It's Weird Chart Day! In this TC Dojo we explore good charts gone bad! Sometimes it is easier to learn by example and some of the best lessons can be learned from bad examples.
Sara Doan walks through some stunning charts that had epic failures. The intention may have been good but they failed to deliver the intended message. We'll learn what not to do if you want to impress with stunning presentation and impeccable accuracy.
About the Visiting Dojo Expert
Dr. Sara Doan is an Assistant Professor of Technical Communication at Kennesaw State University, where she teaches data visualization, information design, and Health and Medicine in Technical Communication. Dr. Doan's previous research on instructor feedback has appeared in IEEE Transactions on Technical Communication; her research on COVID-19 charts is appearing this January in the Journal of Business and Technical Communication.
View the slides
Resources
- One of the best Covid charts Sara's seen: https://graphics.reuters.com/CHINA-HEALTH-SOUTHKOREA-CLUSTERS/0100B5G33SB/index.html
- Alberto Cairo's How Charts Lie
- Nathan Yau's Data Points: Visualization That Means Something
- Sara's Article, "Misrepresenting COVID-19: Lying With Charts During the Second Golden Age of Data Design" (Sage Publishing)
- The fan and tornado charts she made were done in Tableau
Learn more
Cognition, Visual Design, and Usability
Kirk St.Amant, Louisiana Tech University
Let Your Illustrations Do The Talking
Scott Allshouse
Key Concepts:
best practices, illustrations and graphics
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