Category Archives: Data Journalism

SnakeOil? Scientific evidence for health supplements

February 25, 2010

A generative data-visualisation of all the scientific evidence for popular health supplements by David McCandless and Andy Perkins.

Also posted in Data Visualisation, Disease, Drugs, Generative, Health, Interactive |
182 Comments

When Sea Levels Attack

February 22, 2010

It’s difficult to keep track of all this shifting information on sea level rises.

It doesn’t help that in climate change reporting, a consistent but bewildering assumption is repeatedly made: that we understand what a 1 metre sea level rise actually means.

A “1 metre sea level rise” is in the same domain as “1 ton of carbon” or “Â£1 billion”. That is, it’s meaningless without context or some link to our everyday lives.

So, in this latest diagram for The Guardian Datablog, I’ve tried to sum up all the current research on sea level rises. What will happen, when it will happen, and where all that sea water will come from. And to suggest what cities will flood When Sea Levels Attack!

source: Sea Level Rise Explorer, Global Sea Level Linked To Rising Temperature (Vermeer, Rahmstorf 2009, PDF), New Scientist, Future Sea Level Rise (Rahmstorf 2007, PDF), IPCC, Telegraph.co.uk
data: in this Google spreadsheet

Also posted in Climate, Sustainability, Visual Journalism |
17 Comments

Haiti Earthquake: Who’s given what?

January 26, 2010

The global response to the Haiti earthquake has been extraordinary and generous. But in the midst of all the reporting, it’s difficult to keep track of the numbers.

In particular, who has given what, who has dug deepest, and how the Haiti relief fund currently compares to those of other tragedies.

This is an image I created for The Guardian Datablog to visualise the international contributions to the Haiti Earthquake recovery effort as of 24th January 2010.

Haiti Earthquake: Who's Given What?
And the data is here for you to explore. (Thanks to Phil Wand and Jeffrey Grabell for the idea).

Sources: ReliefWeb, Guardian Datablog, OECD (PDF).

N.B. Reuters seem to have a whole different set of data on who paid what for the Tsunami. As they don’t list their sources, I can’t cross-reference with the OECD figures. Regardless, all the record keeping appears to dry up after 2005. But if anyone can find figures for after 2006, please email.

Also posted in Data Visualisation, Political |
57 Comments

What makes a successful online dating photo?

January 22, 2010

Dating site OKCupid uses data from their members to overturn myths about what makes a successful online dating profile photo. A fascinating & funny read.

Summary:

men – mysteriously looking away from camera, unsmiling, holding an animal
women – flirting into camera, outdoors, with a hint of cleavage

They also did another great data-piece about what to say in an opening message.

[via Waxy.org]

Also posted in Data Visualisation, Fun, Graph, Social Networks, Web |
13 Comments

What Does China Censor Online?

January 14, 2010

What does China censor online? The Great Firewall Of China
The Great Firewall Of China.

Oops. I guess we can add a certain beautiful infographics website to that ban list.

Data here.

Update 1: There’s a more detailed, annotated version on The Guardian Datablog.

:: source Wikipedia/Words_censored_by_search_engines_in_the_People’s_Republic_of_China, Wikipedia:Notable_websites_blocked_in_the_People’s_Republic_of_China, ConceptDoppler.org, GreatFirewallOfChina.org,
:: Data on Google Docs

Also posted in Political, Tag cloud, Visual Journalism, Web |
89 Comments

The Billion Pound o Gram

November 27, 2009

My latest visual piece for The Guardian, The Billion Pound O Gram, is a British cousin of The Billion Dollar Gram. It reveals the scale of the budget deficit in the centre of the British economy. SPOILER: It’s a big one..

Link to the Guardian piece.

Also posted in Data Visualisation, Economics, Guardian Datablog, InfoVisualisation, Political, Statistics, Visual Journalism |
15 Comments

Afghanistan: The Information Is Not Beautiful

November 13, 2009

I took a visual look at the casualty figures coming out of the Afghanistan war for The Guardian. It’s part of my effort to understand what’s going on there. It’s not easy reading. But I think it helps to give some context. See what you think.

You can explore the data and sources in this spreadsheet.

Also posted in Guardian Datablog, Infographic, War |
19 Comments

Visualising the Guardian Datablog

November 6, 2009

I’m doing a regular weekly visualisation for the excellent Guardian Datablog, the front-end for an amazing library of statistics and data, lovingly hand-gathered by The Guardian.

My first post is about Deadly Drugs.

There’s been a furore over here in the UK about the dangers of illegal drugs. The Government has sacked its most senior drugs advisor, Dr Professor Nutt, after he claimed cannabis was no more harmful than alcohol. And that horse-riding, and specifically ‘equasy’ (Equine Addiction Syndrome) was riskier than taking ecstasy. (Statistically he’s correct. His study here.).

Anyway, digging at the numbers behind his statements and how drugs are reported in the popular press, I found some stuff I didn’t expect about drug harms.

Check out the article on The Guardian blog for detail and data. You want both right?

Also posted in Data Visualisation, De-Hyping, Drugs, Health, Visual Journalism |
84 Comments

Four Infographic Morsels 2

November 4, 2009

The Change In Carbon Emissions
Another beautiful viz from Good Magazine. This time by Spanish viz supremo Lamosca. Twinned with Kyoto Targets.

Your pet’s CO2 pawprint
How much CO2 is that doggy in the window? [Via Good Magazine and NewScientist]

White fight or flight?
Here’s a little something I did, overlaying membership data from the racist British National Party and ethnic populations in the UK. See the full size image.

300 days of Swine Flu
Nice image from Michael Paulkner showing the death toll from Swine Flu after 300 days. Larger sizes here.

Blimey. Quite a lot of doom and gloom in those images. I’ll try to make the next one cheerier.

If you’re still hungry for more infographical morsels, check out the last selection.

In the meantime, if you come across any visual delights, please send them through.

Also posted in Climate, Data Visualisation, Environment, Health |
6 Comments

The Visual Miscellaneum

October 22, 2009

Would you consider pre-ordering my book? That way I can get it into more bookshops. And we can spread the good news about the amazing ALL-GRAPHIC FUTURE OF CIVILISATION THAT AWAITS US!

It’s out in the US 10th November. And in the UK on the 4th February.

Here’s a Visual Miscellaneum US pre-order link

Cover design by DesignWorksGroup

I received my first copies this week – a joyful and agonising experience. Joyful because yay it’s my book! Agonising because, inevitably, I keep seeing things I want to change or tweak or improve.

Overall though, I think it’s pretty good. Ultimately, I wanted to explore a whole range of subjects as visually and beautifully as possible, with the minimum of text. I hope I managed it and I hope you enjoy it.

Here are some pictures to give you a sense of it.

(Sorry about the awful framing of some of these. I’m a designer, not a photographer yeah?)

The Visual Miscellaneum by David McCandless: Inside Cover