A TRUTHFUL ART

What I didnt know about infographics ten years ago and I should have

Alberto Cairo, School of Communication, University of Miami

http://www.nytimes.com/
interactive/2013/12/20/sundayreview/dialect-quiz-map.html

Our work is going mainstream:

Its becoming popular because its persuasive, informative, and fun
We have the responsibility of getting things as correctly as possible

SHIT I DID A
DECADE AGO BUT
SHOULDNT HAVE
here we go

What I did

Choosing forms to represent data

based just on how cool they looked
!

What I should have known

Visualization has certain (flexible)

rules based on how the eyes and
the brain work

How Music Preferences Have Changed in Two Decades

Music styles preferred by University of Miami students. Survey based on interviews with 1,000 students.
SOURCE: WishfulThinkingData Inc.

1994
Country
Reggae

2014

Classic

Country
Hard Rock

5% 5%
10%

Reggae

Classic
Hard Rock

35%

20%
25%

Hip-Hop

Hip-Hop
Samba

Samba

How Music Preferences

Have Changed in Two Decades
Music styles preferred by University of Miami students.
Survey based on interviews with 1,000 students.
SOURCE: WishfulThinkingData Inc.

1994
40%

2014
Hard Rock

30
Samba
20

Hip-Hop

10

Reggaeton

Country
Classic

What I did

Receiving data from a source and

rushing to design an infographic
!

What I should have known

Always read the documentation

carefully, analyze the data, and
consult with other sources

http://www.vox.com/cards/health-prices/america-is-getting-gouged-on-health-care-prices

READ MORE http://www.thefunctionalart.com/2014/04/my-new-infographics-motto-its-more.html

What I did

Thinking that readers dislike

complexity and only want to
see the simplest graphics
!

What I should have known

Infographics arent about

simplification, but about
clarification

Less regulation =
More Industry Investment

Following
1992 Cable
Regulations

$56 billion After

regulations
were relaxed

$14 billion

1993-1996 1999-2003

Less regulation =
More Industry Investment

Following
1992 Cable
Regulations

$56 billion After

regulations
were relaxed

$14 billion

1993-1996 1999-2003

Cable Industry Infrastructure Expenditures

In billions
$16

$12

Cable Television
Consumer Protection
and Competition Act
(Regulation)

$8

Telecommunications
Act is passed
(Deregulation)

$4

$16

1990 92

96

98

00

02

04

06

08

10

2013

What I did

Choosing the data that better

fitted a preconceived headline
!

What I should have known

Your data should lead to

your headline, not the
other way around

http://www.thefunctionalart.com/2014/03/the-danger-of-not-adjusting-for.html

http://www.thefunctionalart.com/2014/03/the-danger-of-not-adjusting-for.html

http://www.thefunctionalart.com/2014/03/the-danger-of-not-adjusting-for.html

What I did

Assuming that data is precise

!

What I should have known

Data is always noisy

and uncertain

Do you want Catalonia

to become an independent state?
No

45.3%

Yes

44.5%

No answer

10.2%

Margin of error: +/-2.95

Level of confidence = 95%

What I did

Assuming that two things

were related just because
they varied together
!

What I should have known

Correlation doesnt imply

causation

The Sports
Illustrated jinx

The Sports
Illustrated jinx

Athlete 1

Performance

Athlete 2
Time

Made the cover of Sports Illustrated

Athlete 3

The Sports
Illustrated jinx

Regression
to the mean

Athlete 1

Performance

Athlete 2
Time

Made the cover of Sports Illustrated

Athlete 3

New England Journal of Medicine

The Journal of Nutrition:

Does Chocolate Consumption Really Boost Nobel Award Chances?
The Peril of Over-Interpreting Correlations in Health Studies

How I stopped
doing shit I should
never have done in
the first place

alberto.cairo@gmail.com

@albertocairo

School of Communication, University of Miami