Posts tagged Visualization

The BP oil spill overlaid on a map of NYC, courtesy of If It Was My Home (via Flowing Data) Incredibly effective way to bring home the magnitude of this clusterfuck.  People are notoriously bad at conceptualizing large numbers/areas.  By overlaying the spill on an understood geography, this map changes people’s thinking from the incomprehensible (“10,000 square miles”) to the estimable (“from Boston to Philly”).  It’s a great illustration of a classic marketing lesson: if you want to make a point, make it in terms your audience can understand.

The BP oil spill overlaid on a map of NYC, courtesy of If It Was My Home (via Flowing Data)

Incredibly effective way to bring home the magnitude of this clusterfuck.  People are notoriously bad at conceptualizing large numbers/areas.  By overlaying the spill on an understood geography, this map changes people’s thinking from the incomprehensible (“10,000 square miles”) to the estimable (“from Boston to Philly”).  It’s a great illustration of a classic marketing lesson: if you want to make a point, make it in terms your audience can understand.

Detroit, visualized by race and ethnicity. Part of an excellent series by Eric Fischer that reveals the stark racial divides within American cities. That sharply defined slash from east to west is 8 Mile Road.  It’s just as obvious on the ground. Thanks to Brad Gillespie for the pointer.

Detroit, visualized by race and ethnicity. Part of an excellent series by Eric Fischer that reveals the stark racial divides within American cities.

That sharply defined slash from east to west is 8 Mile Road.  It’s just as obvious on the ground.

Thanks to Brad Gillespie for the pointer.

Beautiful visualization of North American air traffic by Aaron Koblin. He also did The Wilderness Downtown for Arcade Fire and The Johnny Cash Project. Spend some time on his site. Well worth it.

aaronkoblin.com