Student name: Andy Twomey
Student ID number: 09006784
Module title: Tw5211
Assignment 3- Graphics
Graphic 1: Bar Chart—Facebook valuation.
Originally published in: Privco.com, (2011). PrivCo | Research | Facebook Valuation
Suffers First-Ever Consecutive Drop - $5 Billion Erased, Facebook Back to Valuation
from March 2011.
Available at: http://www.privco.com/research/facebook-valuation-suffers-first-everconsecutive-drop-august-24-2011.
Audience: The target demographic is those involved in business and stocks.
Purpose: This Bar chart shows the varying price of Facebook’s company valuation from
December 2010 to August 2011. Privco, a private finance company, designed the chart.
The visual has several problems:

The bar chart starts at $55 (billion) rather than zero. Starting the graph at zero is a
critical factor in how we perceive the information (Robbins, 2004)

The length of the bars is inaccurate. The second bar appears to be twice as high as the
first, suggesting a doubling of value from December to January. However, a closer
examination shows that the difference between the two is less extreme, an increase
from 60 billion to 66.2 billion.

The bars are evenly spaced but the dates they represent are not. There is one bar for
December, one for January, two for March, one for April, two for June, three for July
and one for August. This distorts the trend of the graph. The highest value, 84 million,
appears to last for a lengthy period of time when in actual fact the total period is less
than a month.

The dollar sign appears excessively. We see that the data represents dollars twenty
times (once in the label for the vertical axis, eight times with the tick mark labels and
eleven times with the data labels on the bars.)

Another unnecessary feature is the decimal point and zero on each tick mark label.
This clutters the graph and is unnecessary.

The embossed logos detract from the data.

The bar colour fades towards the top which makes them less distinct.
Graphic 2: Dailymail Line Graph-Earth temperatures.
Originally published in: Mail Online, (2013). The Great Green Con no. 1: The hard proof
that finally shows global warming forecasts that are costing you billions were WRONG
all along.
Available at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2294560/The-great-green-1-Thehard-proof-finally-shows-global-warming-forecasts-costing-billions-WRONGalong.html.
Audience: The target audience is newspaper readers, both print and online. The graph would
also be relevant to those studying global warming.
Purpose: This graph claims to prove that global warming is not a problem by examining the
earth’s temperature. Furthermore, the graph claims there has been no major increase in
temperature since the 1960’s.
The visual has several problems:

This is a very short term graph. The graph examines a period of just over fifty years.
A better graph would show the trend since the industrial revolution began, as this is
when the majority of experts would suggest the global warming problems arose
(Climate Change: Vital Signs).

The scale is very difficult to read. The scale increases in .5 intervals but this appears
much larger because of the overall size of the graph.

The colour key should not be on the graph itself, rather placed to the side where it is
easier for the reader to view. Placing it on the graph affects the visual impact.
Stripping down the graph and the text explaining the graph and including it in a
paragraph accompanying the image, would vastly improve the structure.

The visual contains too much text and labels. The text is in different font sizes, bold,
horizontally, vertically and in blocks or chunks of texts that take away from the visual
aspect.

The labelling on the y-axis appears vertically rather than horizontally in order to fit all
the text in. The text is small and the reader would either have to tilt their point of view
or the graph itself to read the text. ‘Temperature’ may be a more suitable label.

The heading on the graph is sensationalist, too long and unnecessary. Removing it
from the graph and placing above it on the newspaper or web page would improve the
visual overall.
This chart is adequate enough as a line chart if stripped of all the unnecessary elements as
mentioned above. Another option is a bar chart.
Graphic 3: Venn Diagram-Middle class unemployment.
Originally published in: The Huffington Post, (2014). Romney Campaign Confuses With
Venn Diagram.
Available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/03/mitt-romney-venn-diagramhealth-care_n_1647252.html.
Audience: The target audience is American voters.
Purpose: This diagram, which was part of Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign, was
included in an email fundraising appeal sent out to the general public. It depicts President
Barack Obama's "middle-class promise gap" on health care and how he has failed to lower
premiums for middle-class families.
The visual has several problems:

This diagram does not adhere to the basic principles of a Venn diagram. Typically we
draw Venn diagrams to visualize the intersections among two or three sets
(Grunbaum, 1975).

The overlap of the two circles, reserved for what both have in common, in this
example is the ‘gap’. The Romney campaign says premiums cost $4,893 more than
Obama promised they would (that's $2,393 plus $2,500). The obvious error is that this
does not provide a common factor, instead the graph merely adds the two figures.

The three circles are text heavy. An effective Venn diagram uses key terms which
further strengthen the point expressed. The facts are in danger of being lost in this
diagram.

The font used is not consistent. It changes from bold to italic to regular font
throughout. It also mixes all lower cases and all higher cases. The headings for
example are lower case font, important labels can often acquire upper case letters for
emphasis.

The final problem evident with this diagram is the text to direct the reader towards the
website could be in a clearer font colour. The white font is not very legible on the pale
blue background and the direction to the website should be a focal point.
This graphic needs a complete overhaul as it is not a Venn diagram. A possible solution is a
simply transferring it to text or a table.
Graphic 4: Map—Terms for carbonated beverages in America.
Originally published in: Discover Magazine, (2014). Soda or Pop? Maps Show Americans'
Colorful Dialect Differences | DiscoverMagazine.com.
Available at: http://discovermagazine.com/galleries/2013/june/regional-us-language-dialect.
Audience: The target audience here is magazine readers. The information relates specifically
to American readers.
Purpose: The purpose of this map is to show the generic terms for carbonated beverages in
America.
The visual has several problems:

Visual distinction is essential in cartography. This map on first glance is aesthetically
pleasing but it has no labels and the colour scheme is confusing. Edward Tufte
advocates the use of use of appropriate light colours to avoid optical clutter (1983)

What does the darkness/density of colour mean? There is a colour key provided but
on the map the darkness and lightness of colours varies.

There appears to be a yellow colour for ‘soft drink’. No yellow colour is evident on
the map. Again, the map fails to explain this. It may be because no respondents chose
this term or that the colour scheme is wrong.

The map is visually chaotic and very difficult to distinguish between the colours. The
blue and green colours are too similar in places and are difficult to identify clearly.

The map does not provide how many responses there were in the study. This adds no
credibility to the information as the sample could be small.

The text used is all lower case and is less than legible.

What does the white area mean? It is possible this means no response provided,
however, the map does not clarify this.
This map would work much better with accompanying information further explaining
the colour scheme and providing the number of respondents.
Graphic 5: Table - A comparison of 25 years of consumer expenditures by homeowners
and renters.
Originally published in: United States Bureau of labor statistics (2012). A comparison of 25
years of consumer expenditures by homeowners and renters.
Available at: http://www.bls.gov/opub/btn/volume-1/a-comparison-of-25-years-ofconsumer-expenditures-by-homeowners-and-renters.htm
Audience: American citizens or media concerned with homeowners and renters spending
habits over the last twenty five years.
Purpose: The table and accompanying article highlights how homeowners and renters
dramatically changed their spending habits in response to changes in the economy.
The visual has several problems:

Some of the items are main categories (“Food”) and some are subcategories (“Food at
home,” “Food away from home”). The annual expenditures is equal to the sum of
only the main categories, this is not clear to the reader.

The difference between the main categories and subcategories is not distinguishable.
The author highlights every other line, going from grey to blue. It would make the
table easier to understand if all the sub categories were one colour and main
categories another. A properly formatted table, allows the reader to quickly draw the
right conclusion (Klass, 2011).

The sub categories indented by one space only which doesn’t/t suggest they are of
lesser importance. This problem is further compounded by the fact that it is not made
very clear that they are sub-categories. Bulleted points would make this easier to
understand.

In addition, the table does not include a lot of interesting information. It would be
useful to have data on other demographic variables to relate to expenditures. A
number of important items such as furniture for the home are omitted. This questions
the depth of the study.
This table might work better as a horizontal bar chart, using one colour bar for homeowners
and another for renters.
Redesign: The graphic chosen for redesign is the bar chart for Facebook’s valuation. The
data could easily mislead the reader. However, the information is still interesting once
presented correctly.
Facebook Company Valuation.
90
80
79.2
84
81.6
84
84
81.6
79.2
76.8
79.2
70
Value in Billions ($)
66.2
60
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Dec 17th
Jan 10th
Mar 6th
Mar 18th
Apr 13th
Jun 6th
Jun 22nd
Jul 6th
Jul 19th
Jul 29th
Date
This graph proposes a number of changes to the overall design:

Firstly, the graph is now a line graph. Line graphs show trends whereas bar charts
show individual values (Robbins, 2008).

The graph now starts at a zero baseline.

The major problem with the previous design was the inaccurate spacing of the bars. It
is now clear exactly how long the stock price remained a certain value. For example,
from June 22nd to July 19th it was $84 million.

The dates, now placed directly beside the months, add clarity. The original failed to
adequately highlight why one month received more than one value.
Aug 16th

The labels for x-axis and y-axis are simple and legible.

As February and May had no values removing both helps with the overall appearance
of the graph.

There is no longer any chart junk or clutter (Tufte, 1983). The dollar sign now only
appears once as opposed to twenty times. Additionally, removing the embossed logo
focuses attention on the data.

Removing any numbers with a zero after the decimal point reduces unnecessary
information.

The blue colour of the line attracts the reader’s attention. It stands out on the white
backdrop and is easy to understand.

Finally, adding each individual value to the line makes it much easier for the reader to
recognise any trends.
References
Adam Reichenberger, C. (2014). A comparison of 25 years of consumer expenditures by homeowners
and renters : Beyond the Numbers: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. [online] Bls.gov. Available
at: http://www.bls.gov/opub/btn/volume-1/a-comparison-of-25-years-of-consumer-expendituresby-homeowners-and-renters.htm [Accessed 9 Nov. 2014].
Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet, (2014). Home. [online] Available at:
https://climate.nasa.gov/causes/ [Accessed 8 Nov. 2014].
Csueastbay.edu, (2014). Selecting a Graph Type and Style. [online] Available at:
http://www.csueastbay.edu/FOCUS/wf761doc/ibi_html/javaassist/intl/EN/help/topic247.htm
[Accessed 9 Nov. 2014].
Discover Magazine, (2014). Soda or Pop? Maps Show Americans' Colorful Dialect Differences |
DiscoverMagazine.com. [online] Available at:
http://discovermagazine.com/galleries/2013/june/regional-us-language-dialect [Accessed 4 Nov.
2014].
Grünbaum, B. (1975). Venn Diagrams and Independent Families of Sets. Mathematics Magazine,
48(1), p.12.
Mail Online, (2013). The Great Green Con no. 1: The hard proof that finally shows global warming
forecasts that are costing you billions were WRONG all along. [online] Available at:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2294560/The-great-green-1-The-hard-proof-finallyshows-global-warming-forecasts-costing-billions-WRONG-along.html [Accessed 4 Nov. 2014].
Privco.com, (2011). PrivCo | Research | Facebook Valuation Suffers First-Ever Consecutive Drop $5 Billion Erased, Facebook Back to Valuation from March 2011. [online] Available at:
http://www.privco.com/research/facebook-valuation-suffers-first-ever-consecutive-drop-august24-2011 [Accessed 4 Nov. 2014].
Robbins, N. (2005). Creating more effective graphs. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley-Interscience.
The Huffington Post, (2014). Romney Campaign Confuses With Venn Diagram. [online] Available at:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/03/mitt-romney-venn-diagram-healthcare_n_1647252.html [Accessed 4 Nov. 2014].
Tufte, E. (1983). The visual display of quantitative information. Cheshire, Conn. (Box 430, Cheshire
06410): Graphics Press.