Welcome to this month's Data Visualizations We Wish We Had Published for April 2020. In this article, we will explore some vizs created this past month that we thought were truly amazing. In this month’s edition, we will explore some very colorful and informative data displays from vast depths of the world wide web.
1. What Hubble has Seen, Visualized - PhysicsToday
Have you ever wanted to see what it looked like in space? This visual creation published by Physics Today displays the number of times scientists classified something in the vast universe with the Hubble telescope. The use of a black background is only fitting to match the theme of space. The clustering of brighter colors offset the black background assisting the elements to pop out of the designs. The circles themself have bolded areas inside giving the chart the starlight sparkle for the viewer. The topic of space always has a great set of data to create some out of this world designs!
2. The Focus of Covid Deaths has Switched from Asia to the E.U., then the U.S. - Financial Times
The next visual was created by our friends over at Financial Times. In this collection of data visualizations, Financial TImes focused on the recovery of the world from the COVID-19. The first image is a line chart of all the countries affected by COVID-19 and the death rate. These highlighted lines are some of the large countries showing that the death rates from COVID-19 have started to peak all around the world.
As you scroll down, you can see all of the countries separated into a grid pattern for a focused observation. But the real crown jewel of this data visualization collection is the sideways waterfall chart. This colorful display emphasizes the death rates by continents in a way to compare against each other. It captures the evolution over time perfectly!
3. Searching for Answers in a Pandemic - Axios
Axios has taken the curiosity of people's web searches over COVID-19 and has broken it into three categories and five sections. The searches break into the three categories; knowledge, first death reported in the U.S., and the signing of the stimulus package by President Trump. Each little bubble in the cluster is a query put into Google, the larger bubble the more states that searched with that query.
The division of the sections showcases a timelapse picture of worrying in the U.S. But what really sets this visualization apart is the fact that the dots are interactive! Just roll your course pointer over one of the bubbles and it will tell you the query that was imputed into Google’s search bar.
4. These Charts Put the Historic U.S. Job Losses in Perspective - VisualCapitalist
This next data visual is created by Visual Capitalist, and it focuses on the unemployment consequence of the COVID-19. It is no surprise that COVID-19 has rocked the economy and left millions unemployed. This visual compares the United States unemployment over time since the 1970’s. Each bubble size is based on the number of people who filed for unemployment. The color choice of red against a light orange background really makes these elements explode on the chart. And to top it off, the bubbles have an image inside that sums up the event period.
In the period Visual Capitalist calls the “Great Lockdown”, it was recorded that over 22 million people filed for unemployment in the United States. As you scroll down the chart, it compares the unemployment of the United States against other large economies of the world. This different take on COVID-19 provides a clear insight on the after-effects from this pandemic.
5. The Social Distancing of America - Reuters
This unique visualization published by Reuters Graphics not only captures the social distancing felt across the United States. The selling factor is the scrolling effect the visual does on the browser. As you scroll down the page, the data visualization changes information without the actual page moving downward. Instead of scrolling down, an information box moves across the screen from bottom to top of the screen. But that is not all this chart has to offer.
The map highlights the traveling accumulated by the citizens inside each county. The color scale of blue and reddish-orange provide the contrast of just how much the U.S. was not traveling during the last few weeks. And if the map wasn’t enough, scrolling down after the map is a bubble chart displaying the same thing broken up by household income, age, voting preference, and location. The bubbles are placed on scatter plots giving information about different demographics as it relates to the amount of travel during the lockdown. To change the demographic all you need to do is scroll down and watch the magic happen.
Thank you again for joining us in April’s Visualizations We Wish We Had Published. This past month had some great visualizations that took us all over the place, even space! Please let us know which visual you liked best in the comments below. Or better yet, share a visual you think should have made the list. We would love to hear from you!