The use of visualization is pervasive in the media: explanatory diagrams in magazines, graphs describing the projected impact of a new state budget, new experimental data plotted against theoretical expectations, etc. In each case, the author of the visualization tries to convey a point of view by emphasizing some aspects of the data while toning down other aspects. The result can vary widely, from informative to misleading.

For this assignment, pick out two examples, one good and one bad visualization.No information visualization text or paper should be used. Go to original sources. Once you have selected a good and a bad example, post them to the class blog. Include in your posting both pictures. For each visualization you should also provide the following:

Explanation
Describe the story behind the visualization. What does the visualization depict and who is the intended audience? The explanation should be brief but contain sufficient detail to allow one to understand the goal of the visualization.

Deconstruction
Here you should deconstruct the visualization. What data is represented, size of data set and how representative, what mapping are used? What is data model, image model, and encodings are used? Are there uninformative elements?

Critique
Is the visualization effective? Does it communicate the data? Why or why not? Does the visualization uphold or violate any important design principles? Keep in mind not only perceptual and presentation issues but also the expected background knowledge and cultural conventions of the intended audience. How would you change the visualization to improve it?