Assignment 1
Before creating a line chart, I carefully selected and prepared the data. This initial decision involved me to choose the most relevant data points and ensuring they are accurate, complete, and well-organized. Then I made the choice to use a red color. Color as well as fond influence the chart's overall appeal and accessibility. I chose red color because I consider red as the clearest color for visualizing. Before finalizing my line chart, I seeked feedback from classmates to be sure that my line chart is easy to understand.
Checklist – visualizations
Ensure that each visualization includes and accurately reflects all
of the following elements:
- All numbers double-checked
- Headline/title
- Spell check
- Description of what the x- and y-axis represent
- Units of measurement
- Y-axis starts at 0
- Conscious choice of colors – (explained on request)
- Source
- Instructions for use (if necessary)
- Context or explanation (if necessary))
- Byline
- Accessibility (contrast, caption for screen readers, attached table etc)
(explained on request) - Understandable for someone who sees the visualization for the first time
(show it to someone outside the newsroom) - Url with the visualization checked on a mobile device
- Have you followed the checklist for visualizations? Yes
- Colours: How easy or difficult is changing colours using the tool? It's easy because I have experiences with Datawrapper.
- Text/Labels: How easy or difficult is it to work with text and labels in the tool? It's easy because I have experiences with Datawrapper.
- Flexibility: How flexible are the tools? Can you make the changes you need? I really like Datawrapper primarily because there are many variations for making visualizations.
- Accessibility: What are the different accessibility options provided by the tools?
- Smartphone: How do the charts appear on your smartphone? Have you faced any issues while accessing them? I think it's clear.
Assignment 2
- Have you followed the checklist for visualizations (every step)? Yes
- Colours: How easy or difficult is changing colours using the tool? It's easy because I have experiences with Flourish.
- Text/Labels: How easy or difficult is it to work with text and labels in the tool? It's easy because I have experiences with Flourish.
- Flexibility: How flexible are the tools? Can you make the changes you need? Flourish is more useful for journalist than Datawrapper. But also I consider it to be harder for knowing the basics.
- Accessibility: What are the different accessibility options provided by the tools?
- Smartphone: How do the charts appear on your smartphone? Have you faced any issues while accessing them? I think it's clear.
Assignment 3
Comparison
Now you have six charts made with two different tools.
Open your post (WordPress) on a smartphone and take a look at all the charts.
In your post: Answer the following questions based on your experience:
- In what context do you think Datawrapper is the best tool, and why? When would you not use it? I would use it for basic visualizations. However, while Datawrapper offers free plans, if our budget is very limited and you require advanced features, we might find other open-source data visualization libraries or tools to be more cost-effective.
- What are the main benefits of using Datawrapper? Datawrapper is a versatile and accessible tool that simplifies the process of creating compelling data visualizations. Its user-friendly interface, customization options, and support for various chart types make it well-suited for journalists.
- In what context do you think Flourish is the best tool, and why? When would you not use it? It's the best for daily using data. I wouldn't use it for creating super customized visualizations. If required highly complex visualizations that go beyond the capabilities of Flourish's templates and customization options. In that case we may need a more specialized data visualization tool or programming languages.
- What are the main benefits of using Flourish? Flourish is really user-friendly, mainly because it provides an intuitive and user-friendly interface, making it accessible to users with varying levels of technical expertise. Also, I really like a diverse selection of pre-designed templates and visualization types, including bar charts, line charts, maps, treemaps, and more. This variety allows me to choose the most suitable visualization for my data.