Data Visualizations

From DataWrapper to Flourish

Data visualization applications like DataWrapper and Flourish proved incredibly helpful in creating accessible, straightforward and engaging visualizations — from scatter plots to chloropleth maps — of data.

We were able to find a data set on COVID-19 cases in the United States and import it into DataWrapper to create a visually pleasing and informative map of the US and the COVID-19 information. Maps like these highlight how data, and information in general, can be communicated in a way that is easily understandable for a wide range of people. The ability to hover over each state to find out more specific information is another strong component of the visualization because of how it easily organizes and communicates more specific details about the data.

Similarly to DataWrapper, Flourish is another service that aids data visualizations. In class, we chose to find data related to the environment: “Common Items Found in Coastal Ocean Cleanup.” We chose a bar graph that arranged the items in order of quantity and chose stimulating color palette to express the data. We were able to include text on the items found, and also provide more specific data on the exact number of items (such as the exact number of cigarette butts) when the cursor is hovered over the bar. Flourish has other customization options like background image which allow for more creativity involved in the expression of data.