all area in April
April’s challenge was all about area graphs, a specialized form of a line chart where data points are connected with a continuous line and filled in with a shaded region to depict something meaningful in the data. As we referenced in our recent what is an area chart? post, this seemingly minor cosmetic change actually has a major effect on how we interpret the graph.
Sixty-one people rose to the challenge and submitted their creations. For those new to the challenge and the community—welcome and we’re glad to have you! As usual, we saw a wide range of tools used including Tableau, Excel, Datawrapper, PowerBI, R and Flourish. Whether using your tried and true or something new, benefits abound. When we practice with tools we already know, there’s a familiarity that can breed willingness to learn new tricks to execute your vision. When we learn to do something in an unfamiliar tool, it can be eye-opening in a number of ways. In either case, the challenge provides a lab to practice bending that tool of choice to your will in a supportive, low-risk environment.
Now, let’s look at how some community members applied that practice.
We saw a wide range of topics: from sports (check out how Rory showed increasing female participation in the Boston Marathon) to education (Erika visualized the breakdown of STEM bachelor’s degrees over time) to environmental issues (Colin outlined Great Britain's increasing renewable energy production) and much more. Gender disparities were also a popular subject: Katherine used a series of small multiple area charts to highlight the breakdown of women in Summer Olympics, while Alfonso showed the changing makeup of the Italian workforce over time.
For an area graph to be effective, the creator must employ thoughtful design into what the shaded area represents. Check out how Chris simulated a rising landscape with mountain biking models to get his son engaged in the data. Jennifer’s plastics recycled in the US thoughtfully incorporated well-known icons and used color effectively to evoke a tone of environmental consciousness.
Other submissions utilized annotations to highlight important points. Klaudia lent context to her exploration of the effects of the Polish lockdown on homework assignments, while Nathan took us on a sentimental journey of his 15-year driving mileage by automobile type.
We also saw iterating for success exemplified as Mitchell, Anthony, Max and Colin thoughtfully incorporated community feedback to make their respective visuals even more effective. The importance of this iterative process goes beyond area graphs: for a graph we’ve designed to make sense to someone else (who doesn’t live on our heads!), we must be willing to solicit feedback and make adjustments. Kudos to all who took the time to not only share their creations, but refine them as well (and also to those who made suggestions!).
In terms of popular submissions, the community was highly engaged (by nature of datapoints and views) on Jordan’s academic growth projections, Robert’s housing tenure trends in London and Karrin’s elevation maps of major cities’ marathons. There’s a benefit to submitting early in the month—as these folks did.
You can see all sixty-one submissions in the SWD community (if you aren’t already a member, it takes less than 2 minutes to sign up and it’s free). As you browse entries, we encourage you to participate by leaving comments and adding datapoints to work you enjoy.
Thank you to everyone who participated in April’s challenge and we hope to see your continued participation in the future. If area graphs weren’t your cup of tea, be sure to check out May’s challenge to redesign an object from your daily life, underway now.
See you in the community!