It's From, page number/URL. curator initials]

Example

1. Choose color combinations with good contrast. This makes it easier for people to separate the principle components. Identify a set to use and then ask your colleagues for feedback, use a web-based color choosing tool. [Charlie's Book of Viz, page 33. cfp]

Entries

Start-Up

• "Excellence in statistical graphics consists of complex ideas communicated with clarity, precision, and efficiency. Graphical displays should:
  • show the data
  • induce the viewer to think about the substance rather than about methodology, graphic design, the technology of graphic production, or something else
  • avoid distorting what the data have to say
  • present many numbers in a small space
  • make large data sets coherent
  • encourage the eye to compare different p[pieces of data
  • reveal the data at several levels of detail, from a broad overview to the fine structure
  • serve a reasonably clear purpose: description, exploration, tabulation, or decoration
  • be closely integrated with the statistical and verbal descriptions of a data set"
  • - "The Visual Display of Quantitative Information", pg. 13
• "Graphics should be reserved for the richer, more complex, more difficult statistical material." - "The Visual Display of Quantitative Information", pg. 30
• Integrate words/numbers/pictures in one space (“The Visual Display of Quantitative Information”, Chapter 9, p.180-181):
  • Integrate supportive text to the plotting filed to make the information perception easier for the viewer
  • The size of type could be quite small
  • Keep table, graph, words packaged in one place of the page – they all speak the same information
  • Words on and around the graphics are highly effective in telling viewers how to allocate their attention to the various parts of data display
  • For graphics words should tell the viewer how to read the design and not what to read in terms of content
  • Make the reader choose how to perceive an information, do whatever it takes to understand the material (from presentation)
• Graphical practices
  • If the nature of the data suggests the shape of graphic, follow the suggestion. Otherwise, move towards horizontal graphics about 50 percent wider than tall ((“The Visual Display of Quantitative Information”, Chapter 9,186-190)
    • Horizontally stretched time-series are more accessible to the eye (186)
    • Shaded, calm, high contrast display might be better (187)
    • Ease of labeling: easier to read from left to right on a horizontally stretched plotting-field (187)
    • Emphasis on casual influence (187)
    • Wider-than-tall shapes make it easier to follow from left to right (188)
  • Mapped Pictures to portray large quantities of data at high densities(“Beautiful Evidence”, 12-46)
    • Include labels directly on the picture (43)
    • Important comparisons among images should be pointed out to viewers by means of annotation, arrows, labels, highlighting (45)
    • Useful to show both unmapped and mapped images (45)
    • Every image should always reside on the universal measurement grid of 3-space and time, should accompany rescaling and zooming in and out (45)
  • Micro/Macro Readings (“Envisioning Information”, 37-53)
    • Reports immense detail, organizing complexity through multiple and hierarchical layers of contextual reading (38)
  • Choose friendly data graphic. (“The Visual Display of Quantitative Information”, Chapter 9, p.183)
    • Words are spelled out, elaborate encoding is avoided
    • Words run from left to right
    • Little messages help explain data
    • Elaborately encoded shadings, cross-hatching, colors are avoided. Instead labels are placed on the graphic, no legend required
    • Colors if used are chosen so that color-deficient/ color-blind can make sense of it (choose blue)
    • type is clear, precise, modest
    • Type is upper and lower case, with serifs
    • the more the letters are different from each other, the easier is the reading
    • all upper case letter is the hardest read
  • graphical elements look better when their relative proportions are in balance. (“The Visual Display of Quantitative Information”, Chapter 9, p.184-186)
    • lines in data graphics should be thin (185)
    • choose intersection of lines of different weights – contrast in line weight represents contrast in meaning (185)
    • Choosing perpendicular intersections of lines of different weight, the heavier line should be a data measure (186)
• Manners of presenting (from the lecture)
  • Research problem, examples of problem solutions
  • Content: what the problem is, relevance, solution
  • Dedicate 8 min of you presentation for audience to pre-read of the material
  • Present the material as it was given for the pre-read. Nothing like repetition improves the understanding
  • Credibility on speech: give the reasons to believe - documentation
  • Conclude with question to personalize/particularize
  • Inefficiency of PowerPoint – it is stuck in time

Reading Summaries

• Scientific and engineering - Mobeen
• Financial Data - Elena
• Decision making Based on Evidence - Emily