I love that data visualization fever has gripped the interwebs. A well-constructed graph or chart lets me instantly grasp an idea way faster than a textual explanation can, even if it’s really well written. A testament to the power of visual communication.
But as with any hyped trend, there’s the risk of oversupply — with data visualization, the main risk is an excess of shoddy or pointless infographics that actually hinder understanding. Like using Excel’s chart wizard without tweaking the god-awful presets.
And then there’s GraphJam (“pop culture for people in cubicles”). The site is a raging parody of data visualization’s current popularity — GraphJam treats inforgraphics as jokes. Here’s a typical example, complete with cute typo in the title:
I especially love that this graph actually made me look up the lyrics to the song. It would have been absolutely perfect if the label for the red line had read “Pink champagne on ice.”
What's a spaghetti test?
Completely agree, and completely guilty.
I hold out hope, though, that all this screwing around will actually prompt more people to think of ways to present information and data in a visual format, instead of reverting to text and tablesm
No doubt we could use more of that in govt – there are many ways that visual communication can help us bust out of “text and tables” mode. So, maybe the next time I have to do up a briefing note, I’ll try doing it up as a comic strip instead…
Just map the data in excel, then present it as a dynamic Google Trends graph.
Interesting concept. I’ve just returned from an academic conference on visualization in business, and none of the presenters mentioned GraphJam. As a user-created form of expression, it is at least as interesting as the elaborate images created by corporate PR teams
Here is a link to the conference… in case anybody is interested:
http://www.eiasm.org/frontoffice/event_announcement.asp?event_id=555