ID413: Visualization Critique (2025)

[venkatrajam]

Assignment 1: Visualization Critique

Find a simple, stand-alone, static visualization and write a short critique on: How effective is it at what it aims to do? What works well and what doesn't? What could be better?

You comment should contain:

• Title of the example with one image (add url reference if it is online)
• Short critique (could be in paragraphs or bullet points)
• Make only ONE comment. You can edit or update your comment anytime after you post, but do not make multiple comments.
• Include your name & roll number in the comment.

Check out past works https://github.com/info-design-lab/DE705-Interactive-Data-Visualization/issues/23 https://github.com/info-design-lab/DE705-Interactive-Data-Visualization/issues/19 https://github.com/info-design-lab/DE705-Interactive-Data-Visualization/issues/9 & https://github.com/info-design-lab/DE705-Interactive-Data-Visualization/issues/6 for reference, but select new examples.

[nareshkmn]

Naresh Kumar - 22B3947

Brexit Explained - https://informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/the-uks-brexit-options-in-the-eurozone-landscape-visualized/

A Detailed Visualization of the Eurozone and its Overlapping Trade, Economic, and Regulatory Zones. Highlights Post-Brexit Scenarios and Relationships Between the UK and Europe.

Critique:

Effectiveness of the Visualization

1. The overlapping layers (EU, Customs Union, Eurozone, etc.) effectively showcase the complex relationships between different entities within Europe, helping viewers understand the distinctions.
2. Central UK Placement: Placing the UK in the middle emphasizes its position and possible pathways post-Brexit, which is relevant for the diagram's purpose.
3. The visual clearly outlines the consequences of different Brexit outcomes, such as "no deal Brexit," "deal Brexit," and a "free trade Brexit," making it easy to grasp the choices and implications.

Strengths

1. The use of varying shades of green and blue visually separates the zones (EU, Eurozone, EFTA, etc.), helping viewers distinguish between overlapping areas like the Customs Union and Schengen Zone.
2. The size of the text reflects the economic size of member countries.

Weaknesses

1. Social, political, and cultural implications of Brexit are not addressed, limiting the graphic’s scope.
2. The representation of timeframes for trade deals (e.g., 5 years for Japan) might oversimplify the challenges and complexities involved in those negotiations.

What Could Be Improved

1. An interactive version could allow users to toggle layers (e.g., highlight only the Customs Union or Schengen Zone), improving clarity.
2. Important aspects like the "no deal Brexit" consequences or the unique position of Northern Ireland could be better highlighted visually (e.g., larger font or bolder colors).
3. Important aspects like the "no deal Brexit" consequences or the unique position of Northern Ireland could be better highlighted visually (e.g., larger font or bolder colors).

[spswaruppatil]

Swarup Patil - 22B3953 Nobels, no degrees - https://www.informationisbeautifulawards.com/showcase/204-nobels-no-degrees

1) Brief Description of the Infographic

The infographic offers a comprehensive visualization of Nobel Prize recipients from 1901 to 2013, mapping the evolution of awards across six disciplines (Chemistry, Economic Sciences, Physics, Literature, Physiology or Medicine and Peace). Each laureate is represented as a dot, positioned by the year of the award (x-axis) and their age at the time (y-axis). Key trends such as age distribution, affiliations with prestigious universities, and hometowns are illustrated. A flowchart highlights the connection between major universities and Nobel laureates, adding depth to the analysis.

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2) Positive Critiques

1. The timeline format effectively presents the progression of Nobel awards over the decades, enabling easy tracking of trends.

2. The use of distinct colors for different Nobel categories ensures clear segregation and helps the viewer quickly differentiate between fields.

3. The inclusion of laureates’ ages, university affiliations, and hometowns provides a multifaceted view, offering insights beyond just the awards.

4. The flow diagram linking universities with laureates demonstrates the influence of academic institutions on Nobel success, highlighting global hubs of excellence.

5. The y-axis mapping of laureates' ages at the time of their awards reveals trends in when individuals achieve peak recognition in different disciplines.

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3) Negative Critiques

1. The high density of data points and connecting lines creates visual clutter, making it challenging to focus on specific trends or individuals.

2. Critical insights, such as the youngest laureate or unique milestones (e.g., first female winner in Economics), are not visually emphasized enough to stand out amid the dense data.

3. The university affiliation flowchart feels detached from the main timeline, requiring additional cognitive effort to connect it with the age and discipline trends.

4. The static nature of the infographic restricts interactivity, preventing deeper exploration of individual laureates or customized analysis.

5. While detailed, the visualization lacks succinct takeaways that summarize major patterns for each discipline or across time.

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4) Areas of Improvement

1. Reduce clutter by aggregating data points where possible or grouping them into clusters based on significant trends. Use a clear hierarchy of visual elements to prioritize key insights.

2. Employ bold colors, larger markers, or unique icons to draw attention to notable details, such as record-breaking laureates or outliers in age trends. Make important annotations, such as “First Lady of Economics,” more prominent with larger fonts or call-out boxes.

3. Provide short summaries for each discipline or time period, highlighting key trends such as shifts in average age or the growing dominance of specific universities.

4. In a digital format, add interactive elements like hover-over tooltips or clickable points to display detailed information about individual laureates, their achievements, and affiliations.

[VedIITBombayMech]

Ved Parulekar - 22b2429

Customers in isolation spend their time very differently - https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/how-to-accelerate-digital-solutions/236038235#4

The following graphic demonstrates the difference in the amount of time customers spent during the pre-COVID and post-COVID eras. This slide is part of Bain & Company‘s report on “Ways to Accelerate Digital Solutions,” which was published in June 2020. 

Graphic :

Critique

Pros:

1. The short, to-the-point title of this graphic draws the reader’s attention to the main message that the author is trying to communicate.

2. The content really supports the title. The percentages mentioned quantify the change clearly, and it is not hard to understand the changes in customer behavior pre-COVID and post-COVID.

3. The icons on the top of each textbox aid in understanding the text better and faster and make the below-mentioned text come alive. 

Cons: 

1. When we first look at the graph, it is not clear what we are trying to compare. Are the percentage changes in relation to our daily activities ( in hours) or something else? We need to spend quite some time understanding what chart is trying to depict !!

2. Another major issue is the color coding of the graph. The percentage change of 11 percent should have a blue shade because it is a positive percentage change. Additionally, the intensity of the blue color should become darker as the percentage change increases to ensure consistency.

3. The overall layout of this graphic seems a bit off. The graphs and the percentages, which are crucial information according to the title, are quite small and hard to see. Currently, the text at the top is drawing more attention.

4. Another concern is the use of 100% stacked column charts, which makes it challenging to compare the categories with one another, except for those at the extreme ends.

5. The overall color usage appears unappealing. The transition from the gray spectrum to the blue one divides the data into two groups, placing more focus on the blue group. This is unnecessary; instead, the emphasis should be on comparing pre-COVID and post-COVID data across all categories.

Suggestions:

1. Any kind of graph should be placed on the upper half and the text boxes should be placed in the lower half because the graph expresses the key insights while the text box just helps us understand what all categories are present.

2. The changes in user activities pre and post covid can be compared directly in terms of hours spent daily rather than using percentages change which makes it more difficult to comprehend.

3. The use of a clustered bar chart ( different bar cart for each category) would be a better choice as it clearly helps compare the changes on a per-category basis. Also, all the columns belonging to the pre-COVID era could be shown with some color and the corresponding columns post covid could be shown with a different color as that is the main comparison. 

4. The percentages could be written in a bigger font and a single color with increasing gradient (to symbolize greater numerical value) could be used to help communicate it clearly with the audience. 

[aviralvgoel]

Aviral Vishesh Goel - 22b2156

Actual and projected share of enrollment in public elementary in secondary schools, by race/ethnicity

This graph illustrates a consistent demographic shift over the years, leading to a decrease in the proportion of white students in classrooms, even as the overall enrollment in public schools has grown. This representation has used a stack graph brilliantly to represent the shift in proportion.

Graphic:

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Critique

Positives

1. Alignment: the graph is perfectly aligned with the pivots of the bar graphs being placed on the separation of white and non white majority so that we can clearly demarcate the decline in white majority and increase in non white percentage in schools.

2. Colour Coding: The graph is carefully colour coded with a lighter shade to represent white proportion and darker colours in non white communities

3. Highlighting of important numbers: The chart has used dotted lines to point out the percentage of white and non white proportions and also use of red colour to show the representation of the numeric quantities below them. This highlights the important numbers in the graph

4. Different Stacks of Projected and Used Data: Stack graph are used making us visualise the shift in proportion better than normal graph or pie charts

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   Negatives:

5. Change in population density: This shift in change of demographic can also be due to change in population demographic in the US thus this shift can also arise due to the aforementioned reason instead of decreasing social discrimination

6. Use of Percentage on the bars: The reader might get confused(which I also did) that the percentage shown in right hand side might be only for dark green colour part or the proportion of black population

7. Incomplete information: The actual total percentages for each minority group is not provided, neither in the accompanying text nor the chart

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   Proposed Improvements:

8. The percentages can be used on the far right and left side of the graph with a clear difference in pivot in the middle making user get a better idea of what the percentages represent

9. The grey proportions at the rightmost end represents two or more races. This representation can be made better by giving some examples of the top 2-3 races considered in them so the user gets a better idea of the races being represented in that part

10. There is a lot of information on the bar graph making the overall picture look clustered and intimidating to the user. We should avoid representing extra information like the first year of majority minority pop up which can be avoided in the bar chart and the numbers can be written at the end of the bars

[JamesWill2]

Ayush Thakur

Who Profits From War? URL - https://mondediplo.com/2024/02/07ukraine

The visualization effectively demonstrates the global arms trade network, emphasizing the largest exporters and importers of arms between 2017 and 2022. The chord diagram is visually engaging and provides a comprehensive overview of trade flows, supported by additional bar charts for export and import shares.

Graphic:

Critique

Strengths

1. Comprehensive Representation: The chord diagram provides a detailed view of arms trade relationships, showcasing both the exporters and importers with their respective values.

2. Clear Highlights: Major players such as the US, Russia, and Saudi Arabia are prominently displayed, emphasizing their significant roles in the arms trade.

3. Supplementary Data: The inclusion of bar charts for the largest exporters and importers by percentage share provides additional clarity and context.

4. Color Coding: Color-coded flows in the chord diagram help distinguish between exporters and importers, making it easier to follow the trade routes.

5. Balanced Design: The visualization includes geographical context with the globe maps, linking the data to specific regions.

Weaknesses

1. Complexity of the Chord Diagram: While visually striking, the chord diagram can overwhelm viewers due to the density of information and intersecting flows.

2. Lack of Interactive Features: As a static image, it is difficult for viewers to isolate specific trade relationships or hover over data points for more detailed information.

3. Small Font Sizes: Text labels, particularly for countries with smaller trade volumes, are difficult to read, detracting from accessibility.

4. Insufficient Context for Smaller Countries: Countries with less significant arms trade figures are overshadowed, leaving their roles under explored.

5. Focus on Aggregate Data: The visualization does not explain the types of arms being traded, the nature of the contracts, or the geopolitical context behind the transfers.

Improvements

1. Simplify the Diagram: Focus on the top 5-10 trade relationships to reduce visual clutter and make the diagram more comprehensible for general audiences.

2. Interactive Version: An interactive format would allow viewers to explore specific trade relationships by hovering or clicking on elements for more details.

3. Increase Font Sizes: Enhance readability by enlarging text labels, especially for countries and data points with smaller values.

4. Legends and Explanations: Include a clearer legend or annotation for the chord diagram, explaining how to interpret the thickness and direction of the flows.

5. Include Additional Context: Provide annotations or text explaining the reasons behind major trade routes, such as geopolitical alliances or conflicts driving arms transfers.

[JuhiKamat]

Juhi Kamat - 22B4218

The World's Busiest Migration Corridors

This graphic ranks the world’s busiest international migration corridors. Each corridor represents the number of people born in the first and residing in the second country.

Visual Critique:

• The legend is unclear and does not explicitly state that the values are in millions, which can confuse the audience.
• The line "Each corridor represents the number of people born in the first and residing in the second country." resemble subheadings, which might mislead viewers into interpreting them incorrectly.
• The number of migrants is shown by the thickness of the arrow, which makes it easier to understand where the majority is going
• The use of country flags beside the names make it easier for viewers to identify the countries involved in migration.
• Overlapping lines in the visualization make it challenging to distinguish specific migration patterns.
• The use of red for displaced people and green for migrants is semantically appropriate, effectively conveying urgency and regular migration.
• The flat-head and arrow-head design of lines creates confusion about the start and end points of migration flows.
• The countries are labeled in a random order, making it difficult to quickly locate specific nations.
• The use of color, while correct for depicting displaced people and regular migrants, is underutilized for adding further dimensions to the data.

Improvements:

• A box with legends could be made on the bottom left depicting what green and red mean and the unit used for number of migrants
• Countries could be labelled alphabetically instead of size
• Colours could have been used for showing the in and out direction along with the arrows

[Galacterzz]

Anirudha Shinde - 22b2181

Visualization

Source: Visualization Source

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Short Critique

Effectiveness of the Visualization

• Ranked List Format: Companies are listed in descending order of subsidies received, helping viewers quickly identify the top recipients.
• Specific Examples: Mentioning specific projects and subsidies (e.g., Intel's CHIPS Act funding) provides context and highlights the significance of these financial supports.

Strengths

• Clarity in Ranking: The list format clearly ranks companies based on the amount of subsidies received, making it easy to identify the top recipients.
• Specific Examples: Mentioning specific projects and the amounts received (e.g., Intel's $7.9B from the CHIPS Act) adds depth and context to the data.
• Sector Categorization: The categorization of companies into sectors (e.g., Industrial, Automotive, Tech & Media, Energy) provides a broader understanding of where subsidies are being directed.

Weaknesses

• Visual Clutter: The design is somewhat cluttered, with too much text and not enough visual differentiation between companies and sectors. This can make it difficult for viewers to quickly grasp the information.
• Lack of Visual Hierarchy: The use of similar colors and font sizes for different sections (e.g., company names, subsidy amounts, sector categories) lacks a clear visual hierarchy, making it harder to focus on key data points.
• Missing Context: While the visualization provides figures for subsidies, it lacks context on how these subsidies are distributed over time or how they compare to the companies' revenue or market capitalization.

What Could Be Improved

• Enhanced Visual Hierarchy: Use of color coding, varying font sizes, and clear separation between different sections (e.g., company names, subsidy amounts, sector categories) could improve readability.
• Additional Contextual Information: Including metrics like subsidies as a percentage of revenue or market capitalization could provide a more comprehensive view of the impact of these subsidies on each company.
• Clearer Data Breakdown: Providing a breakdown of the types of subsidies (e.g., tax credits, grants, property tax abatements) for each company could offer deeper insights into the nature of the financial support.

[srishti920]

Srishti Gupta 23b2520

The Possible Paths to the Presidency

The graphic below illustrates the various possible electoral pathways for the 2020 U.S. presidential candidates, Donald Trump and Joe Biden, to reach the required 270 Electoral votes. It makes use of flow lines and categorized state outcomes to depict four possible scenarios and highlights battleground states critical to the election outcome.

Graphic:

Visual Critique

Strengths:

• The use of blue for Democrats and red for Republicans follows established conventions, ensuring quick visual recognition.
• The flow lines connect from state to scenario, allowing for a clear understanding of how the states contribute to each of the scenarios.
• Although static, it provides a sense of interactivity with the "Build Your Own Scenario" section, engaging the viewer.

Weaknesses:

• Densely packed and overlapping flow lines can confuse viewers as they may be difficult to follow visually. Additionally, the amount of data (percentages, flow lines, state groupings, scenarios) may feel cluttered and overwhelming.
• The district abbreviations (e.g., VA, NH, ME-1) are not explained clearly. It’s not intuitive to know which district each abbreviation refers to. (most of them are the first 2 letters of the state they represent, however, there are exceptions)
• Further, viewers unfamiliar with U.S. election rules might not be aware that Nebraska and Maine allocate votes differently, making the 'NE1, NE2, NE3' and 'ME1, ME2' labels cryptic without explanation.

Proposed Improvements:

• Addition of a small legend explaining state abbreviations.
• Include a small textual note explaining the Electoral College system, specifically addressing the split voting in Nebraska and Maine, for international or less-informed audiences.
• In the winning scenarios, the gray states effectively allow viewers to focus solely on the critical, pivotal states that contribute to the win. However, introducing two shades of gray—one lighter and one darker—to represent likely and solid tendencies for opposition states could provide for better comparison. This approach maintains the emphasis on the winning party while subtly conveying additional context about the opposing states.

[PauPau2024]

Sujal Machhale 22B0001

How Profitable is Google Really?

It visualizes Google's Q2 2022 financial performance. It breaks down revenue sources (e.g., Search, YouTube, Cloud), operating costs, and profits into a Sankey diagram. The left side displays revenue streams, while the flow to the right illustrates the distribution of expenses (R&D, Sales & Marketing, General & Admin) and resulting profits. Key metrics, such as gross profit margin (56%), operating profit margin (30%), and net profit margin (24%), are explicitly mentioned, offering a clear snapshot of Google's financial dynamics.

Positive Critiques

1. Clear Flow of Data: The Sankey diagram is highly effective at showing how revenue flows through costs to yield operating and net profit. It provides a comprehensive overview of Google's financial ecosystem. 2.Color-Coded Clarity: The use of distinct colors (blue for revenue, green for profit, red for expenses) ensures a clear and intuitive distinction between components. 3.Quantitative Transparency: Key financial metrics, such as gross profit, operating profit, and net profit margins, are prominently displayed, making the financial performance easy to grasp at a glance. 4.Highlight of Revenue Sources: Major revenue streams, including Search, YouTube, and Network, are visually emphasized, showing the diversity of income channels. 5.Proportional Relationships: The varying widths of the flows accurately represent the scale of each revenue stream and expense category, aiding in comparative analysis.

Negative Critiques

1.Clutter in Expense Breakdown: The division of operating expenses into TAC, R&D, Sales & Marketing, and General & Admin feels overwhelming due to the closely packed and overlapping flows. 2.Limited Focus on Trends: It fails to show year-over-year trends or historical data to place Google's current financial performance in a broader temporal context. 3.Lack of Context for Comparison: While Google's financials are broken down effectively, the infographic doesn't provide external benchmarks (e.g., comparisons to competitors like Amazon or Meta) to contextualize its performance.

Areas of Improvement

1.Highlight Key Insights: Use annotations or call-outs to emphasize major milestones, such as the largest revenue source (Search) or the critical role of R&D spending in driving innovation. 2.Group and Simplify Expenses: Reduce visual clutter by consolidating smaller expense categories or displaying them as percentages of total expenses for easier understanding. 3.Incorporate Historical Comparisons: Add a secondary element (e.g., a line graph or mini-charts) to show how revenue and profits have evolved over the past quarters or years.

[Chinoscode111]

Chinmay Tripurwar 22b3902

This visualization maps Twitter follower changes for key Congress members before and after Musk's Twitter purchase.

Source: PolicyViz - A Better Path Toward Criticizing Data Visualization

Visual Critique

Positive:

• The central zero line effectively highlights the contrast between positive and negative trends.
• Using red for Republicans and blue for Democrats aligns with natural associations.
• Darker colors for greater deviations enhance clarity.
• The horizontal dotted line marking Musk's Twitter purchase adds essential context.
• Including state abbreviations and party affiliations allows for easy identification of each politician.

Negative:

• Overlapping lines at the start make it hard to follow individual politicians' progress.
• The vertical time axis and horizontal scale feel a bit unnatural.
• Some state abbreviations are difficult to read due to their small size and placement.
• The chart lacks a clear title.

Improvements:

• Add a clear title: "Musk's Twitter Impact: Democrats vs. Republicans."
• Include percentage changes alongside absolute numbers for better context.
• Consider switching the axes, using the timeline as the horizontal axis and the change in followers as the vertical axis.

[shivam-saran]

Shivam Saran (23N0285)

Title: A population density map of India

Link: https://www.reddit.com/r/dataisbeautiful/comments/104b127/oc_a_population_density_map_of_india/?rdt=45903

1) What does it aim to do?

• Showcase the relative population density across India, using 3D spikes.
• Emphasize major metropolitan cities as hubs of high population density.
• Provide stark differences between densely populated urban areas and sparsely populated rural/remote regions.
• Allow viewers (i.e., us) to identify regions with significant population concentrations and geographic locations quickly. Here, as we can see the density of peaks is highest in the region of Gangetic Plains (i.e., Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and up to West Bengal).

2) What works well?

• The tall spikes immediately draw attention to urban centers (e.g., New Delhi, Mumbai), making it easy for us to identify areas with high population density.
• Labeling key cities like Chennai, Bengaluru, and Kolkata provides geographic links for understanding the data.
• The concept of population density is made understandable to audiences who are not experts by turning numerical data into 3D spikes.
• The map's eye-catching layout and modern color scheme make it appealing, encouraging users to spend time exploring the visualization.
• The soft gradient background minimizes distractions, keeping the focus on the population data.

3) What doesn't work well?

• The lack of a numerical scale, legend, or spike height annotations makes it impossible for us to determine the precise population density.
• The tall spikes for major cities dominate the visualization, overshadowing mid-sized towns and rural regions, which might mislead users about overall population spread.
• The absence of state boundaries, rivers, or terrain features makes it harder for users unfamiliar with India's geography to relate the data to specific regions.
• Only a few cities are labeled, leaving mid-sized cities and other notable areas unrepresented, which can confuse users looking for more detailed insights.
• It can be challenging to identify finer details of population distribution in areas with extremely dense spike clusters, such as Delhi and Kolkata.
• One-sided view makes it impossible to get the smaller peaks that hide behind the dense and higher peaks.
• While the spikes highlight density, they obscure geographical features like coastlines or mountains, which are crucial for understanding population distribution.

4) How effective is it?

The map is effective for users seeking a quick, visual understanding of India's population hotspots and broad urban-rural contrasts. But it falls short for users requiring detailed, quantitative insights or a balanced representation of all regions (urban, rural, and mid-density areas).

5) What could be better?

• Adding a legend and numerical scale for better quantitative understanding.
• For geographic clarity, include a base map that is informally indicating state and regional boundaries.
• Label more cities, including mid-sized ones, to balance representation.
• Highlight geographic regions (e.g., Thar Desert, Himalayan Range, Aravali Range, Gangatic Plains, Sahyadri, etc) to give the user a rough idea about the reason for density at particular locations.

[MADHUR1215]

Madhur Kholia 22b3944

Title: Diversity in Tech - Employee Breakdown of Key Technology Companies Short Critique: Effectiveness: The visualization effectively highlights diversity metrics across various technology companies, making it clear how different companies compare in terms of gender and ethnicity distribution. It provides a quick snapshot for viewers to understand the diversity landscape in these organizations.

What Works Well:

1. Clear Segmentation: The use of segmented bars for each company and category (gender, ethnicity) makes it easy to compare across different organizations.
2. Color Coding: Different colors for each demographic group enhance readability and visual distinction.
3. Comprehensive Data: The chart covers multiple major tech companies, offering a broad view of the industry.

What Doesn't Work Well:

1. Limited Data Interactivity: The static nature of the image may limit deeper exploration of data, such as filtering or sorting by specific categories or companies.
2. Lack of Context: There’s minimal context provided about the implications of these diversity figures or any industry-wide benchmarks.

What Could Be Better:

1. Interactive Features: An interactive version allowing users to hover over or click on segments for more detailed breakdowns and additional insights could make the data more engaging.
2. Contextual Information: Including a brief analysis or commentary on the diversity trends, such as changes over time or comparisons with industry averages, would offer a more comprehensive understanding.
3. Data Normalization: Showing figures as percentages alongside the absolute numbers could provide a clearer comparative understanding, particularly when company sizes vary significantly.

[aishwaryachourasiya]

Name: Aishwarya Chourasiya

Roll no.: 22b2114

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Title: Missions to Mars Link: Missions to Mars

1) Overview of the Infographic
This infographic visually represents humanity's Mars missions from the 1960s to beyond 2020, arranged in a circular timeline. It uses icons for mission types (flyby, orbiter, lander, rover), color codes for success/failure, and flags of contributing nations, highlighting the evolution of Mars exploration.

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2) Strengths:
• Thematic Aesthetics:
The circular layout mimics orbital movement, aligning with the space exploration theme. The Mars-like red and orange tones create an immersive visual identity tied to the planet.
• Clear Differentiation of Mission Types:
Icons for flyby, orbiter, lander, and rover missions help users quickly grasp the purpose of each mission. The use of symbols simplifies the complexity of the data.
• International Representation:
Flags of participating countries add clarity to the contributions of various nations. The inclusion of a legend consolidates this information effectively.
• Timeline-Based Design:
The clockwise arrangement supports natural human tendencies to process time in this direction. The separation into decades offers historical context, allowing viewers to track progress over time.
• Success and Failure Indicators:
Distinct bold and dashed markers make it easy to distinguish between successful and unsuccessful missions, reflecting the challenges and achievements of Mars exploration.
• Forward-Looking Vision:
The “2020 and beyond” segment acknowledges humanity's continued interest in Mars exploration, creating a sense of optimism for the future.
• Hashtag Integration:
Including "#ExploreFarther" ties the infographic to a broader campaign, encouraging curiosity and exploration beyond the data presented.

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3) Areas That Fell Short:
• Lack of Symbol Intuitiveness:
The "orbiter" and "lander" icons are not immediately recognizable. They could benefit from designs that more directly communicate their purpose.
• Missing Definitions and Context:
The terms "flyby," "orbiter," "lander," and "rover" are not defined within the infographic. For a broader audience, such explanations would help clarify their distinctions.
• Ambiguity in the “Beyond” Section:
The "2020 and beyond" missions are not visually distinct from past missions. Their status as planned or projected missions could have been conveyed more effectively.
• Timeline Precision:
The lack of finer segmentation in the timeline reduces accuracy for periods with numerous missions.
• Header Design:
The "Mars Missions" header is plain and could benefit from an icon or symbol to complement the text, reinforcing the space exploration theme.

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Potential Improvements for the Infographic:

a) Symbol Intuitiveness:
• Might have utilized more intuitive icons for mission types:

• For orbiter, a satellite with orbit rings or a dish pointing toward Mars would better illustrate its function.
• For lander, a spacecraft with extended landing legs or a robotic arm could have been a clearer representation.

b) Adding Definitions and Distances:
• Should have included a brief legend or callout box defining terms like flyby, orbiter, lander, and rover to improve clarity for a broader audience.
• Might have displayed relative distances or mission ranges to enrich the scientific context and depth of the infographic.

c) Distinguishing Future Missions:
• Could have represented “2020 and beyond” missions with faded or dotted lines to signify their planned or future nature more distinctly.

d) Timeline Refinement:
• Would have benefitted from finer timeline divisions, such as yearly or bi-annual segments, to enhance precision, especially for periods with numerous missions.

e) Header Enhancement:
• Could have enhanced the "Mars Missions" header with a thematic icon, such as:

• A rocket launching toward Mars to emphasize exploration.
• A robotic rover to symbolize surface missions.
• A telescope or satellite to highlight orbital exploration efforts.

f) Highlighting Milestones:
• Should have included callout boxes or annotations to spotlight significant milestones, such as the first successful mission or the introduction of groundbreaking technology like rovers.

[Khushiwandile]

Khushi Wandile - 22B1285

How accurately does anyone know the global distribution of income?

Overview:

This graph is titled "Global Income Distribution 2011", and it depicts the income distribution of various regions across the globe in 2011, adjusted for purchasing power parity (PPP) to 2005 US dollars. This is a stacked density plot (also referred to as a layered area chart). This type of graph is ideal for visualizing distributions across multiple categories (e.g., income distribution across regions) while showing proportions and overlaps in a continuous manner.

Strength Points:

1. Clear Distribution Representation: The stacked density plot effectively showcases income distribution across regions, providing a comprehensive view of global income disparities.
2. Visual Simplicity: The use of smooth, continuous curves makes it easy to understand the relative proportions of income groups within each region.
3. Intuitive Color Coding: Distinct colors for each region (e.g., India, China, Developed Countries) help in quickly identifying and comparing regional income distributions.
4. Highlight of Income Inequalities: The graph emphasizes the disparity between regions, such as the concentration of higher incomes in Developed Countries versus the lower-income distribution in Sub-Saharan Africa.
5. Logarithmic Scale Insight: The logarithmic axis for income per person provides clarity in representing vast income differences without compressing smaller values.

Shortcomings:

1. Overlap Challenges: The overlapping areas, particularly in the lower income ranges, make it difficult to distinguish smaller regional contributions, such as those of Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America.
2. Ambiguity in Population Scale: While the y-axis represents population distribution, it does not specify actual population numbers, making it harder to relate the graph to real-world demographics.
3. Limited Income Range Context: The graph does not account for extremely high-income brackets, which may underrepresent income inequality within Developed Countries.
4. Poverty Line Inconsistency: The graph highlights the $1.25/day poverty line but does not include other thresholds (e.g., $2/day or $5/day), which could provide a more nuanced understanding of poverty levels.
5. Underrepresentation of Regional Diversity: Broad categories like "Other Asia" and "Developed Countries" mask intra-regional disparities, such as differences between Western Europe and North America.

Areas of Improvement:

1. Add Regional Breakdowns: Provide subcategories or labels within regions to show intra-regional disparities, e.g., separating Western and Eastern Europe in Developed Countries.
2. Enhance Poverty Analysis: Include multiple poverty lines and highlight the percentage of the population living under each threshold.
3. Clarify Population Scale: Add annotations or a secondary axis to explicitly indicate population sizes for each region. Reduce Overlap: Use techniques like transparency or separate panels for each region to address the visual clutter caused by overlapping areas.

[Harishchand83077]

**Name: Harish Chand
Roll Number: 22b2218**

Title: Arms Sales: USA vs. Russia

Link: Arms Sales: USA vs. Russia

---

Critique:

This infographic compares the arms sales between the United States and Russia, using circular bar charts divided by geographic regions. Its purpose is to clearly depict the scale and distribution of arms sales for both countries.

Strengths:

• Comparison Made Easy: The design places the United States and Russia side by side, making it easy to compare which country is ahead in terms of arms sales overall and in specific regions.
• Color Coding: Each country and regional section is distinguished with a distinct color scheme to enhance the visibility of the chart and avoid confusion that may be created.
• Global Summary: It gives a broad summary of the pattern of arms sales worldwide so that viewers can immediately understand regional trends.

Weaknesses:

• Deceptive Representation: Circular bar charts have the potential to misrepresent data, as the length of the arcs might not faithfully represent the actual sales figures. A linear bar chart would facilitate a more precise comparison of specific values.
• Insufficient Context: The visualization is deficient in critical information such as the time frame of the data, particular categories of arms sold, or the underlying factors contributing to regional superiority, which are essential for more comprehensive analysis.
• Lack of Data Source Identification: Without clear indication of the origin of the data, viewers are likely to question the accuracy and reliability of the image.
• Reductionism: The design is simple but does not include those viewers interested in more comprehensive statistics or explanations of the observed trends.

Recommendations for Improvement:

1. Transition to Linear Bar Graphs: A simple bar graph would make the comparison of sales volumes easier while reducing the distortion usually created by circular forms.
2. Add Contextual Information: It should include information about the time period for which the sales are, the types of arms being sold, such as aircraft, tanks or small firearms, and the geopolitical factors influencing these sales.
3. Reference Data Sources: Mention where the data originates so that viewers can trust the information being provided.
4. Provide Annotations: Use brief notes or labels to emphasize key insights, such as why USA may have higher sales in one region than Russia.
5. Interactive Options: A digital version could provide options for viewers to explore trends by year, type of arms, or region-specific, which will make the information more engaging and useful.

---

Summary of Effectiveness:
The visualization effectively enables a quick and clear comparison of global arms sales between the United States and Russia. Its simplicity and beauty are interesting; however, the design restricts accuracy and prevents in-depth analysis. If a more appropriate chart type were used, more context were added, and the data were made more transparent, the infographic would be much more effective and informative.

---

[Jubin42Singh]

Name: Jubin Singh Roll No. 22B0351 Title: The Ebb and Flow of Movies: Box Office Receipts 1986 — 2008

Description:

This visualization presents a streamgraph depicting box office revenues for various movie genres over time. The x-axis represents the years from 1986 to 2008, while the y-axis shows the box office receipts. Different colors and layers represent various genres, illustrating their popularity and revenue trends over the specified period.

Effectiveness:

The visualization effectively showcases the rise and fall of different movie genres over two decades. By using a streamgraph, it provides a clear, continuous representation of how genre popularity has shifted, offering insights into industry trends and audience preferences.

What Works Well:

• Visual Appeal: The flowing, organic shapes and vibrant colors make the visualization engaging and aesthetically pleasing, drawing viewers in to explore the data.
• Trend Identification: The continuous nature of the streamgraph allows for easy identification of trends, such as the emergence or decline of specific genres over time.
• Comparative Analysis: The stacked layers enable viewers to compare the relative popularity of genres at any given point, highlighting shifts in audience preferences.

Areas for Improvement:

• Legibility: In some areas, the overlapping layers and varying widths can make it challenging to distinguish between genres, especially when colors are similar or segments are narrow.
• Lack of Specific Data Points: The absence of exact numerical values or data labels makes it difficult for viewers to ascertain precise box office figures or the exact timeline of changes.
• Genre Classification: The visualization relies on broad genre categories, which may oversimplify the diversity of films and overlook sub-genre nuances that could provide deeper insights.

Suggestions for Enhancement:

• Interactive Elements: While the current visualization is static, an interactive version could allow users to hover over specific areas to reveal exact figures, genre names, and additional context, enhancing data accessibility.
• Color Differentiation: Employing a more distinct color palette with greater contrast could improve the differentiation between genres, aiding in visual clarity.
• Inclusion of Annotations: Adding annotations for significant events, such as blockbuster releases or industry shifts, could provide context and enrich the narrative conveyed by the data.

[peace10122]

Student: Aditya Ojha, 23B1527 Chosen Visualisation: "50 Most Used AI Tools"

Key Takeaways:

• The visualisation aims to rank the most used AI tools globally by number of visits over an almost 1 year period.
• The visualisation uses colour schemes to differentiate between ai tool categories.

Its Good because:

1. It is able to include tid bits and extra facts about the AI tools apart from the core visualisation without making it seem excessive
2. The colour scheme feels modern and nice with light colours being picked. It is also extremely catchy thanks to its overall circular structure
3. The lines that connect circles in the same category are very good at making the categories seem more cohesive and makes the category delineations clearer to the mind of the viewer. Infact the lines make it easier to follow the hierarchy of tools within categories

Its Bad Because:

1. It uses area as a metric to compare the datapoints. This is bad as discussed in class since area scale non linearly.
2. The circular structure although makes the visualisation quite catchy, is not easy to grasp immediately. Humans like linearly laid out data and a circular structure , makes the viewing experience slightly chaotic and unordered.
3. The small data at the bottom about gender and access distributions may have benefitted from colour coding since one may notice their existence at the bottom of the page.

[hardikkhariwal]

Name: Hardik Khariwal

Roll No: 22B3954

Title: India Overtakes China as the World's Most Populous Country

Critique of the Visualization

Strengths:

1. Elegant Visual Presentation:

   • The arrangement is a bubble pack like one, awesome, so it is very attractive and rational.

2. Color Coding:

   • Through colors, the continents can be unmistakably singled out but at the same time one can distinguish between the regions (Africa, East Asia, Europe) that simplifies the task to locate countries on the map.

3. Clear Message:

   • The title is to the point which means it definitely implies that India is the most populous country passing through China.

4. Data Source:

   • The UN as the data source along with the date of the projection is a point to the credibility that is gained through citation.

---

Weaknesses:

1. Layout Complexity:

   • Very uneven data regions could cause imprecise population size comparison.

2. Scaling Issues:

   • The areas approximately show the population size, but the truth of the matter is that the percentages may not be easy to see because of the irregular shapes.

3. Limited Context:

   • None discovers patterns or growth rates or contributing factors to population changes.

4. Overcrowding in Small Regions:

   • Data are so small it is cumbersome to read or compare them across New Zealand or Yemen, for example, nations with tiny territories.

5. Geographical Relationships:

   • Countries are positioned in a manner that their geographical disposition is not taken into account. It is puzzling to understand what is this supposed to be a world map style.

---

Proposed Enhancements:

1. Supplemental Growth Context:

   • Incorporate the use of graphs or directly represent composed, the population growth rate scenarios, making it quicker to see the perspective of the change.

2. Simplify Shapes:

   • For smooth better comparisons, you would be advised to make use of only one of the objects such as circle, and then you would be changing the sizes by relative proportions, thus ensuring an efficient illustration and neat work.

3. Interactive Layout:

   • Chart might be more interactive when users can do mouse over actions to get the corresponding data per region in a digital environment.

4. Legend Refinement:

   • Supplement a small graphic legend that graphically illustrates the areas as population numbers for better understandings.

5. Highlight Key Regions:

   • It will be much easier for readers to follow the storyline if you use vivid colors or draw borders around the solid characters which you want to be emphasized.

6. Add Historical Comparison:

   • The other side which you can do is the inclusion of historical timeline or comparison of the past data with the present data for better understanding of trends.

[Nitin-iitb111]

Nitin Yadav , 22B3957

Title :- The Middle East: Key Players & Notable Relationships

Visual Critique

Description : The visualization, The Middle East: Key Players & Notable Relationships, depicts the geopolitical dynamics of the Middle East, focusing on alliances, conflicts, and neutral positions among key players. Relationships are represented using color-coded connections: green for alliances, red for conflicts, and grey for neutral relationships. It aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the region's intricate and interdependent power structures.

Strengths:

• Color Coding: Clear use of green, red, and grey ensures relationships are easy to identify.
• Circular Layout: Effectively highlights the interconnected nature of relationships between players.
• Simplification: Condenses complex geopolitics into a single, visually accessible graphic.
• Visual Appeal: Clean and organized design draws attention and encourages exploration.

Weaknesses:

• Clutter: Dense connections make it harder to trace individual relationships.
• Lack of Context: Missing background details on alliances and conflicts reduces understanding.
• Static Format: Lack of interactivity limits exploration and personalized engagement.
• Imbalance: Smaller nations and minor relationships are overshadowed by dominant players.

Proposed Improvements:

1. Context: Add annotations or a sidebar explaining alliances, conflicts, and neutral relationships.
2. Interactivity: Enable hover-over tooltips and filters to provide detailed insights.
3. Declutter Layout: Group relationships by type or region to make the visualization clearer.
4. Temporal View: Introduce a time-lapse to show how relationships evolve over time.
5. Balanced Focus: Highlight smaller players and lesser-known relationships for a complete picture.

[Viraansh-13]

Viraansh Sontakkey - 22B1250

Title - How accurately does anyone know the global distribution of population? The World’s Population at 8 Billion

Overview: This visualization illustrates the global population distribution at the milestone of 8 billion people in 2022. It uses proportional circles to represent the populations of different countries, with the largest nations (e.g., China and India) prominently placed at the center. Regional color coding is applied to differentiate continents, making this a simple yet comprehensive static visualization of global demographics.

Strengths:

1. Prominent Focus on Key Nations: By centralizing the largest countries (China and India), the chart effectively highlights their dominance in the global population.

2. Clear Proportional Representation: The use of circle sizes accurately depicts population differences, enabling quick and intuitive comparisons.

3. Color Coding for Regions: Distinct colors for each continent help differentiate global regions, adding clarity to the visualization.

4. Simple and Appealing Design: The clean layout ensures that viewers can grasp the information without unnecessary visual distractions.

Shortcomings:

1. Placement Bias: Central positioning of populous nations amplifies their perceived dominance, making them appear even more significant than they already are.

2. Arbitrary Color Choices: While red for populous countries like China and India aligns with their importance, the color scheme for other regions appears random and lacks thematic coherence.

3. Overlooked Smaller Nations: Countries with smaller populations are hard to distinguish and often overshadowed, limiting their visibility in the narrative.

4. Limited Context Beyond Size: The visualization doesn’t provide information on other critical aspects, such as population density, growth trends, or demographic composition.

Areas of Improvement:

1. Reassess Placement Logic: Distribute countries more evenly across the layout to avoid amplifying the visual dominance of centrally placed nations.

2. Apply a Thematic Color Scheme: Assign colors based on regional or demographic factors (e.g., shades of blue for Asia, greens for Africa) for better coherence.

3. Enhance Representation of Small Nations: Include a zoomed-in section or clustered group for smaller countries to ensure they are not overlooked.

4. Incorporate Additional Metrics: Add annotations or side visuals to provide insights into density, age groups, or growth rates to enrich the overall understanding of global demographics.

[GenZzZzZ]

Ramandeep Singh - [22b1303] Title - World of R&D 2011 Objective It aims to represent global R&D activity in 2011 by showing the relationship between the percentage of GDP spent on R&D, the number of scientists and engineers per million people, and the relative annual R&D spending for various countries.

Effectiveness The graphic effectively highlights the correlation between R&D expenditure, the availability of scientific personnel, and relative spending across countries. It also provides regional distinctions using colors, helping viewers compare global trends in R&D investment.

Positives -The use of circle sizes to represent relative R&D spending provides an intuitive understanding of the magnitude of investment. Color coding by region (e.g., Americas, Asia, Europe) makes it easier to identify geographic groupings. -The x-axis and y-axis are clearly labeled, providing clarity on the variables being compared. -Country labels on the circles make it straightforward to identify specific nations. -Outliers like Israel and Finland stand out clearly, drawing attention to unique data points. Negatives -The overlapping circles, particularly in Europe, make it hard to distinguish data for smaller countries. -There is no legend to explain the meaning and scale of circle sizes, which reduces clarity. -The similarity in color shades, such as red (Europe) and orange (Others), may confuse viewers and poses accessibility issues for color-blind individuals. -No additional insights, such as demographic or geographic factors influencing R&D, are provided. What Could Have Been Better -A legend should have been included to explain the meaning of circle sizes and provide a reference scale. -Overlapping regions, such as Europe, could be clarified using magnified insets or repositioned circles. -Introduce patterns or textures in addition to colors to enhance accessibility for color-blind viewers. -Adding annotations to explain outliers like Israel and Finland would provide better context and insights.

[Khush-Soni]

Khush Soni - 23n0290 Title - Preventing Unsafe Abortion by Christina Calvache Quesada for the African Health Organization. Link - [https://cdn.domestika.org/c_fill,dpr_auto,f_auto,q_auto/v1603964455/content-items/006/101/199/Abortion_Infographic-original.jpg?1603964455]

How Effective Is It? The infographic does a good job of showing why unsafe abortions are a serious issue, especially in Africa. It uses facts, figures, and images to explain the problem and suggest solutions. The overall message is clear, making it good for spreading awareness.

What Works Well?

Colors: The use of soft colors like pink, yellow and purple keeps it pleasant to look at while matching the sensitivity of the topic. Easy-to-Follow Layout: The information is well-organized into sections like facts, barriers, complications, and solutions. This makes it easy to understand. Solutions Section In the end, the small icons (like medical tools and education symbols) help explain the prevention steps visually. They also keep the reader engaged by making the information easier to understand and less text-heavy.

What Doesn’t Work Well?

Hard-to-Read Text: Light-colored text on a pastel background is difficult for some people to read. Lack of Details About the Data: The infographic doesn't clearly mention where or when the data comes from.

How It Can Be Better

Simplify the Graphs: Simple charts (like bars or pies) can be used easy to compare for easy reference. Show Data Sources Clearly: Add small references for all the numbers so viewers know where the data is from. Make Text Easier to Read: Use darker colors or bold fonts to make the text stand out. Highlight Solutions: Place the "AHO Programme of Action" at the center so it gets more attention and two right and left section can be brought down to bottom.

[pickagon]

Arnav Dhamankar (22b0664)

Source: https://informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/water-world-distribution-of-the-all-the-water-in-all-the-world/

Aim of the graphic:

• The graphic explains and visualizes the distribution of water across the planet
• It further elaborates on fresh water and shows its distribution across different sources such as groundwater, lakes, and rivers
• It also shines a light on human interaction with water distribution and how humans have become an important part of the socio-hydro cycle

Strength:

• It shows how water is distributed across the planet giving larger areas to larger sources and making us understand how it is distributed using just the sizes of the circles
• It also has a gray line running in the background, indicating different levels. Each gray line is a level and explains a different "sort" of distribution. The initial line explains Freshwater, the next one elaborates further on it to show the distribution of freshwater itself
• These different layers are color-coded, which again makes it easy for the reader to gain insight on things on
• It perfectly represents how little fresh water is available for human consumption
• Despite its main aim being to show the distribution of water across the planet, it does a very good job at elaborating on freshwater offering us more insights and details
• As a key component of the socio-hydro cycle, it underscores the significant role of human consumption in the overall use of freshwater resources.

Weakness:

• The reader is left uncertain whether the area or the diameter of the circles should be considered when comparing the two water sources. Clarifying this distinction would help ensure accurate interpretation and comparison of the data.
• The "organisms" section is unclear. It is not specified whether it refers to the water consumed by organisms or the water contained within their bodies. Clarifying this distinction would improve understanding of the graphic's focus on water distribution across different sources.
• Humans appear in two parts of the diagram, which creates confusion. If the "organisms" section refers to water consumed by humans, the math doesn't seem to add up. For example, the calculation for organisms (0.03*0.3) only matches the volume of water from lakes, ignoring groundwater and rivers, which are also significant sources of water used by humans. This discrepancy should be addressed for clarity.

Effectiveness:

• It perfectly helps us understand based on the size of the circles how water is distributed across the planet
• It further perfectly visualized how much water humans utilize, and the sources it uses it from to highlight the role of humans in socio-economic cycle
• It distributed freshwater into further, again based on sizes of the circles, to show how it is distributed further
• The color coding helps us understand the different levels in which the water has been shown to be further distributed

What could be done better:

• Climate change is a significant concern when it comes to glaciers, and the graphic could have illustrated how the size of glaciers has changed from the 2000s to the present. Including this information would be relevant to the design, as it emphasizes freshwater availability. Since glaciers play a crucial role in the global freshwater supply, highlighting their shrinking size would further underscore the limited access to freshwater resources
• They could show distribution in oceans as well, it would be a small fraction of the design but would make the design more detailed and give us more insight if needed
• In many places, example water consumed by humans, the addition of all percentages is >100%. This is a small thing but could be fixed

[Dev-Nog]

Dev Nogiya- 23n0291

Link-https://visme.co/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/price-of-a-pandemic-1.png

Effectiveness:

-The visualization effectively conveys the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on global poverty. It highlights projected increases in poverty levels across three income tiers ($1.90, $3.20, and $5.50 per day) with clear visuals and supporting text. -It provides both a global overview and specific details about poverty categories, which helps the viewer understand the severity and scale of the issue.

What Works Well:

1.Clear Focus: The title and introductory text immediately set the context, making the purpose of the graphic clear. 2.Visual Contrast: The use of distinct colors for the income tiers ensures clarity and separates key data points. 3.Combination of Text and Visuals: The graph and the supporting text complement each other well, providing both quantitative and qualitative context. 4.Historical Comparison: Including the pre-pandemic forecast vs. worst-case scenario shows the drastic shift caused by the pandemic.

What Doesn’t Work:

1.Complexity for Some Audiences: The graph and text rely on the viewer understanding terms like "extreme poverty" and income thresholds, which might not be immediately clear to all audiences. 2.Overloaded Text: The explanatory text, while informative, is quite dense and could overwhelm casual viewers. 3.No Actual Before-and-After Data: The lack of real pre-pandemic vs. post-pandemic numbers for poverty lines limits the accuracy of the message. 4.Over-Reliance on Projections: Since the graph uses forecasts and worst-case scenarios, it doesn’t show confirmed changes in poverty levels. 5.Dense Text: The text explains the tiers and numbers but feels heavy and might lose the attention of some viewers. What Could Be Improved. 6.Improve Contrast: Replace grey text with white or brighter colors to improve readability, especially for accessibility purposes.

Simplify Explanations: The text could be shortened or simplified to make the key messages more accessible to a wider audience.

Interactive Element: In a static graphic, details about specific countries are limited. An interactive version could allow users to explore data for individual nations or regions.

Highlight Changes More Clearly: Using arrows or annotations to emphasize the jump from pre-pandemic to worst-case scenario could make the trends stand out more.

Better Text Alignment: The layout of text near the graph could be adjusted to reduce visual clutter and improve the flow of information.

[ashita-28]

Spoiler Alert! You have been warned :)

Game of Thrones - Timeline Visualization

Please use the link for better visibility

Link - https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/adam.e.mccan/viz/GameofThrones_4/GameofThrones Source - Tableau Public - Game of Thrones

Critique and what worked

• Clarity: It is clear in the first glance that the image is about the timeline of characters' debut and deaths in the series "The Game of Thrones". The bars above the horizontal start rectangle represent the comparison of how often does one character appear in the series. The names could have been put above the lines (something that is assumed - pseudo static)
• Colors and Line thickness: The colors used are same as the color of the sigil in the original series, and are picked in a saturation that makes them easier to differentiate. The thickness of the lines represents the frequency of appearances, allowing for an intuitive understanding of which characters were central in each season.
• Important events marked: Important events like character deaths and the most times a character has appeared in any episode is marked.
• Narrative Alignment: The design reflects the complexity and interwoven and cyclical nature of the series, echoing its tone and storytelling style.
• Legend and Annotations: The inclusion of a clear legend for sigils, line thickness, and event markers (debut, death) ensures that even new viewers can decode the visualization effectively.

What did not work

• Overcrowding: The large number of characters and overlapping lines create visual clutter, especially in sections where arcs converge or overlap heavily. This makes it difficult for viewers to follow storylines. It also leads to a problem when we have a picture and the names do not pop up for us to follow the timeline
• Event Visibility: Key events, while marked, use small and subdued fonts, making them hard to locate at a glance. Significant events like "Red Wedding" and main character deaths risk being overlooked.
• Complexity: The circular layout less intuitive than traditional linear timelines. Unfamiliar viewers will find it difficult to understand how data flows across seasons.

How could it have been better

• Enhance Event Markers: Using bold fonts or larger icons to highlight significant events. A secondary timeline for major events to identify milestones in the narrative.
• Alternative Layout: A linear timeline could provide a simpler view.
• Contextual Insights: Annotations summarizing patterns or insights, such as which house dominates appearances in each season
• Names on the top and the end of the character plotlines could give a better view of everything

Ashita - 210100033

[Aryamaan-1]

Music Streaming Services Revenue and Impact

Aryamaan Kavi | 23B1513

Summary

• The visualisation compares major music streaming platforms using various metrics including average revenue per play, total users, percentage of free users, annual losses, etc.
• The graphic is intended to display the differences in major platforms in terms of artist compensation and profitability

Strengths

• Comprehensive Comparison: The visualisation includes multiple metrics, offering a holistic view of streaming platforms' performance and impact.
• Clear Labels and Data Points: Each category is labeled, making it relatively easy to follow the information provided.
• Colour Coding: The use of distinct colors helps differentiate between platforms and categories.
• Engaging Design: The flow between metrics is visually appealing and draws the viewer's attention.

Weaknesses

• Line Crossovers: The crisscrossing lines create visual noise and make it harder to follow individual metrics.
• No Scale for User Counts: The scale for "total users" is inconsistent or unclear (e.g., Spotify at 159 million compared to other platforms).
• Incomplete Data: Missing data points for "annual loss per user" for a few platforms.
• High Cognitive Load: The viewer has to process multiple metrics simultaneously, which reduces comprehension.

Areas of Improvement

• Reduce Line Crossovers: Reorganise the layout to avoid overlapping lines, simplifying the visual flow.
• Use of Consistent Scales: Ensure that user counts and other metrics are scaled uniformly for accurate visual comparison.
• Highlight Key Insights: Focus on a few key takeaways instead of overwhelming viewers with excessive data points.
• Use Mute Colours: Reduce the high contrast of colors, as the current palette strains the eyes. Opt for more muted tones to enhance visual comfort.

[Chiransh-Somani]

Chiransh Somani - 22B1202

---

Source - https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/02/health/ghana-kfc-obesity.html

Positives:

1. Clear Axes and Quadrants: The graph uses intuitive labels for the x-axis ("Increasing/Decreasing Wealth") and y-axis ("Increasing/Decreasing Fast Food Sales"), making it easy to understand trends.
2. Color-Coding by Income Groups: The use of different colors for lower middle, upper middle, and high-income groups adds a layer of insight into socioeconomic differences.
3. Highlighting Specific Countries: Labeling notable countries like Vietnam, India, and the United States draws attention to key data points.
4. Balanced Design: The graph is well-distributed, with no excessive clustering in any single quadrant, enhancing readability.

---

Negatives:

1. Lack of Data Context: The graph provides no information about population size or fast food market sizes, which could explain why certain countries fall into specific quadrants.
2. Overcrowded Labels: Several labels overlap or are too close to each other, especially in densely populated quadrants, reducing readability.
3. Limited Context: While the caption explains the axes, there is no discussion of why specific trends occur or what drives the relationships (e.g., cultural or economic factors).
4. Potential Misinterpretation: The linear scales do not clarify whether relationships are statistically significant, potentially misleading viewers into assuming causation.

---

Areas for Improvement:

1. Interactive or Alternative Representation: Consider an interactive graph for online use, allowing users to hover over bubbles for more details, or add annotations for key insights.
2. Address Label Clutter: Use techniques like selective labeling (e.g., label only extreme or key outliers) or interactive pop-ups to reduce visual noise.
3. Incorporate a Trendline: Adding trendlines for income groups could provide additional clarity on overall relationships.
4. Provide Additional Context: A footnote or description about why some countries, like Vietnam or India, have significant increases in fast food sales would be helpful.

[Harshvardhan-10]

Harshvardhan Shrivastav - 23B1535

Link: https://www.reddit.com/r/dataisbeautiful/s/geRHoD6Rk4

Negatives:

• difficult to understand in one glance, requires the viewer to apply some thought.
• The state naming should have been done with all states in one category on one side. The constant up down shifts to read state name is tedious.
• Difficult to gauge the percentage of eligible citizens who didn’t vote. Also difficult to understand percentage of people who did vote.
• The “no vote” section on the top and bottom makes it seem like, those percent of people lying above would have voted Trump and the “no vote” on the bottom would have voted Harris.
• Parity line becomes difficult to observe in the RED side. Should have used a darker color.
• Difficult to compare the percentage of blue votes, to red votes in this setting.
• Highest margin was mislabeled as ‘HI’ instead of ‘DC’ on the right.
• The fact “1 in 70 switched, then Harris would have won.” is kind of downgrading the loss the Dems faced against the Republicans, so isn’t necessary.
• White vertical lines for 270, 312 and another which is there for some reason, i couldn’t understand feel unnecessary. Just putting a white line for the number of votes required to win would have sufficed.

Positives:

• Elegantly displays the number of electoral votes of each state by using the thickness of the bars.
• Showcases the effect of “Other party” votes well.
• Displays the close contest in the “battleground states” well.
• Emphasizes the potential the non-voters have in affecting a states result if they do decide to turn up to vote.
• Efficiently displays multiple data points, making the visualisation extremely informative.
• Nice transition from the most democratic state to the most republican state, showcasing the bluest and reddest states.
• Alternate dark and light bands for states, makes it a good aesthetic.

[enigmax86]

Title: IPv4 Internet Topology Map

---

Short Critique:

The IPv4 Internet Topology Map is a visualization that represents the AS-level (Autonomous System) connections in the internet graph. This circular layout attempts to depict the relationships and connectivity of internet nodes worldwide.

Strengths:

• Comprehensive Representation: The map effectively showcases a vast amount of data, including the out-degree peering values of nodes, using both position and color intensity.
• Color Coding: The use of a color gradient to represent the out-degree peering is intuitive and provides clarity for interpreting node connectivity.
• Circular Layout: The circular arrangement offers a compact and balanced view of the data, making it visually engaging.
• City Labeling: The annotation of city names along the circle aids geographic context and relevance.

Weaknesses:

• Visual Overload: The density of connections makes the visualization cluttered, making it challenging to discern individual connections or nodes without zooming in.
• Label Legibility: Many labels overlap or are too small to read clearly, especially in the center, which diminishes its readability.
• Focus Areas: The central region is heavily populated with overlapping data points, obscuring meaningful insights.

Suggestions for Improvement:

• Interactive Features: Adding interactivity, such as zooming and hovering to reveal node details, could greatly enhance usability.
• Simplification: Reducing the density of displayed connections or providing filters for specific regions or connection types would improve clarity.
• Label Arrangement: Strategically positioning the labels to avoid overlap would improve legibility. Alternatively, employing pop-ups or tooltips could be useful.

---

Name: Divyanshu Suman
Roll Number: 22B0401

[kritiat16]

Kriti A - 210100083

Reported Lives Lost from COVID per week until December 2020

What the chart aims to show us and how effective it is:

This stacked area chart helps us visualize the COVID 19 deaths caused per week across different regions in the world, hence providing a global overview of the deaths caused by the pandemic from Dec 2019 to Dec 2021.

What works well?

1) Stacked Design: Since the representation is layered, it effectively conveys the contribution of each region to the world death toll

2) Color coding: According to me, the color scheme used is something that works well for me because of the following

• the use of green and red which are complementary colors on the color wheel describes a notion of two opposite phases
• green is being used to denote a relatively more subtle and peaceful time phase while the red denotes that the situation has become extreme and dangerous, and this is appropriate for a graph depicting mortality
• the different shades of red, yellow, orange have been used to depict the severity of the number of deaths in different regions
• a bright red has been used for areas with very high number of deaths, hence drawing immediate attention to the human eye

3) Scale used: The use of weekly death counts like 50,000 ensures the gravity of the situation is understood by the viewer

4) Mentioning of important dates: The timeline is clear and shows what period was peak in mortality, indicating to the viewer the trends of the number of deaths

What doesn't work well?

1) Cluttered Labels: The labels at the top are for small overlapping regions making it difficult for the human eye to perceive and understand

2) No explanation of the situation: While the chart does indicate a trend and shows the changes in the number of deaths, it does not mention anything to help us understand the causes of the deaths - for example, a new strain, lack of vaccines or an absence of safety protocols - it can be anything

3) Unclear baseline: The chart assumes that we already know the relative populations of different regions and doesn't mention anything for us to understand the magnitude of deaths relatively

What could be improved?

1) Color legend: Adding a color legend at the bottom can make it easier to read rather than the regional labels

2) Adding an overall trendline: By including an overall trendline, an aggregate of the pattern can be easily visualized while also showcasing regional differences

3) Inclusion of small texts/boxes showcasing major events: Currently, only the event of "declaration as pandemic" is present. This can be improved by adding more concise information on causes of spikes and dips, population sizes

4) A slightly better balance of deep tones to prevent the viewer from being overwhelmed

5) A better use of color to write the names of the region on the chart. White isn't the best choice and slightly fades away according to me

[amansingh107]

Lines of Code (LOC) of Popular Programming Languages in 300 CRAN Packages

Short Critique

The visualization titled "Lines of Code (LOC) of Popular Programming Languages in 300 CRAN Packages" presents a comparative analysis of the amount of code written in various programming languages used within CRAN packages. This visualization aims to highlight the differences in code complexity and usage among popular programming languages.

Strengths

• Clear Comparison: The bar chart format allows for straightforward comparisons between the lines of code across different languages, making it easy for viewers to identify which languages have more extensive codebases.
• Color Differentiation: Each programming language is represented with distinct colors, enhancing visual clarity and aiding quick identification.
• Data Transparency: The inclusion of specific numerical values above each bar provides precise information, allowing for detailed analysis and understanding of the data.

Weaknesses

• Lack of Context: The visualization does not provide context regarding why these differences in LOC matter, which could leave viewers questioning the implications of the data.
• Overlooked Insights: There is no discussion on how LOC correlates with package functionality, performance, or other relevant metrics that could enrich the viewer's understanding.
• Limited Interaction: The static nature of the visualization may limit engagement; users cannot explore the data further or filter by specific criteria.

Suggestions for Improvement

1. Contextual Information: Adding a brief explanatory note that discusses the significance of LOC in relation to programming languages would provide valuable context for viewers.
2. Enhanced Interactivity: Incorporating interactive features, such as tooltips or clickable elements that reveal additional data or insights, could greatly enhance user engagement.
3. Methodology Explanation: Including a reference to the methodology used for data collection would increase credibility and help viewers understand how the data was compiled.

---

Name: Aman Kumar Singh
Roll No.: 22B0321

[Rishi-574]

Rishi Dewangan 23N0327

Source - https://www.visualcapitalist.com/ranked-top-countries-by-total-forest-loss-since-2001/

CRITIQUE

What It Wants to Explain : The graph aims to highlight global forest loss over two decades, showing the extent of deforestation in different countries. It visualizes the total area of forests lost in square kilometers for each country, as well as the percentage decrease in forest cover, emphasizing the severe impact on nations like Brazil, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Indonesia.

1. Success of the Graph :

• The graph uses stacks of logs to represent the magnitude of forest loss, making it visually intuitive to compare between countries.
• Brazil stands out clearly as the country with the highest forest loss, which aligns with common knowledge about deforestation in the Amazon.
• The use of colors helps distinguish between different countries and provides some visual diversity.
• The inclusion of percentage loss alongside total area adds depth to the data, allowing viewers to understand both absolute and relative impacts.
• The small map inset provides a useful context for understanding the global spread of deforestation.

2. Things It Missed or May Misguide :

• The graph does not explain the causes of forest loss (e.g., logging, agriculture, urban expansion, or wildfires). Viewers might mistakenly assume all deforestation occurs for the same reasons.
• While absolute forest loss is shown, the relative impact on smaller countries (like Paraguay or Mozambique) might be understated compared to large nations like Brazil.
• It doesn't show how the rate of deforestation has changed over time, leaving gaps in understanding whether forest loss is accelerating or slowing.
• While visually engaging, the log stacks could mislead viewers into thinking forest loss directly translates to harvested timber. In reality, much deforestation involves burning or clearing for agriculture, not logging.
• The graph does not account for natural reforestation or forest management practices, which could provide a more balanced view of net forest change.

3. Areas of Improvement :

• Use icons, annotations, or a legend to indicate major drivers of forest loss in each country.
• Complement the data with net forest changes (including reforestation and afforestation efforts) to provide a more comprehensive view.
• Adjust visual scaling to ensure smaller countries with significant relative loss (e.g., Mozambique or Paraguay) are not overshadowed by larger nations.

[NiharSMehta]

Title: "Printed Graphics Memory"

Image Reference: SCMP Printed Graphics Memory

---

Detailed Critique:

1. Visual Appeal:

   • The image has a simple and clean design that makes it easy to focus on the main elements.
   • The soft colors create a sense of nostalgia, matching the theme of remembering printed graphics.
   • The layout is neat and guides your eyes naturally through the image.

2. Design and Layout:

   • The text style fits the theme well, giving it a vintage look while still being easy to read.
   • Everything is spaced and aligned properly, making the design feel balanced and organized.
   • The simple design works well but could use a bit more detail to make it even more engaging.

3. Informational Value:

   • The image gives a clear idea about the importance of printed graphics and their role in history.
   • It provides a good mix of visuals and information but doesn’t explain much about the specific details or timeline.
   • People unfamiliar with the topic might find it a bit vague or hard to fully understand.

4. Suggestions for Improvement:

   • Add a small description or key points in the image to explain the main ideas more clearly.
   • If used online, making it interactive (like clickable sections) would let people explore more details.
   • Including dates or events from the history of printed media would make it more educational.

5. Overall Impact:

   • The graphic is eye-catching and brings out the cultural importance of printed graphics.
   • A few small changes could make it even better for both learning and storytelling.

Nihar Mehta (22b0416)

[Pegu36745]

LGBTQ+ Representation on Television: A Radial Data Visualization

Short Critique

This radial visualization showcases LGBTQ+ representation on television across various dimensions, including genres, networks, types of representation, and whether the actors themselves identify as LGBTQ+. The visualization spans 60 TV shows and aims to provide a detailed understanding of trends in representation. While visually captivating and packed with data, there are significant areas for improvement to enhance its usability and accessibility.

Strengths

1. Comprehensive Representation:

   • The visualization integrates multiple layers of data, such as the type of representation (asexual, gay, bisexual, etc.), network, genre, and actor identity. This multidimensional approach allows for a nuanced analysis of LGBTQ+ representation in television.
   • Temporal data on running years and seasons highlights trends over time, making it easier to spot shifts in representation.

2. Effective Use of Color:

   • A distinct color palette is used to differentiate between types of representation, genres, and actor identity. This helps in categorizing and visually parsing the complex data.

3. Engaging Design:

   • The radial layout is visually engaging and offers a creative alternative to traditional bar charts or timelines, potentially attracting a broader audience to explore the data.

Weaknesses

1. Readability Challenges:

   • The radial structure, while engaging, makes it difficult to trace specific relationships or compare values across different categories. For example, identifying trends across networks or genres requires significant effort.
   • The smaller text size and overlapping segments can be hard to read, especially in densely packed areas.

2. Complexity of Interpretation:

   • The visualization attempts to convey too much information simultaneously, which may overwhelm viewers unfamiliar with the topic. Simplifying or splitting the data into smaller, focused visualizations could improve clarity.

3. Legend Placement and Labeling:

   • While the legend effectively explains the data elements, its placement outside the radial chart requires users to shift focus back and forth, reducing the fluidity of interpretation. Integrating annotations or inline labeling could mitigate this issue.

4. Accessibility Concerns:

   • The heavy reliance on color differentiation might pose issues for individuals with color vision deficiencies. Including patterns, shapes, or direct text labels alongside color could make the chart more inclusive.
   • The radial format lacks screen-reader compatibility, which could make the visualization inaccessible to visually impaired users.

5. Focus on Representation vs. Impact:

   • While the chart effectively tracks the number of LGBTQ+ characters and actors, it does not delve into the quality or depth of representation. For instance, whether characters perpetuate stereotypes or offer authentic, nuanced portrayals could have added value.

Recommendations

1. Alternative Layouts:

   • Consider using comparative bar charts, timelines, or hierarchical trees for certain data dimensions (e.g., genres vs. networks), which might be easier to interpret.

2. Interactive Features:

   • Transform the chart into an interactive, digital format where users can click on individual segments to reveal detailed information about each show, network, or type of representation.

3. Focus on Quality of Representation:

   • Expand the dataset to include qualitative information, such as the nature of LGBTQ+ characters, their impact on storytelling, or audience reception.

4. Enhanced Accessibility:

   • Introduce features like pattern overlays, text summaries, or compatibility with screen readers to make the visualization more accessible to a diverse audience.

Commented by: Montu Pegu
Roll Number: 22B0329

[TanzeelMV]

Loss of Biodiversity

Tanzeel Velaskar | 22B2198

Source: https://www.behance.net/gallery/16310193/Loss-of-Biodiversity-Infographic

Description:

This illustration shows facts, causes and effects of the continuously increasing loss of biodiversity across the planet.

Positive points:

• The title, the actual facts and the concluding message/warning have been nicely ordered and positioned.
• The overall arrangement of texts and images is kept neat and decluttered.
• The little diagrams in the rightmost column provide a clear picture of the proportion of endangered species, by using appropriate color coding, as is the main aim of the illustration.
• Words that are meant to depict a negative effect have their text color formatted to a bright red; this draws attention to the alarming messages.

Negative points:

• Text color undergoes unnecessary changes with every word.
• Text size for relatively important information like the value of dip in temperature is small; and it seems to be changing arbitrarily.
• The values ‘20%’ and ‘80%’ in the central column are not related to each other in any manner, as against what it appears.
• Blue and green colors chosen for central column’s pie diagram don’t seem to have any alarming effects.
• The three specimen drawings for agricultural crops and fisheries have no relevance to the statistical data mentioned just above them.
• The thermometer graphic neither shows amount of rise in temperature, nor is of any specific significance.
• Little tree symbols used for depicting land area of natural habitat don’t show any relative or quantitative proportion; similar is the case for illustrations of the two humans and one elephant representing mammals.

Possible Improvements:

• Font size could be kept constant or varying as per the importance of the text in the illustration.
• Symbols of trees for depicting acres of land could instead be shown as a part of the total land area so as to get an idea about the percentage or proportion of natural habitat destroyed.
• Non-essential images like the clock or the thermometer could be removed for greater clarity.
• More statistical methods of representation like donut chart or stacked bar chart would be better choices for displaying data regarding ratios and percentages, instead of pictorial diagrams.

[AyushiWarwade]

https://visme.co/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Visualizing-the-History-of-Pandemics-scaled.jpg

Name: Ayushi Warwade Roll No. : 210040028

Visualizing the History of Pandemics

Pros:

Clear timeline structure: The visualization uses a chronological layout that effectively communicates the progression of pandemics over centuries.

Quantitative data representation: Circles of varying sizes visually represent the death tolls, making it easy to compare the scale of different pandemics at a glance.

Color coding: The use of distinct colors enhances readability and helps differentiate between pandemics.

Historical context: Including the year and name of each pandemic provides important historical context.

Cons:

Limited contextual information: The visualization does not provide enough details about the causes, impacts, or containment measures of the pandemics.

Overemphasis on death tolls: While the death tolls are important, other factors such as the geographical spread and socio-economic impact are not addressed.

Clustered layout: The overlap of some circles makes it harder to discern specific pandemics, especially in crowded time periods.

Lack of interactivity: As a static visualization, it cannot provide deeper insights or allow users to explore individual pandemics in more detail.

What Could Be Better:

Add brief descriptions or key facts about each pandemic to provide more context.

Use a more spaced-out layout to avoid clustering and improve readability.

Incorporate interactive elements (if digital) to allow users to explore detailed data for each pandemic.

Include additional metrics such as the duration of the pandemic or its geographical spread for a more holistic view.

[sanskarsharma007]

Title: Who Is Bottling Plastic Waste Pollution?

Source Link: Plastic Waste Pollution Data Visualisation

---

Short Critique:

This infographic presents detailed information on the plastic waste produced by various countries, showing both total waste generation and the percentage that is inadequately managed. It also compares the data with the GDP per capita, providing insight into the relationship between wealth and waste management. The use of a Sankey diagram visually represents the flow of plastic waste, making the data more engaging. While the graphic is informative, some elements could be improved.

Strengths:

• Clear Visual Flow: The infographic uses the Sankey diagram to effectively show how plastic waste flows across regions and countries. This allows viewers to understand the primary contributors to the issue.
• Color Coding by Continent: The use of distinct colors for different continents (Asia, Europe, North America, etc.) improves visual clarity and helps viewers track the data flow.
• Whale Comparison: Representing ocean plastic pollution in terms of blue whales is a unique and impactful way to demonstrate the massive scale of the problem.
• Potential for Interactivity: The layout suggests it could be even more effective if it were interactive, offering more detailed insights when hovering over certain areas.

Areas for Improvement:

• Data Overload: There is too much information in a single visual, making it difficult for viewers to immediately grasp the key message. Breaking the data into smaller sections or focusing on one aspect at a time would help.
• Tiny Fonts: Some of the text, particularly in the country-by-country breakdown, is too small to be easily readable. Enlarging this text would make the information more accessible.
• Missing Context on Solutions: The infographic highlights the problem but doesn’t provide information on solutions or trends over time. Including information on what’s being done to address plastic pollution would offer a more balanced perspective.

Weaknesses:

• Overcrowded Design: The design feels cluttered due to the amount of information crammed into one space. Simplifying the visual elements or reducing the density of the data would improve clarity.
• Lack of Visual Focus: The current design doesn't direct the viewer's attention to the most critical points. A more structured approach, like highlighting the most alarming data, would make it easier for viewers to understand the urgency of the issue.
• Hard-to-Read Percentages: Some of the percentages, such as the share of plastic waste inadequately managed, are difficult to distinguish quickly because of the small text size and placement.

---

Sanskar Sharma (Roll No: 22b1018)

[Hersheys007]

Harsitha Devaraj, 210260019

This picture was generated to show the distribution of world population at the milestone of hitting 8 billion people. On November 15, 2022, the world’s population reached 8 billion. This is the first time in history that there have been this many people on Earth.

Critique:

Effectiveness of the Visualization

1. The layout followed makes it very easy to digest the information the author is trying to convey about the populations of different countries.
2. India and China are the two most populous countries in the world. By placing India prominently at the center alongside China, the visualization emphasizes their substantial contributions to the global population.
3. The sizes of the pieces being proportional to the populations of the countries, the unique colouring of different areas help perceive the data quite straightforward and visually engaging.

Strengths

1. The layout with many different pictures portraying different pieces of information make the data not only easy to follow but also makes good use of negative space.
2. All the information requited for the user, the legends, different number for countries with their flags and the population for each continent have been provided making the data quite intuitive to understand.
3. Personally, I like the colours used, making the data visual appealing to look at.

Weaknesses

1. There is a lot of pieces of information which sometimes make the visual feel very crowded even though all info is relevant.
2. The sizing scale is a little ambiguous so it is quite unclear how accurate and reliable the sizing is.

What Could Be Improved

1. The background felt very overbearing for the visual, a little lighter shade may have been more visually appeasing.
2. Adding few takeaways from the information, or predictions would have added more relevant information to the visual.
3. An addition of a graph showing the change of the world population over the years could have been added to show the trends. Also, the countries with higher increase of population as compared to the previous year could have had darker colours while those with lesser could have used lighter colours.

[kaushal-malpure]

Kaushal Malpure (22B1276)

Title: Warmth in the Gulf of Mexico (Source: Brian McNoldy, University of Miami Upper Ocean Dynamics Lab)

Critique:

Effectiveness of the Visualization The visualization is effective in illustrating the significant deviation in ocean heat content in the Gulf of Mexico for 2024 compared to the historical average (2013-2023). The use of color and line styles effectively highlights the anomaly and provides a clear comparison with past years. However, the graph could be more impactful with additional context or annotations to highlight the significance of the data trends.

Strengths The bold red line for 2024 makes it easy to identify the current year’s data amidst the historical data. The dotted black line for the 2013-2023 average provides a clear baseline for comparison. The labeling of Oct. 7, 2024, effectively draws attention to the peak heat content value, emphasizing its significance.

Weaknesses The y-axis lacks a detailed label explaining "kJ/cm²," which could confuse readers unfamiliar with the unit. The significance of the Oct. 7, 2024, peak is not explained, leaving readers questioning its importance. The inclusion of many individual years in gray creates a cluttered background, which can distract from the main comparison.

What Could Be Improved Adding a brief explanation or annotation for the Oct. 7, 2024, peak (e.g., its implications or causes) would make the graph more informative. The y-axis label should explicitly state "Ocean Heat Content (kJ/cm²)" for clarity. Introducing confidence intervals or variability measures for the average (2013-2023) would provide more context. A lighter or subtler gray for individual years could reduce clutter and improve focus on the key trends.

[KSShriramkumar]

Income disparity

Roll number: 22b1280 Name: K.S.Shriram Kumar

Click for article

The above graph tries to convey the information regarding which class of society is outperforming who based on income averaged across each group.

Critiques:

1. The legend is very misleading, the fact that all blue lines refer to women with college degrees and the labels refer to subclass/race of women who have a degree is not clearly communicated to the viewer.

2. The exact message/overall trend the graph is trying to communicate is not very clear. It could interpreted as a split up of women's earnings across race, but at the same time it also includes a line to include men and infact the color coding seems to intend to make us compare men and women.

3. Lots of variation in data seems to have been omitted. For example only white unemployed men have been displayed, white employed men, men of other races have been completely omitted making the goal of the graph further unclear.

4. The ylabels are varied in the order of decades thus severly averaging the entire time period and hiding possible variation between those time periods which makes the data's varation look a lot more uniform anf extreme.

5. Absence of y-ticks in the graph make it hard to interpret any numerical data from the graph, making only qualitative comparision possible.

6. The exact metric plotted isn't clearly mentioned. Only income is mention which could be amount of taxed income, total amount of money earned. Further by workers it is sensible to interpret wage workers/ white collar workers but does the plot include buisnessmen/buisnesswomen...etc isn't clear.

7. The baseline metric used for comparision is the average income and not the median. Averages are known to be skewed towards higher values if the highest of earners earn significantly more than the lowest earners.

Positives:

1. The lines used are bold simple and clear

2. The coloring scheme is obviously contrasting and easy to distinguish between.

3. Some baseline (average) is mentioned so viewer can interpret some normalisation

Improvements:

1. If time series variation across groups was to be mentioned, the granularity of time should be decreased, and all the groups/races mentioned should be mentioned for both genders. This is necessary for accurate comparison

2. The comparison goal, metric used to compare should be clearly mentioned in the title

3. A legend box should be mentioned in the plot to give clear information about the legend

[palakpawan]

Education Levels Around the World

---

Palak Pawan - 22B0338

The infographic, titled "Education Levels Around the World," effectively shows the differences in education levels across regions using various visuals like maps, bar charts, and pie charts. It provides a clear overview of global education by comparing important factors such as years of schooling, graduation rates, total graduates and enrollment numbers.

Positive Critiques

• The infographic is neatly divided into sections for years of education, schooling, graduation rates, enrollment, and total graduates, making it easy to understand.
• It uses a mix of maps, bar charts, and pie charts, along with vibrant colors, to make the information engaging and simple to understand.
• Each region is assigned a unique color, which is used consistently throughout to help compare data easily.
• The infographic covers a topic that matters worldwide, putting light on educational inequalities across regions.
• The visual layout allows readers to quickly compare education levels in different regions.
• It raises awareness about global education gaps and encourages discussions on the topic.

Negative Critiques

• Certain labels and figures, some text, especially on the map and pie charts, is too small, making it hard to read and less accessible for people with visual difficulties.
• The infographic doesn’t explain why some regions have lower education levels, missing important details. It lacks depth in explaining why certain regions lag in education levels.
• The infographic does not provide sufficient details. It provides a broad global overview, it overlooks detailed data for certain regions such as South Asia and the Arab States making it difficult to fully compare education levels across all regions.

What could be better?

• The font size for text and labels on the map and smaller graphs, should be increased to enhance accessibility and ensure clarity for all the viewers and improve readability
• The infographic should include brief notes or insights that explain the reasons behind disparities in education levels across regions, such as economic challenges or gaps in government policies, explaining why certain regions lag in education levels.
• A dedicated section should be added to discuss potential solutions or actionable steps to address educational inequality on a global scale.

[LakshmeeshKP]

| New York Times: Here's When We Expect Omicron to Peak |

Name: K P Lakshmeesh Roll no: 22B1246

---

Image attachment:

Reference: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/06/opinion/omicron-covid-us.html

Positives:

• The unusual and unique spiral visualization quickly grabs the readers attention.
• The spiral format is an interesting way to represent months periodically over the years.
• The design is very minimalistic, with very low data clutter.

Negatives:

• It takes some effort to understand the quantitative value at specific time point using the scale provided at the top left corner.
• Comparing values between any two points on distant parts of the spiral is difficult and can't be done precisely.
• The spiral may cause some confusion to the reader about the year they are observing without close inspection.
• The design takes up significant amount of space to convey limited information compared to typical visualization methods.

Improvements:

• A linear representation would have provided more clarity of information ; However it is dependent on whether the objective of the designer was the draw attention or provide clear information.
• Introducing gradient colours to represent the relative values over time would make it more intuitive.
• Could have opted for a more visually appealing and intuitive colour scheme, instead of a monotone red to make it more engaging.
• Peaks could have been annotated with their corresponding values to highlight on significant data points.
• If online, a dynamic version could be implemented for readers to hover over sections to get more information .

[Arin2402]

Arin Mahajan - 22B2264 Why Nations Thrive: The Impact of Economy, Healthcare, Education, and Army Development - https://shorturl.at/m8YSE

1) Short Description of the Infographic:

The "Why Nations Thrive" infographic highlights the correlation between key development metrics—economy, healthcare, education, and military spending—and their impact on the Human Development Index (HDI). It visualizes data from multiple countries, using concentric circles to represent varying HDI scores and their determinants. Key metrics such as GDP per capita, health expenditure, education expenditure, military spending, and the GINI index are broken down for analysis, offering an insightful overview of global trends in national development.

2) Positive Critiques:

1. The concentric circle design effectively conveys a comparative view of HDI across nations, allowing the reader to assess relative rankings quickly.
2. Indicators like GDP growth, life expectancy, and economic freedom scores are distinctly visualized, giving depth to the data interpretation.
3. Using color gradients for economic, healthcare, and education indicators makes it easy to differentiate between countries’ performance levels.
4. Inclusion of multiple dimensions of development (economy, healthcare, education, and military) ensures a holistic analysis of the factors influencing national progress.
5. The infographic balances detailed quantitative data and a clean visual layout, making it appealing to readers with varying levels of expertise.

2) Negative Critiques:

1. The density of data points within the concentric circles can be overwhelming, making it challenging to spot specific country trends or outliers at first glance.
2. The reliance on similar-sized dots and overlapping positions creates visual clutter, particularly for countries with close HDI scores.
3. Some key indicators like the "GINI index" and "Military Spending" are visually understated, reducing their impact in conveying disparities among the nations.
4. The static format does not allow for interactive exploration, such as clicking on a country to see more details or trends over time.
5. There is no explicit annotation for outliers or nations with significant achievements, such as the highest GDP per capita or longest life expectancy.

4) Areas of Improvement:

1. Simplify the presentation of the concentric circles by grouping countries into broader tiers or highlighting only the top and bottom performers in each category.
2. Use larger icons, distinct shapes, or contrasting colors to emphasize critical data points, such as nations with extreme scores or significant disparities in one metric.
3. Provide a summary or legend explaining the significance of each indicator and how it correlates with national prosperity to make the data more accessible.
4. Incorporate an interactive digital infographic version where users can hover over or click on data points to explore additional information.

[RohitIITB]

The Almighty Dollar

Name: Rohit Kourav Roll Number: 22B0720

Description

It’s no secret that the distribution of wealth is inequitable in the United States across racial, regional, and socio-economic groups. But there is a distinct variance among and within America’s faiths as well. Displayed below are the income levels of America’s major religious groups, as compared to the average U.S. income distribution

Source: (https://www.smartbugmedia.com/hs-fs/hubfs/9.jpeg?width=3000&name=9.jpeg)

Positives:

• Effectiveness: The visualization effectively communicates income distribution across various religious groups by breaking down income brackets and comparing them to the national average. It highlights disparities within and among religious affiliations.
• Color Coding: The use of different shades of green for income brackets is consistent and visually intuitive. Darker shades represent higher income brackets, making the hierarchy clear.
• Radial Design: The semi-circular layout provides an aesthetic way to compare groups side by side while maintaining readability.
• Icons: The inclusion of small illustrations representing religious groups adds an engaging visual element, making the chart less monotonous.
• Clear Labels: Each section is well-labeled with percentages for income brackets and religious groups.

Weaknesses:

• Contextual Bias: The chart might unintentionally create a bias by not considering historical or immigration-related factors. For instance, certain groups, like Hindus, might show higher income distribution because of selective migration policies favoring highly skilled professionals, which creates a skewed representation.
• No Population Context: There’s no indication of the relative population size of each group, which is crucial to interpreting the income distribution accurately.
• Central Image Redundancy: The buildings at the center add aesthetic appeal but serve no functional purpose in terms of data communication.
• Blank Spaces: The design leaves substantial blank areas around the center, which could be utilized for additional insights or summaries.
• Radial Format Issues: The semi-circular layout, while visually unique, can make it harder to compare values, especially for income brackets near the outer edges. A linear arrangement might enhance clarity.
• Text Size: Some percentage labels are small and difficult to read, particularly for viewers with vision challenges.

Improvements:

• Include the ethnic composition of each religious group to provide a more comprehensive picture, showing what proportion of the population belongs to each group.
• Highlight the migrant population within each ethnic composition and indicate how many among them fall into higher income brackets, giving insight into the role of migration in shaping economic outcomes.
• Display the percentage distribution of each religious group directly within their respective radial segments to give immediate context about their representation in the population.
• Address potential biases, such as the overrepresentation of wealthier migrants in groups like Hindus or Jews, and systemic challenges faced by others, ensuring a more balanced interpretation.

[AshishSingh4]

Petroleum in our daily Life

Name - Ashish Singh Roll number - 23B2493

Image link: https://datavizproject.com/wp-content/uploads/examples/oil-flow-daily-lives.jpg

This flow diagram is very illustrative and really communicates the breadth of dependence on petroleum in daily life sectors.

Strengths:

1. Clarity and Structure: The diagram does a great job of showing the flow of petroleum from domestic production and imports to different end uses like transportation, manufacturing, and feedstock Petro-products.
2. Broader Breakdown: Breaking off major sectors such as transportation, energy, health, and communication lets readers understand the vastly different uses of petroleum
3. Quantitative Data: The use of "Million Barrels per Day" (MBD) gives the reader a clearer view and understanding on the amount of petroleum being used in various categories.
4. Design Aesthetics: The neat, monochromatic layout with flow lines makes it appealing to the eye and easy to read.

Weaknesses:

1. Overwhelming Detail: The diagram is data-dense and may be overwhelming for casual readers. It requires some effort to comprehend.
2. Lacking detail: As a static visual, it doesn't allow users to explore the data dynamically or dive deeper into specific sections.
3. Context missing: While it shows where petroleum is used, it doesn't address the environmental or economic implications of such reliance.

Improvements:

1. Color Coding: Instead of adding distinct shades of black, adding colors for different sectors could help differentiate them and make it more readable.
2. Callouts for Sustainability: Highlighting renewable energy alternatives or sustainability impacts would add depth and context to the information.
3. Interactive Elements: In a digital format, adding interactivity, such as hover-over details or pop-up areas, would enhance engagement.

[yugeshbhoge]

Influ-Venn-za

Who can catch which flu?

Name: Yugesh Bhoge Roll Number: 23N0278

Source Link: https://informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/which-flu-virus/

Brief Critique

Objective of the Visualization:

The "Which Flu Virus?" infographic compares different flu viruses, such as H1N1, H3N2, and the seasonal flu, in terms of their infection rates, severity, and historical context. It’s designed to help viewers understand how these viruses compare regarding their potential impact on public health.

1) Positives

• Clear sections and colour-coded visuals make it easy to compare different flu strains.
• Simple design and historical context help highlight why each strain matters.
• Has provided good enough details on the side to understand the nomenclature and the history of the evolution of the strain.

2) Lacks

• The charts use different scales, which makes the data confusing.
• The choice of giving the text contrast as a scale of affectability makes it difficult to distinguish between which variants have more infection rate
• The choice of giving Text size as a fatality scale again makes it confusing to compare the text sizes hence creating ambiguity in distinguishing.
• It is not mentioned anywhere how the numbers are related to the scale of the diagrams (i.e. fatality rate and infection rate).

3) Suggestions

• Could have shown more detail, like hospitalizations or death rates, to paint a bigger picture and create a better impact on whosoever is reading.
• Could have used 3D visualization like protruding bars instead of text size to generate more impact of the fatality rate.
• Could have included more domestic pets like dogs and cats to give a better comparative perspective.

[piyushsihag]

Nuclear Power Capacity by country

Piyush Sihag , 22B1291

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Article link : https://www.visualcapitalist.com/sp/ranked-nuclear-power-capacity-by-country/

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Positives :

• Using the size of cooling towers to represent the nuclear power capacity is a good way of catching attention as they relate to power plants.

• Using country flags also makes it more visually appealing

• Data is organised hierarchically, so it is easier to compare the future capacities of the nations and see who the major nuclear energy-producing countries are.

  Negatives:

• There is no vertical axis to check whether the symbols are to scale.

• The size of cooling towers in case of Canada and Türkiye are nearly the same, but their capacity differs by 2GW.

• There is a bit of crowdedness on the lower right-hand side of the visualisation.

• The countries with higher current capacity are not additionally highlighted, which can be misleading.

  What could be done better:

• The shape of towers could be made such that differences in capacity lead to size changes that could be visually visible.

• A vertical axis can be added to the bottom part of the visualisation so that even minor differences can be seen.

• A better or bolder boundary can be made between the operating and prospective capacity so that current leaders of nuclear energy can be clearly seen.

[Krishna-IITB]

Krishna Kumar Singh, 22b3968

TITLE: The Rise of Riots in India's Modern Era

Article link: The Rise of Riots in India

Overview of the Visualization

The infographic visualizes the death toll of riots in India from 1880 to 2022 using a timeline, where the size of each bubble represents the number of fatalities. It highlights notable events such as the 1946 Direct Action Day, 1984 Anti-Sikh riots, and 2002 Gujarat riots, making these historical moments easily identifiable. The visual is divided into pre- and post-Independence periods, offering a clear comparison of riot frequency and intensity over time. While the timeline effectively portrays the scale and chronology of unrest, it focuses solely on quantitative data, lacking qualitative context about the causes and consequences of these events.

Strengths of the Visualization

1. Timeline Format: The chronological layout effectively illustrates how riots evolved over time and highlights spikes in activity.
2. Bubble Size Representation: The use of bubble sizes to represent casualty numbers is intuitive and immediately impactful.
3. Annotation of Key Events: Significant riots are labeled, providing historical context and emphasizing their importance.
4. Pre- and Post-Independence Division: The comparison between eras offers a clear perspective on the rising unrest after 1947.

Weaknesses and Areas for Improvement

1. Lack of Riot Categorization: All riots are depicted in the same color, failing to differentiate types (e.g., communal, political).
2. Overcrowding of Data Points: The dense clustering of bubbles in some periods makes it hard to discern individual events or trends.
3. Missing Contextual Information: The infographic does not explain the causes, impacts, or patterns of the riots, leaving viewers with an incomplete understanding.
4. Limited Emphasis on Key Insights: The visualization doesn’t effectively draw attention to major patterns or shifts over time.

Suggestions for Enhancement

1. Introduce Color-Coding: Use distinct colors to represent riot types (e.g., communal, political) for better clarity and pattern recognition.
2. Reduce Visual Clutter: Group smaller, less significant events into broader clusters or summaries to make key trends stand out.
3. Provide Contextual Insights: Include annotations or call-out boxes to briefly explain the causes and impacts of significant riots.
4. Highlight Key Trends: Use bold markers or larger fonts to emphasize notable periods of unrest or important patterns across the timeline.

[NEC0S]

Name & Roll Number:

ABHISHEK KUMAR 22B2210

Title: All the Ways of Winning in Sports

URL Reference: Source : All The Ways Of Winning In Sports by Luke Jaaniste, Ideas Whispering

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This visualization by Luke Jankovic explores various ways athletes achieve measurable success in sports by breaking them into core abilities, activities, and goals.

This infographic comprehensively maps out all the ways of winning in different sports, clustering the world's sports according to what counts as winning (eg, being the fastest, being the most accurate, etc).

It's a bit like a train track map, where you can follow each coloured path to discover what sports win in what ways.

Critique

Weaknesses:

• The right-hand side feels overcrowded with text clusters due to the amount of information crammed into one space, which can overwhelm readers and hinder readability.

• The central black-and-white nodes dominate the viewer's attention, but they do not effectively guide the exploration of the smaller branches or detailed explanations, leading to a loss of emphasis on the rich, outer-layer content.

• Specific details about sports are too small to read comfortably, reducing accessibility.

• The emphasis on measurable tasks oversimplifies sports with subjective scoring systems (e.g. gymnastics).

Strengths:

• The diagram captures diverse sports and their attributes through clear, color-coded categories such as endurance, strength, speed, accuracy, territoriality, and dexterity. Each branch logically flows from overarching themes to specific activities.

• The hierarchical radial design makes it easy to trace connections between the broader categories (e.g., endurance) and specific sports activities (e.g., lifting/pulling, tapping).

• Distinct color themes for each ability (e.g., red for endurance, orange for strength) help segregate ideas visually, making the data accessible.

• Sports icons and textual descriptions allow for quick identification of familiar sports, improving clarity and engagement.

• The visualization connects "core goals," "abilities," "activities," and "moves" effectively, showing the complexity of sports performance.

What extra can be done ?

• Transforming the static visualization into an interactive web-based version would improve usability, enabling selective exploration or a collapsible or tiered structure could address the clutter issue, starting with core categories and expanding into details.

• Larger fonts for descriptions, especially in denser areas, would enhance accessibility.

• Providing an overview or simplified version could cater to a broader audience while keeping the detailed version for enthusiasts.

• Including links to biomechanics or psychology could add depth and provide a more holistic view of sports performance.

[balakrishna2907]

22b0028 - Bala Krishna Kurrapothula

Infographic on Two Years of the Russia-Ukraine War

Overview

The infographic provides a comprehensive summary of key statistics related to the Russia-Ukraine war over two years, including:

1. Estimated casualties for military personnel and civilians.
2. Military spending by Russia, Ukraine, and allied countries.
3. The percentage of Ukraine's territory occupied by Russia at different points in the conflict.

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Positives of the Design and Representation

1. Clarity of Information:

   • The data is well-structured into distinct sections (casualties, territorial occupation, military spending).
   • Effective use of bar charts and breakdowns provides clear visual distinctions.

2. Use of Colors:

   • Red and blue are used effectively to represent opposing sides (Russia and Ukraine/allies), ensuring easy identification.

3. Key Highlights:

   • Percentages and totals (e.g., % of GDP, total casualties) are prominently displayed, making the primary insights easy to grasp at a glance.

4. Annotations and Context:

   • Key milestones, such as the peak percentage of Ukrainian territory occupied (24.5%) and pre-invasion levels, are labeled, giving context to the trends.
   • A breakdown of foreign aid by country adds a deeper layer of understanding.

5. Minimal Text:

   • The design prioritizes visuals over heavy text, making it more engaging and reader-friendly.

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Negatives and Areas for Improvement

1. Overcrowding of Data:

   • Some sections, particularly the military spending breakdown, feel dense and could overwhelm readers unfamiliar with economic data.
   • The proportional representation of foreign aid (% of GDP vs. total dollars) might confuse viewers without proper emphasis.

2. Territorial Occupation Trends:

   • The timeline for territory occupied by Russia lacks sufficient intermediate data points, making it harder to track gradual changes over time.

3. Limited Geopolitical Context:

   • While the data is clear, there is no contextual explanation for the trends (e.g., why spending surged, or why civilian casualties remained at specific levels).

4. Font Size and Readability:

   • Some text elements, especially annotations and breakdowns, are small and difficult to read without zooming in, which may hinder accessibility.

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Suggestions for Improvement

1. Simplify Complex Sections:

   • Break down the military spending section into smaller visuals or provide a comparative line graph for GDP contributions across years.
   • Focus on a clearer differentiation between absolute and relative values for military aid.

2. Add Contextual Notes:

   • Include brief explanations for trends, such as reasons behind spending increases or territorial shifts, to enhance understanding.

3. Improve Readability:

   • Use larger font sizes and ensure consistent alignment to improve the legibility of annotations.

4. Timeline Enhancements:

   • Include more intermediate data points for territorial occupation to show finer trends over time.

5. Interactive Elements:

   • If possible, create an interactive version of the infographic where users can hover over sections for detailed breakdowns and insights.

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Data Source

Information is Beautiful: Ukraine-Russian War Infographics & Data Visuals