A1-JohnDeFelice
From CS294-10 Visualization Fa08
Good Visualization
From: The Macmillan Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals - A Visual Who's Who of Prehistoric Life. Dougal Dixon, et al. Collier Books, 1993
Explanation
This chart shows the evolution of fishes over time. It concisely presents much information using various visualization techniques.
A hierarchical grouping of the different fishes is shown in the left margin. Time is divided in periods and shown on the horizontal axis. Each colored bar represents the fossil record of a group of fishes, with a graphical icon representing the typical silouette of the group. Colors are used to distinguish higher level groupings. Dotted lines denote theorized evolutionary relationships.
This chart can be used as introduction to the subject for the novice, but also to relay more specific information to those familiar with the subject.
Deconstruction
The data set for this chart is the evolutionary timing and hierarchy of fishes. Time is encoded on the the horizontal axis, divided into geological periods and displayed linearly with explicit coordinates measured in millions of years. Vertically the variables displayed are the groups of fish. The labling on the axis displays higher level groupings. On the chart itself is a set of individual fish types. They are color-coded by the high-level group they belong to. Each horizontal line corresponds to the extent of the fossil record of the fish family. One or more graphical icons are used to distinguish the different families visually and to show their development over time. Arrows on the right side of the chart indicate the fish that have survived to the present. Dotted lines connect the lines in a hypothetical evolutionary branching relationship. The color of the dotted lines is gray when it branches to groups of more than one color.
This chart allows
Bad Visualization From: Bioaerosols, Fungi, Bacteria, Mycotoxins and Human Health, edited by Dr. Eckardt Johanning, Fungal Research Group Inc., 2005
Explanation
This chart displays medical research data from a study on the health effects of mold.
It consists of data from studies of six different groups. These data have been graphed by lines with different markers. A log scale has been used on both axes. The log scale on the vertical axis has had the effect of compressing the lines together. The markers and error bars all overlap. This makes the graph illegible and very annoying to try to read. It is hard to believe that anyone would actually read this graph. Without the text of the paper it is of limited use.
I have edited the file by changing the y-axis to a linear scale. This allow the data to be more easily seen. There was no apparent reason for the use of a logarithmic scale.
