Arrow 1: The axis lines have no context. By reading the site it can be confirmed that the vertical axis is height in inches, and the horizontal axis is weight in pounds. The vertical axis is in increments of 3.4. Although it is even it still has an odd increment to use.
Arrow 2: The bars themselves are 'helpfully' labeled, but black lettering against a dark blue background is difficult to read. Not to mention that the distance between the labels makes them appear to be one long number.
Arrow 3: A legend has been added to clarify the colour coded data, but with no text whatsoever to give context. Reading the website does not clarify what the colours mean either.
Arrow 4: The white dot beneath 'Actual Stats' is meant to mark the point of where the subject's actual height and weight are present on the graph. The positioning, however, appears to be between two existing bars and the application of the third dimension makes it difficult to see exactly where it lies.
Arrow 5: The use of the third dimension alone adds no value whatsoever to the information. As stated above it only serves to confuse the reader further.
The use of a bar graph in general is a poor choice for this topic. Bar graphs are meant to show values and the differences over time. A scatter plot graph would represent the information much clearer and give the reader a better sense of what the average guesses were.
Wow, this is definitely a bad data visualization! I agree with your criticism of the bar chart, and did have a laugh at the title of it before I read that it was weight and height guesses on a woman. Your analysis was easy to read and follow.
ReplyDeleteYour analysis of the bar graph was spot on and insightful. It was easy to follow along with, unlike the graph itself. I also agree with your point of how a scatter plot graph would have been more effective.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your analysis of this chart. Definitely would get my vote for worst chart. The chart was hard to look at, not only because of how bad it was but the colours gave me a borderline migraine if I stared at it for long enough. This is a great example of why not to use the 3D feature on graphs.
ReplyDeleteI see so many colors collapse. Do not know where to start looking. Really hard to look at this chart and tell what is going on. There is no description on X-Axis and Y-axis. This is example of bad data visualization.
ReplyDeleteThis is a lot to look at. As we learned in class, this graph is breaking a few of the cardinal rules of data visualization. Most notably, the third dimension does nothing to assist in understanding the data, and the colour legend is useless without some context. I am left with more questions than answers, and I see nothing particularly well done in the graph.
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