Data Viz for Dummies V
The road season · geography joins the scouting report
Use a map when location helps explain the answer.
The season goes on the road. Now the questions involve nearby places, distance, routes, and regional totals. Compare six geographic views and watch what each makes prominent. Use a map when location helps answer the question; keep a bar or line chart when the main comparison is a quantity or a trend.
Map room · location must do analytical work
Before choosing a map, name the geographic relationship the reader needs.
Different maps answer different spatial questions. Regions show neighbors, symbols locate individual sites, flows connect origins and destinations, and cartograms compare travel time or cost.
If the conclusion would survive after replacing every place name with A, B, and C, geography may not be carrying the argument. Try a bar chart before reaching for an atlas.
Six-map travel roster
Every formation answers a different version of ‘where?’
Start with what each row describes: a region, a site, a route or a journey cost. That determines which map forms can represent it.Choropleth
compare values attached to areas
large land areas dominate attentionProportional symbol
compare located totals
overlap hides small neighborsFlow map
show movement between locations
routes become spaghettiDistance cartogram
replace miles with experienced distance
geographic position is deliberately brokenTiled map
support street-level orientation
basemap detail can overpower the dataGeo custom
invent geography-aware geometry
the metaphor must remain navigableChoropleth · regional scouting
Color the area only when the value belongs to the area.
Choropleths bind one numeric measure to each geographic feature. They excel at rates, shares, and normalized measures whose meaning is regional. Adjacency and broad spatial clusters become visible immediately.
Raw totals reward populous or large regions twice: once in the number and again in visual area. Normalize when exposure differs, and never let missing data masquerade as zero.
San Francisco neighborhoods · two legitimate regional measures
Attendance rate follows the actual city fabric
Every fill represents an illustrative attendance rate, so the metric belongs to a real neighborhood rather than a made-up rectangle.Proportional symbol · the scouting circuit
Keep the place fixed and let magnitude change the mark.
Proportional symbols place a circle at each coordinate and scale its radius from a measure. Unlike a choropleth, the value belongs to a site rather than the surrounding land. Color can add a categorical region without repainting the world.
Area is compared imprecisely, and large circles can cover smaller neighbors. Use restrained size ranges, transparency, and tooltips—and cluster or zoom when locations become dense.
Global scouting stops · talent + games
Lagos and Manila hold the deepest prospect pools
The points do not claim anything about the countries beneath them. Their positions identify scouting markets; circle area carries the chosen total.Flow map · talent has a direction
Two places become a geographic story when an edge explains movement.
Flow maps connect locations and use line width to show volume. Arcs can separate overlapping routes, while direction shows where the flow begins and ends.
A bright animated particle can imply live movement even when the data is a historical total. Motion should describe motion; otherwise a static line is more honest and easier to read.
Prospect network · eight markets to Rookie City
Static arcs keep volume and origin in the foreground
Every route ends at Rookie City; line width reflects prospects evaluated. Toggle motion to see why animation changes the perceived tense of the data.Distance cartogram · the schedule as experienced
A flight hour can move a city farther than a thousand miles.
A distance cartogram moves places so their distance from one origin represents travel time, fare or another cost. Compare it with the geographic map to see which places become relatively nearer or farther away.
Once strength rises, compass direction may survive but literal position does not. Label the cost, show reference rings, and give readers a geographic comparison when orientation matters.
Road schedule · hours from Rookie City
Travel time: the coast-to-coast schedule stretches into cost
Toggle between the geographic baseline and full distortion. New York and Miami move to seven- and six-and-a-half-hour rings regardless of their map distance.Tiled map · context has a zoom level
Add streets when the reader must navigate, not merely locate.
Raster tiles turn a projected chart into a familiar pan-and-zoom map. They are useful when block, corridor, coast, or neighborhood context helps the task. The analytical marks must remain legible above the basemap.
Tiles bring visual noise, network requests, attribution duties, and a strong claim of locational precision. If districts alone answer the question, the street grid is overhead.
Local activations · atlas versus street context
Street context supports the route to each activation
The symbols sit at real San Francisco venues over real OpenStreetMap streets. Turn the tiles off to see exactly how much navigational context the basemap contributes.Geo custom · projection without a preset grammar
Keep the geographic contract while inventing the mark.
GeoCustomChart resolves projection, dimensions, theme, hit testing, accessibility, and tooltips before handing geometry to a layout function. The layout can emit geographic areas, lines, points, and SVG overlays without rebuilding the frame.
Custom geometry raises the explanation burden. Preserve recognizable coordinates, make hit targets accessible, and state which parts are measured versus illustrative.
Court access board · district + venue geometry
A custom court glyph stands on the same projected city
Official San Francisco neighborhood polygons remain geographic. Each real venue becomes an interactive point plus a court glyph and label—the bespoke layer owns appearance, not projection.Atlas review · location earns its ink
Match the map to the spatial question.
Choose the view that helps readers compare locations, neighbors, routes or travel costs. For a ranking that does not depend on location, bars may be easier to read.
Compare regional rates
ChoroplethValues belong to areas; normalize exposure.
Compare located totals
Proportional symbolCoordinates stay fixed; area carries magnitude.
Show movement between places
Flow mapDirection and volume must both matter.
Replace miles with cost
Distance cartogramDisclose exactly how geography is distorted.
Support local navigation
Tiled mapAdd only the context the task requires.
Invent a geographic mark
Geo customKeep projection and accessibility in the frame.
Location changes nothing
Skip the mapA ranked chart will usually read faster.
The geography is uncertain
Show that uncertaintyPrecision is part of the claim.
A map is useful when the arrangement of places tells you something the values alone cannot.