I’ll admit that I’m a sucker for great data visualization — that is, the graphic representation of statistical information. It may sound extraordinarily boring to some, but a well-designed graph or graphic can truly help people see their world differently, and challenge soft assumption with grounded observation.
That’s why I’m so intrigued by GapMinder, an ambitious project that transforms world economic and development statistics into graphical tools for exploration. To see the experiment in action, watch the TED Talk by world health expert Hans Rosling, where fertility and life expectancy data from the past 40 years play out like some sort of abstract global horserace.
You can also play with the data yourself through the Gapminder Google Tool.
When I see such complex data sets expressed in such elegant and insightful ways, I’m struck at how obscure, uninformative, and dense most analysis is for nonprofit organizations. Why can’t our financial and annual reports strive for such clarity and learning power? And as teams of creative individuals, who better than us to find that better way?
Janet Kagan says
And let’s not forget the extraordinary work of Edward Tufte! (http://www.edwardtufte.com/tufte)