involve me, and I'll understand

“Tell me, and I forget; teach me, and I may remember; involve me, and I’ll understand.”

While commonly attributed to Benjamin Franklin, these words were first set down for posterity by the Chinese philosopher Xunzi (Xun Kuang) nearly two millennia ago. It serves as a potent reminder of the power of engagement. When we, as creators, can get our audience involved in our work—when they can see themselves in the pieces we present to them—they are more likely to retain, synthesize, and recall the information we deliver.

That is where diagrams, which were the subject of last month’s #SWDchallenge, can be so effective. From mind maps to conceptualized graphs to flowcharts, diagrams serve as mental wayfinders for an audience. When concepts are abstract, diagrams can make them seem more tangible, through the use of metaphor or spatial positioning. When processes are complicated, diagrams can situate an audience at any phase of the flow, where they can trace a path forward or backward—putting themselves figuratively in the middle of the very system. When structures are dense, diagrams can facilitate our understanding of them by describing them in pieces, or by visually expanding their scope (think of a CAD drawing of a complicated auto part, exploded so that each piece is visible; or the assembly instructions for LEGO sets or IKEA furniture).

We asked our community to share examples of diagrams that they had created or that they considered effective (or both, of course), and 36 people responded. As always, lots of the entries were creative and intriguing; we were most curious to see how everyone would interpret the definition of “diagram,” since there’s such a fine line between graphs and diagrams (if one exists at all). Here are a few of the ways our community approached this challenge, with some of the relevant submissions highlighted along the way.

Using named chart types (or variations on them)

With all of the ways we’ve visualized data in human history, there are dozens that have become (at some point) popular or common enough to earn an “official” name. (For instance: Andy Kirk’s book Data Visualisation lists 49...and that’s just a start.) Some of these named charts could also be considered diagrams, in that they can be somewhat qualitative, and can be used to communicate a process or a concept:

SANKEY | This particular chart type is often used to describe literal flows through a system. Simon used this chart metaphorically in his FA Cup visualization, in which he showed when teams from each eligible league entered, and were eliminated from, this annual all-England soccer competition.

GANTT CHART | This is a timeline-based variant of a bar chart, one that is often used to show resource allocations and critical paths through a project with multiple milestones and participants. Charles iterated through several versions of a Gantt chart to show how his work/life balance has changed in 2020. Similarly, Joseph created a Gantt-like visual: a vertical timeline that serves as a visual resume; on the left side of his axis, he has bars representing his schooling; on the right side, bars representing his employers.

GENOGRAM | This was a new one to me: it’s a specific version of a genealogy chart, which I learned about from Kate’s example genogram (based on the sorts of visuals she creates at work). I’ll let her describe the chart type: “Genograms are used to display family generations. In the child welfare field, therapists often use them to build a support system utilizing a child's natural connections. Generally, genograms work from top to bottom, displaying grandparents first. I stuck with the traditional symbols and notation, but there really are no rules besides being accurate, consistent and of course, providing a key.”  

Creating mind maps

Contrary to what I believed when I first heard the term “mind map,” you don’t need medical equipment or a doctor’s note to create one. It’s simply a way to organize thoughts, phrases, and concepts around one central idea. Mind maps are non-linear, but hierarchical; it’s all about creating a structure based on relationships between the nodes in the map. 

We saw several mind maps come in for this month’s challenge. Jon himself contributed two different ones; one map was an organized version of notes he took from a writing course, and the other was his planning document for presenting a case in favor of remote work. Rebecca created a mind map for planning outdoor time, but her version was distinctive in that some of the nodes were text, and some of the nodes were hand-drawn icons. Josephine not only posted a slide about methods for learning data visualization, she also posted the mind map she created when planning it out... a diagram about a diagram!

Showing the long and winding road

If you’re as old as I am, you might remember reading the one-panel cartoon The Family Circus in your Sunday comics. Author Bil Keane would periodically re-use the same storytelling device: the majority of the panel would show little boy Jeffy following a dotted path through a series of events and minor mishaps, and the bottom right corner of the panel would be a punchline or wry summation of the adventure.

A few of our participants also took the long and winding road this month. Robyn, who is featured in our Member Spotlight this month, posted a whimsical timeline—including smiley faces, wandering dotted lines, and actual imagery—of the nine-day-long journey her Thermomix took in order to be repaired in the current COVID era. (Maybe to Robyn it didn’t feel so whimsical, though!) 

Varvara drew the actual route of her planned vacation on a customized cartoon-style map, so that we could follow the path of her journey while also getting a sense of the activities and distance of travel that each day would entail. The stylized landscape that Varvara created emphasized readability and aesthetics over accuracy in measurements; this is the same approach often taken by designers of transit maps.

Speaking of transit: Chris’s long-and-winding entry is certainly the least whimsical of these three, as it details the difference between the stated timetable of a six-stop rail journey in the UK and the actual duration of said journey, including delay attribution codes for all of the pertinent discrepancies. 

Making conceptual versions of quantitative graphs

The last category to highlight this month are those submissions that tweaked traditionally quantitative chart types into something more conceptual.

Jennifer provided a wonderful example of a conceptualized graph, with her look at how her new coffee schedule keeps her more alert and gives her better rest at night. Using the basic line chart form, she uses a qualitative variable, “alertness,” as her y-axis, and uses icons on the line itself to denote both when she drinks coffee, and her alertness state at various times during the day. The hand-drawn look of the charts and the smart color choices were especially eye-catching as well. 

Peter’s contribution was a unique twist on a matrix chart. (A matrix chart is basically a table that puts symbols in the cells instead of numbers; those symbols represent the value by varying in size, color, and/or mark type.) Peter used a grid system with some supercategories and some icons to show how he chooses his style of beer, based on the season, the day of the week, his stress level, and what round he’s on. 

While our diagram challenge has closed, the August challenge is currently in full swing. Browse through all of last month’s submissions, or take on the August challenge to create a perfect pie—you might even be the lucky recipient of an actual apple pie from one of SWD’s favorite bakeries! Check out the challenge page for more details, and we’ll see you in the community!