#stephanieevergreen

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College Career Paths

Sankey diagrams are awesome for showing movement and flow but I rarely seem them applied to appropriate data. Here, the diagram shows movement from majors (on the left) to job fields (on the right). Click through to explore - hovering shows some detail and clicking on a path shows even more. Notes say it was made with D3.

-SE

This comes up as a tiny thumbnial for me--is that true for anyone else? (It gets bigger when I click on it). I'd also like a link, since the text is too small to read. Aside from that:

I like the balance of density of data on this chart and clarity. It shows majors, careers, numbers of graduates, and numbers employed in each career, all without feeling too cluttered.

-RS

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I'm not usually a fan of circular dataviz but this one works so well because of its interactivity and general topic of movement. At first glance, the sheer number of lines going across the interior of the circle is overwhelming, But (shown here) hovering on one state isolates just the migration in and out of that state. The left hand side of the webpage gives enough interpretive context to let the reader understand the viz, too.

-SE

Unlike many network diagrams, this plot has a manageable number of connections--which means it's genuinely readable. -RS

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Super basic bar chart (ordered greatest to least), used as part of an internal staff report on highest quarterly revenue by department. With one awesome addition - scratch-off paint. The subtitle instructs the recipient on how to interact with the graph.

Scratch-off paint is amazingly easy to make. Instructions here: http://stephanieevergreen.com/scratch-off-graphs/

SE

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This would be a great activity in a meeting. Can't wait to try it myself!

AKE

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Believe it or not, this dataviz illustrates a good use of pie charts. I know, right? It shows the proportion of DC Metro passengers who are entering and exiting during the morning peak hours. And the pie charts work - best, I'll argue - because there are only two slices AND because the data, generally, as a natural order from greatest to least as one moves toward the center. An alternative graph type, like a bar chart, would not have the same immediate understanding at a glance.

Here's the original source: http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/16811/which-metro-stations-are-the-most-balanced/

-SE

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Having only 2 classes in the pies works very well to provide an overview of the flow. A small improvement might be to match the pie chart color with the Metro line color, which would help differentiate them. -RS

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I love this chart because it resonates with people from Washington, DC so well. When I share this chart with DC friends and colleagues, we immediately start pointing out our respective starting and ending metro stops and telling horror stories about our metro delays and hour-long commutes. There's something about this chart's simplicity that pulls the readers in and starts a conversation.

I also like exploring the chart for the half-and-half pie charts, that is, the metro stations with an equal number of people getting on and off the metro, like Ballston, near my own apartment. I've always envisioned Ballston as a sort of metro hub where people are busily coming and going, and the graphic confirmed some of my hypotheses. -AKE

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The typical line graph is designed to plot out change over time, typically to see where activity has changed after an intervention. In this case, the interventions are added right to the line graph, so that the resulting actions (or delay in actions) are clearer to the viewer. The subtitle further encapsulates that point.

From a post I wrote on Beth Kanter's blog: http://www.bethkanter.org/datanerd-charts/ -SE

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There are several exemplary aspects of this chart:

- It was made in good ol' Microsoft Excel, which makes the design accessible to a larger number of people

- There's a step-by-step tutorial about this chart, so anyone can make it independently

- The title is short and sweet, and gives the chart's takeaway message (much better than simply "Figure 1" or "Chart 3.2")

- The grid lines have been lightened from black to gray, so they fade into the background

- The simple Facebook and Twitter icons add valuable context, so anyone who glances at the chart knows what it's about immediately

- The chart uses direct labeling, in which the creator (Stephanie Evergreen) has deleted Excel's default legend and then positioned the labels (Followers, Advocates, and Donors) directly next to their lines. This is MUCH easier and faster for the reader. -AKE

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This stacked bar chart manages to successfully get around the usual complaints about stacked bars. While people feel they can't normally assess the middle values in a stacked bar, the design here uses only 3 categories and the data naturally runs (roughly) from greatest to least. Those two elements make it easier to judge the middle values. 

The subtitle gives sufficient context.

The awesome contrast of the red action color (against the appealing neutrals) really brings attention to the author's point of interest.

That fantastic red was carried over into the other graphs as part of this infographic, which can be seen here: http://www.behance.net/gallery/Information-Visualization/5212193

SE