When maps are used to display data, there is often a discrepancy between the data being shown, which almost never relates to area, and the area of the different parts of the map. This is particularly common in election maps. This new map of votes in the 2016 U.S. Presidential election cleverly combines geography and data in a clear and compelling way. [Read more...] about A Smart Take on Election Maps
Speaking: How to Use A Microphone
When you’re speaking in front of an audience, you’re almost always using a microphone. The point of the microphone is to help your audience hear you. But it can’t do that if you don’t know how to use it or if you actively work against it. [Read more...] about Speaking: How to Use A Microphone
Vis Potpourri, October 2017
A potpourri isn't usually structured, since it's supposed to be thrown together and mixed. But this one has a section on reports from this year's VIS conference, plus various miscellaneous items like a tool to explore a brain atlas, some history on spreadsheets, and a celebration of Archer, among other things. [Read more...] about Vis Potpourri, October 2017
ISOTYPE Book: Florence, Only An Ocean Between
The book Only An Ocean Between by Lella Secor Florence contains some of the most iconic ISOTYPE charts. It was published in 1943, as part of a small series called America and Britain. [Read more...] about ISOTYPE Book: Florence, Only An Ocean Between
Portrait: Danielle Albers Szafir
Danielle Albers Szafir received the Best Paper award for her single-author paper, Modeling Color Difference for Visualization Design at InfoVis this year. She is assistant professor at University of Colorado Boulder and runs the CU VisuaLab there. [Read more...] about Portrait: Danielle Albers Szafir
IEEE VIS 2017: Machine Learning, Diversity, Parties
I've ignored the major new topic this year so far: machine learning. Another new thing this year, though way overdue, was that we finally started to talk about diversity. And then there were the parties. [Read more...] about IEEE VIS 2017: Machine Learning, Diversity, Parties
IEEE VIS 2017: Perception, Evaluation, Vision Science
Questions of how visualization is read and understood are a common topic in research, and this year was no exception. This part of my IEEE VIS 2017 report covers papers dealing with perceptual issues, the match between visualization and tasks, statistical reasoning, as well as a panel on vision science. [Read more...] about IEEE VIS 2017: Perception, Evaluation, Vision Science
IEEE VIS 2017: Word Clouds, Stories, Interaction
I usually stick to the InfoVis track at VIS, and that was also the case this time. The papers in this part of my report from VIS 2017 cover text, small visualizations like sparklines and glyphs, tools for showing story structure, and multi-device interaction with data. [Read more...] about IEEE VIS 2017: Word Clouds, Stories, Interaction
IEEE VIS 2017: Keynote and Capstone
Part 2 of my IEEE VIS 2017 report covers the keynote and capstone talks at the conference. They were not just at opposite ends of the conference, but also about as different as they can be in terms of content and delivery. [Read more...] about IEEE VIS 2017: Keynote and Capstone
IEEE VIS 2017: Best Papers and Other Awards
The IEEE VIS 2017 conference took place last week in Phoenix, AZ. I’m slower to write about it than in previous years, but to make up for that I’m not going in chronological order this time, but will break this report up in a more logical manner. This first part covers the opening, which included presentations of the best papers from all three tracks plus a new Test of Time award category. [Read more...] about IEEE VIS 2017: Best Papers and Other Awards