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Criticism

Robert Kosara / August 5, 2012

Edward Tufte’s One Day Course: A Review

Last Monday, I got to attend Edward Tufte’s one-day course. I was looking forward to a day of interesting examples, ideas, and discussions, but was disappointed by the amount of rambling and largely historical examples, with little connection to real, current visualization (or presentation) work.
[Read more…] about Edward Tufte’s One Day Course: A Review

Robert Kosara / July 22, 2012

Cognitive Dissonance on the River Tyne

Moritz Stefaner and Stephan Thiel have created a visualization of sensor data acquired by a floating mill on the river Tyne in Newcastle upon Tyne, Great Britain. Their choice of a flow metaphor for non-flow data creates a cognitive dissonance that makes the visualization difficult to understand. [Read more…] about Cognitive Dissonance on the River Tyne

Robert Kosara / July 15, 2012

Data Display vs. Data Visualization

Gregor Aisch recently wrote a posting about gauges, and how he finds them inspiring and beautiful in their simplicity, even though they are generally disliked in visualization. His posting highlights a common misconception about visualization, and a conflation of different uses of data display, that is worth exploring.

[Read more…] about Data Display vs. Data Visualization

Robert Kosara / July 9, 2012

A Criticism of Visualization Criticism Criticism

Criticism in visualization can be harsh, pedantic, and stupid. But it is also a useful tool that shows the thinking behind the seemingly simple graphical shapes we use, and teaches people things they might not be aware of. While I largely agree with Andy Kirk’s criticism of visualization criticism and the danger of scaring people away from visualization, his “grown-up criticism” argument cuts both ways: grown-ups can argue a point without getting upset. [Read more…] about A Criticism of Visualization Criticism Criticism

Robert Kosara / February 26, 2012

Quo Vadis, Many Eyes?

Remember when visualization for the masses was all the rage, back in 2007? We were so young and hopeful. Many Eyes and Swivel were the harbingers of a new age of data literacy and well-informed debate. Visualization was going to be social and change the world. Alas, it was not to last. Swivel is gone, and Many Eyes clearly seen its best days. This is despite the fact that interest in visualization is growing, and it turns out that Many Eyes is as busy now as never before. I have scraped some data from the site that shows that despite the lack of updates and new features, people’s use of it is still increasing. The data also gives some interesting insights into what people use it for.

[Read more…] about Quo Vadis, Many Eyes?

Robert Kosara / February 21, 2012

Another Metaphor for Visualization: Writing

Andrew Gelman recently wrote a blog posting in which he draws an interesting comparison between writing styles and graphics styles. I think he’s on to something, and the comparison can be taken a bit further to illustrate some common misunderstandings around visualization. [Read more…] about Another Metaphor for Visualization: Writing

Robert Kosara / January 4, 2012

My Review of Visualize This and Visual Complexity for Science Magazine

I was asked to write a review of two recent visualization books for Science: Nathan Yau’s Visualize This and Manuel Lima’s Visual Complexity. The piece appeared in the last issue of 2011, right before Christmas. Below is a link to the review and some additional comments on it and the two books. [Read more…] about My Review of Visualize This and Visual Complexity for Science Magazine

Robert Kosara / August 21, 2011

Above All, Do No Harm!

Heatmaps and 3D pie charts are often criticized, and for good reason. But they’re not always a bad choice, and can work for simple data presentation. Context is important when criticizing visualizations, especially when there are no obvious improvements that can be made. [Read more…] about Above All, Do No Harm!

Robert Kosara / April 13, 2011

In Defense of Pie Charts

Pie charts don’t get much respect. They’re almost always considered the wrong choice by those supposedly in the know. But how do we know that this is true? What evidence do we have to support this? The truth is, not much. And when we start digging for proof, it turns out that pie charts are much better than we want to admit. [Read more…] about In Defense of Pie Charts

Robert Kosara / March 8, 2011

One Chart To Rule Them All

Finding the right chart for complex data is not an easy task. A reader pointed me to a presentation (PDF) by the New Hampshire Department of Education that illustrates some of the thinking behind choosing a new visual representation. The tool of choice here is the bubble chart. [Read more…] about One Chart To Rule Them All

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