I have always had a bit of trouble with understanding numbers within a chart format. It is not that I do not understand numbers, but sometimes they can all mush together. Yet, it has been showcased over time just how important the idea of visualizing data is and how it can aid in people’s understanding. Data visualization can also help people draw conclusions easier, especially if one does not have to organize a bunch of numbers by themselves. In terms of creating an interesting visualization of data, I believe that the Estimated Population of American Colonies 1610 to 1780 would be an amazing option. This is due to the fact that colonies were very important to our history and have helped to shape the United States to become what it is today. It would be great to see the growth in these colonies over time and which ones have continuously stayed throughout history. I also believe that the Virginia Elections Database would produce incredible data visualizations. Once on this website, one can see the statistics and data from almost any Virginia election. One could compare and contrast two data sets from different elections in a visualization format to see the multitude of changes over time and establish a pattern.
A visualization that I found to be particularly interesting was If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler by Hannah Piotrowska. This is an incredibly unique visualization, as it is based on one of my favorite books of all time written by Italo Calvino in 1979 where he had written a conceptual book that discusses reading another book. Piotrowska lets the original text shine through while her added data visualizations allow her to express the beauty of Calvino’s work. One of my favorite visualizations from her project was the first sentence of each chapter illustration chart, as she utilized dots and lines to represent how each chapter made her feel and the keywords that go alongside them.
Photo is from her data visualization book. Please take a look at this incredible project!