pot-pourriblogs.ischool.berkeley.edu/i247s12/files/2012/04/13-potpourri.pdf · 13/04/2012  · •...

“Chrono-Zoom”, Maps and other topicsPot-Pourri

April 17, 2012 – Michael Porath

Tuesday, April 17, 12

Chrono-ZoomProject Presentation

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Cartography

• This is just a sneak peak

• Cartography is a whole discipline of its own

What’s the intent?

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Categories of Maps3 Types

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Dot MapVisualizing specific points

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivy_League

Nominal data

Arranged by Latitude/Longitude

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Dot MapExample: Crimespotting

Problem?

http://sanfrancisco.crimespotting.org

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Dot MapClustering, e.g. k-means algorithm

95

4

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Dot MapUsing k-means Clustering

http://www.trulia.com/crime/

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Dot MapUsing k-means Clustering

http://www.trulia.com/crime/

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Dot MapUsing k-means Clustering

http://www.trulia.com/crime/

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Dot MapUsing k-means Clustering

http://www.trulia.com/crime/

Tuesday, April 17, 12

Dot MapUsing k-means Clustering

http://www.trulia.com/crime/

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Dot MapUsing k-means Clustering

http://www.trulia.com/crime/

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Dot Mapk-means Clustering

http://www.trulia.com/crime/

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MarkersWhich ones?

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Google Maps Markers

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Choropleth Maps

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Choropleth MapDefinition

“areas are shaded or patterned in proportion to the measurement of the statistical variable being displayed on the map” (Wikipedia)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/interactive/2009/jan/14/uselections2008-obama-white-house

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Choropleth MapProblems

DensityTotal Population of 2000 Block Groups

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choropleth_map

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Choropleth MapProblems

DensityWhitespaceDifferent sizes

Teen Abortion Rates (%), 1996

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Choropleth Map AlternativesTeen Abortion Rates (%), 1996

Better, but not as engaging

Alternatives?Improvements?

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Isarithmic Map

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Isarithmic / Isopleth MapDrawing borders of same intervals

http://enb150-2011f-nl.blogspot.com/2011_08_01_archive.html

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ExampleNational Geographic Education

http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/mapping/interactive-map

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Hybrids

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NY Times 2010 Census MapHybrid between Choropleth and Dot Map

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VoronoiMapProximity to In-N-Out

Burger locations

http://people.ischool.berkeley.edu/~fycheng/in-n-out-voronoi.png

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Tips to Improve Your Maps

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How can you improve your maps?Tone down map features if the visualization is in the data

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How can you improve your maps?There are alternatives to Google Maps

http://polymaps.org/

http://lea"et.cloudmade.com/

http://www.openstreetmap.org/

Traces, UI, API, etc.Open source; Under heavy development

UI, Layers, etc. Open source; Under heavy development

API, Image/vector layersOpen source; Under heavy development

API, Image/vector layers, Markers

http://mapbox.com/tilemill/

GIS Library; Allows to make your own very custom mapsOpen source

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Finding Data SetsStrategies

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Finding dataThe needle in the haystack

Open Government Data Product APIs

Third Party Data Providers Anywhere

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ccacnorthlib/4131837946/sizes/z/in/photostream/

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Finding dataYour projects?

Open Government Data Product APIs

Third Party Data Providers Anywhere

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ccacnorthlib/4131837946/sizes/z/in/photostream/

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What qualifies as a good visualization?

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What qualifies as a good visualization?

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What qualifies as a good visualization?

• It doesn’t distort the data

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What qualifies as a good visualization?

• It doesn’t distort the data

• It is engaging (in order to win the fight for eyeballs)

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What qualifies as a good visualization?

• It doesn’t distort the data

• It is engaging (in order to win the fight for eyeballs)

• It tells a story (communication)

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What qualifies as a good visualization?

• It doesn’t distort the data

• It is engaging (in order to win the fight for eyeballs)

• It tells a story (communication)

• It serves a specific user intent (analysis / interaction)

Tuesday, April 17, 12

What qualifies as a good visualization?

• It doesn’t distort the data

• It is engaging (in order to win the fight for eyeballs)

• It tells a story (communication)

• It serves a specific user intent (analysis / interaction)

• It addresses our perceptive capabilities

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Recap

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Show & Tellhttp://maps.stamen.com/#terrain

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/01/10/nyregion/20100110-net"ix-map.html

http://modi.mech.columbia.edu/nycenergy/

http://ilovecharts.tumblr.com/BenGreenman

http://www.mcsweeneys.net/columns/ben-greenmans-graphs-about-charts-and-charts-about-graphs

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Next WeekVisualization Critique

• No lecture (aside from wrapping up the semester)

• Mandatory for all teams

• Come prepared with a working prototype

• I’ll check in with each group

Tuesday, April 17, 12