In The Subtleties of Color, Robert Simmons gives us a crash course on color theory for data visualization. Providing examples from his own work as Lead Data Visualizer and Information Designer at NASA, Simmons sheds light on perceptual issues with traditional color choices and provides solutions for semantically resonant visualizations.…
Healy’s chapter on ‘badness’ focuses on the graphic choices that visualizers make when presenting data. He describes the three types of graphical issues: aesthetic, substantive, and perceptual, and explores how each can lead to misinterpretation at best and manipulation at worst. Healy also warns that addressing one or two…
Choropleth maps depict variations in spatial data by shading geographic areas according to a statistical measure. They make use of a gradient of hue, value, and texture, and often follow pre-defined geographic boundaries such as census tracts, cities, states, or countries. ValuesThe choropleth map can represent various values including percentages,…