Tool: Data Driven Graphic Visualization

I have used Microsoft Excel to create data-driven Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) for data visualization since early 2009. Initially I developed the technique for a personal project and quickly applied it to my work at Symantec.

The technique has the following characteristics and advantages:

Since the system is based on a modular toolkit of elements the breakeven point for developing these data driven visualizations versus building complex graphics manually or updating multiple Excel graphs is met within a few hours.

Daren Lewis: PortfolioData Driven Graphic Visualization Page 1 of 3

• Complete control over the visual look of the quantitative information.• Toolkit elements developed to date include line charts, bar charts, column charts, A to B flow diagrams, text elements and X-Y mapping which can be used for global maps. • High repeatability after the initial design. In the case of the Symantec Intelligence Country Reports we have published over 1,400 PDFs which combine four line charts and multiple text elements.• Data driven text can be designed to support multiple languages.• Uses simple, commonly available software.• The output is available in multiple, vector and bitmap formats. The resulting graphics have been used in printed material, digital documents, presentations and in Flash.

Symantec Intelligence Report - Monthly Spam, Virus & Phish Graphics

Symantec Intelligence Report - Country Report

Example A-B Flow Diagram

Example X-Y Diagram Used for a Map

North America

East Asia

Northern Europe

South America

North Africa

Eastern EuropeWestern EuropeSoutheast Asia

West AsiaSouth AsiaCaribbean

Southern EuropeAustralia New Zealand

Central America

North America

Source Region Targeted Region

Northern Europe

Western Europe

Australia New Zealand

Eastern Europe

East AsiaNorth AfricaWest AsiaSoutheast AsiaSouthern EuropeSouth AmericaSouth AsiaEast AfricaCentral America

Targeted attack flow between regions (11 JUL - 11 OCT 2010)

Ranked by attacks FROM this region Ranked by attacks TO this region

© Symantec 2012

Jan Fév Mar Avr Mai Jui Jui Aoû Sep Oct Nov Déc Jan Fév Mar Avr Mai Jui Jui Aoû Sep Oct Nov Déc Jan Fév Mar Avr Mai Jui Jui

Jan Fév Mar Avr Mai Jui Jui Aoû Sep Oct Nov Déc Jan Fév Mar Avr Mai Jui Jui Aoû Sep Oct Nov Déc Jan Fév Mar Avr Mai Jui Jui

Symantec Intelligence Menaces de sécurité en ligne

Global Niveau de spam Belgique Niveau de spam

For a full analysis of current global internet security threats read our monthly Symantec Intelligence Report:

Juillet 2012

67.2% 67.6% Le mois passé: 65.9%Le mois passé: 66.8%

www.symanteccloud.com/intelligence

67.2% 67.6%

Juillet 2012

1 in 485.9 1 in 340.9 Le mois passé: 1 in 624.9Le mois passé: 1 in 316.7

1 in 485.9 1 in 340.9

Global Niveau de virus Belgique Niveau de virus

90%

80%

70%

Bot locationsTop 10: 21.9% Top 11-50: 31.4%

All others: 46.7% Botnet: Cutwail 24 June - 23 July 2010

1,400+ produced to date

Sources 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Saudi Arabia

Hungary

Oman

China

Russian Federation

79.0%

76.2%

72.8%

72.5%

71.8%

Education

Engineering

Non-Profit

Automotive

Marketing/Media

70.3%

69.5%

69.4%

69.0%

68.9%

1-250

251-500

501-1000

1001-1500

1501-2500

2501+

67.8%

67.9%

67.7%

68.2%

68.5%

68.1%

Spam Rate

July 2012

67.6% 66.8% 66.5%

Last Month: Six Month Avg.: Top 5 Geographies Top 5 Verticals By Horizontal

2012

67.6%

India 17.0%Saudi Arabia 13.6%Brazil 5.2%Viet Nam 5.1%Turkey 4.6%Canada 4.4%Pakistan 3.4%United States 3.3%Russian Federation 2.4%Korea (South) 2.3%

Sources 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Saudi Arabia

Hungary

Oman

China

Russian Federation

79.0%

76.2%

72.8%

72.5%

71.8%

Education

Engineering

Non-Profit

Automotive

Marketing/Media

70.3%

69.5%

69.4%

69.0%

68.9%

1-250

251-500

501-1000

1001-1500

1501-2500

2501+

67.8%

67.9%

67.7%

68.2%

68.5%

68.1%

Spam Rate Data Driven

Not Data Driven

July 2012

67.6% 66.8% 66.5%

Last Month: Six Month Avg.: Top 5 Geographies Top 5 Verticals By Horizontal

2012

67.6%

India 17.0%Saudi Arabia 13.6%Brazil 5.2%Viet Nam 5.1%Turkey 4.6%Canada 4.4%Pakistan 3.4%United States 3.3%Russian Federation 2.4%Korea (South) 2.3%

Data Driven Graphic Visualization Example: Symantec Intelligence Report - Monthly Graphic

Output

All graph elements and text in black or grey are dynamically generated SVG from Excel.

Blue elements are a static background template

Red elements are manually placed/edited. These could be automated but only three of these graphics (for spam, virus & phish) are created per month so the investment was not made for the red elements.

Sources 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Saudi Arabia

Hungary

Oman

China

Russian Federation

79.0%

76.2%

72.8%

72.5%

71.8%

Education

Engineering

Non-Profit

Automotive

Marketing/Media

70.3%

69.5%

69.4%

69.0%

68.9%

1-250

251-500

501-1000

1001-1500

1501-2500

2501+

67.8%

67.9%

67.7%

68.2%

68.5%

68.1%

Spam Rate

July 2012

67.6% 66.8% 66.5%

Last Month: Six Month Avg.: Top 5 Geographies Top 5 Verticals By Horizontal

2012

67.6%

India 17.0%Saudi Arabia 13.6%Brazil 5.2%Viet Nam 5.1%Turkey 4.6%Canada 4.4%Pakistan 3.4%United States 3.3%Russian Federation 2.4%Korea (South) 2.3%

Data Driven Graphic Visualization Page 2 of 3

In this example data is entered into an Excel worksheet(in others I’ve worked directly from a CSV input)By changing a single control the appropriate data set iscalled - spam, virus or phish.

The entries automatically update 4 modules that create the SVG3X for the bar graphs - including graph text1 for the line graphs - including graph text1 for all the free text elements (Excel shown here)

These �ve sets of SVG code are automatically merged into one worksheet. In this case there are 250 lines of SVG code.

The uni�ed SVG worksheet is exported, combined with the template (see blue on the previous page) and can then be opened in Illustrator for �nal review and output of the desired �le types.

Data Driven Graphic Visualization Example: Symantec Intelligence Report - Monthly Graphic

Sources 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Saudi Arabia

Hungary

Oman

China

Russian Federation

79.0%

76.2%

72.8%

72.5%

71.8%

Education

Engineering

Non-Profit

Automotive

Marketing/Media

70.3%

69.5%

69.4%

69.0%

68.9%

1-250

251-500

501-1000

1001-1500

1501-2500

2501+

67.8%

67.9%

67.7%

68.2%

68.5%

68.1%

Spam Rate

July 2012

67.6% 66.8% 66.5%

Last Month: Six Month Avg.: Top 5 Geographies Top 5 Verticals By Horizontal

2012

67.6%

India 17.0%Saudi Arabia 13.6%Brazil 5.2%Viet Nam 5.1%Turkey 4.6%Canada 4.4%Pakistan 3.4%United States 3.3%Russian Federation 2.4%Korea (South) 2.3%

Saudi Arabia

Hungary

Oman

China

Russian Federation

79.0%

76.2%

72.8%

72.5%

71.8% 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Data Driven Graphic Visualization Page 3 of 3