Telling the Data Comparison Story Using A Skyline Graph (Instead of Two Pies)

Interaction12, Dublin, Ireland. 4 Feb 2012Telling the Data ComparisonStory Using A Skyline Graph (Instead of Two Pies) Bill Caemmerer bcaemmerer@sapient.com bill@caemmerer.net

Just like every picture, every graph tells a story, or itshould. Frequently the story we want to tell is acomparison to the past or to our plans, a “whathappened” story.Do we have the best tools to tell this story visually,in graphs? In this presentation, well look at thecommon strategies like pies, bars, thermometersand heat maps, and how well they tell us “whathappened.”

Is this any way to manage your retirement?

Then Now Tamborines Tamborines Guitars Guitars BodhransBodhrans Banjos Banjos Basses Basses Fiddles Fiddles

Then Now Tamborines Tamborines Guitars Guitars BodhransBodhrans Banjos Banjos Basses Basses Fiddles Fiddles area= (angle/360)*π r 2

Tough questions (for pie charts):• how much did any item change?• what+do you mean by “percent” 20% 5% = 21%.. ??

Comparison stories: “whathappened?”

We want to know:• Relative changes (“left shoe sales are up 15%”)• Biggest most important changes (“you spent $500 on what?!”)

What makes details easy to see?

horizons

silhouettes

Variation from a horizon lineHeight and widthSize or area

160% 140% 120%Now 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% Then

160% area = x*y 140% 120%Now 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% Guitars Banjos Fiddles Basses Bodhrans Tamborines 25 14 17 10 20 14 Then

160% 140% 120%Now 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% Guitars Banjos Fiddles Basses Bodhrans Tamborines 25 14 17 10 20 14 Then

160% 140% 30 120%Now 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% Guitars Banjos Fiddles Basses Bodhrans Tamborines 25 14 17 10 20 14 Then

28 160% 140% 30 120% 11 20Now 100% 12 80% 9 60% 40% 20% Guitars Banjos Fiddles Basses Bodhrans Tamborines 25 14 17 10 20 14 Then

Fo o d & D in in g Au to & Tr a ns po rt Bi lls & U til iti e s Spending By CategoryBu si ne ss Se rv ic es Fi n an ci al Ed uc at io n Sh op pi U ng nc at eg or iz edG ift H s om & e D on at io ns O th er

20% 40% 60% 80% 120% 140% 100% H om e: M or t ga ge & R en t $525 Fo o d & D in in $525 g: G Spending vs. Budget ro ce rie Ed s $250 uc Spending v Budget at io n: $225 Au St ud to enAu & tL Tr to a oa & ns n $250 Tr po a rt: ns po G as $250 Bi rt: A & lls ut Fu Bi & o el lls U In $120 & $169 til su U iti ra til es iti :E nc e $102 es l $44 : M ect ob ric ity $100 En ile te Ph rt o ai n $70 $70 nm e en t $50 $31

scales well horizontally

Technology +4.3% Industrial GoodsConglomerates Utilities+2.3% Consumer Goods AAPL +7.4% +0.3% -11.0% MSFT -7.7% Services Basic Materials +11.2% GOOG +0.8% +0.0% Financial +8.6% YHOO -3.2% scales well horizontally

Where to ﬁnd out more...

Search online for:variable-width column chartsvariwide chartsbar-mekko chartscoming soon: skylinechart.net

Thank you!bcaemmerer@sapient.com bill@caemmerer.net

Telling the Data Comparison Story Using A Skyline Graph (Instead of Two Pies)

by Bill Caemmerer on Feb 04, 2012

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Telling the Data Comparison Story Using A Skyline Graph (Instead of Two Pies) — Presentation Transcript