1. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 1 Notes to Chapter Seven English 308

2. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 2 Data Displays Data displays are Extra-level Include text (sometimes) but text is secondary Greatly enhance readers’ ability to compare numbers

3. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 3 Data displays are useful Because Some readers prefer to see visual representative of numerical data Some sets of data are too complex for readers to use them in text (tabular) form Some readers prefer a top-down perspective of data, which can reveal trends and relationships

4. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 4 Two Ways of Viewing Data Reason for VisitPct of Total Computer9% English 10017% Tutoring50% Workshops4% WPE20%

5. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 5 The Design Process We might begin the process by choosing a chart type that might or might not be effective. For example, we might want to display demographic information about who has used a campus writing center.

6. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 6 First Draft

7. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 7 Second Draft

8. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 8 Third Draft

9. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 9 Fourth Draft

10. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 10 Fifth Draft

11. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 11 Sixth Draft

12. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 12 Conventions of Data Displays— Textual Elements Textual elements provide Axes titles Axes labels Legends Titles

13. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 13 Textual Elements Axes Titles Chart Titles Legend Axes Labels

14. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 14 Conventions of Data Displays— Spatial Elements Spatial elements include Display Type Size Shape Orientation

15. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 15 Display Types: Pie Charts

16. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 16 Display Types: Simple Bar Charts

17. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 17 Display Types: Complex Bar Charts

18. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 18 Display Types: Line Graphs

19. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 19 Display Types: Scatter Plots

20. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 20 Display Types: Data Maps

21. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 21 Display Types: Gantt Chart

22. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 22 Display Types: Graphical Matrix BasicDeluxeSuiteHome & Business Organize Your Finances Balance your checkbook & track accounts easily Bank & pay bills online with one click** Create customizable reports, graphs & budgets View your account balances at Quicken.com* new Access valuable services for Quicken customers** new Find & fix common mistakes with Smart Reconcile new Get proactive reminders for upcoming or missed bills new Download home & car values* improved

23. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 23 Conventions of Data Displays— Graphic Elements Graphic elements include Gridlines Plot Frames Tick Marks Background Shading

24. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 24 Graphic Elements: None

25. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 25 Graphic Elements: Gridlines

26. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 26 Graphic Elements: Plot Frame

27. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 27 Graphic Elements: Tick Marks

28. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 28 Graphic Elements: Shading

29. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 29 Applying the Cognate Strategies How do we apply this rich visual vocabulary to data displays? We can do so by considering the six cognate strategies.

30. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 30 Arrangement Questions Which conventional genre (pie chart, bar graph, etc.) should I use to structure the data for my readers? Within this conventional genre, how can I best organize the data to reveal patterns and trends for this situation?

31. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 31 Arrangement Strategies Choose an appropriate display type for the data—and be ready to change if the selected display type does not work. Decide how you want to sequence or group the data. Different sequences or groupings create different emphases.

32. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 32 Arrangement Strategies (cont.) Which display type is best for this data?

33. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 33 Arrangement Strategies (cont.) Which display type is best for this data?

34. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 34 Emphasis Questions Which data, or trends in the data, need to stand out? What do I want readers to notice most when they use the display?

35. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 35 Emphasis Strategies Data displays give you enormous power to control which data and which relationships among the data to emphasize or de- emphasize. With that power comes great ethical responsibility.

36. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 36 Emphasis Strategies Here’s a simple line graph.

37. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 37 Emphasis Strategies Stretching the graph and adjusting its scale “changes” how the data looks.

38. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 38 Emphasis Strategies Squeezing the graph and adjusting its scale again “changes” how the data looks.

39. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 39 Emphasis Strategies Graphic coding can also be used for emphasis.

40. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 40 Clarity Questions How can I ensure that my readers will understand the display? What perceptual problems might readers have deciphering this display, either its individual pieces of data or the big picture trends?

41. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 41 Clarity Strategies Clarity in data displays hinges largely on how well they adhere to these perceptual principles: Benchmarks Area Gray Scales Perspective

42. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 42 Clarity Strategies: Benchmarks When comparing data, we need a consistent benchmark. Note how difficult it is in the chart below to compare quarterly data for any group other than East.

43. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 43 Clarity Strategies: Areas Using areas to represent data reduces clarity. Comparing areas that represent data can be very difficult. Is it clear from the chart below that B represents 27.4, A and D represent 20.4, and C represents 90?

44. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 44 Clarity Strategies: Gray Scales Using gray scales to represent data reduces clarity. Comparing gray scales that represent data can be very difficult. Is it clear what the different levels of gray scale mean in the chart below?

45. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 45 Clarity Strategies: Perspective Using perspective reduces clarity. Comparing data in 3-D perspective can be very difficult. Is it clear what the data proportions are in the chart below?

46. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 46 Conciseness Questions How can I get the most impact for the least use of design elements? How can I avoid over-designing the display? If I decide to embellish the display, does the embellishment do some rhetorical work?

47. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 47 Conciseness Strategies Data displays can be simple and direct or highly embellished We can measure spatial conciseness in terms of “data density” and graphic conciseness in terms of “data-ink”

48. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 48 Conciseness Strategies: Spatial Conciseness Data density measures how much data the display contains relative to its area. For example in the chart on the left, we have 4 pieces of data in about 8 square inches. In the chart on the right, we have 12 pieces of data in about 8 square inches.

49. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 49 Conciseness Strategies: Graphic Conciseness Data-ink ratio measures how much graphic coding a data display uses to show the data—bars, gridlines, tick marks, and so on. For example, imagine how much toner is needed to print the chart on the right compared to the chart on the left.

50. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 50 Conciseness Strategies: Textual Conciseness The conciseness of the data display can also be measured in terms of its textual cues—labels, legends, titles, and the like. Compare the data displays below.

51. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 51 Conciseness Strategies While considering data density and data- ink ratios might help you identify problem areas, keep in mind that clarity and conciseness always exist in a balance. As a rule, you should privilege clarity over conciseness.

52. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 52 Tone Questions What tone do I want the display to project: serious, friendly, tentative, authoritarian, non-threatening, formal, informal, technical? Which of these voices is appropriate for readers in this situation?

53. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 53 Tone Strategies Compare the tone of these two displays.

54. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 54 Tone Strategies What is the tone of this chart?

55. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 55 Tone Strategies What is the tone of this chart?

56. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 56 Tone Strategies Or this chart?

57. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 57 Ethos Questions How can I design the data display so it creates credibility for me, the other authors, or the organization? What ethical problems can design choices create?

58. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 58 Ethos Strategies Because data displays are so flexible and because they can both reveal and hide trends and relationships, writers/designers need to be, above all, honest. With data displays, ethos begins with the simple question: Does the display tell readers an accurate story about the data, or does it skew, twist, or distort the data?

59. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 59 Ethos Strategies We’ve already looked at stretched and narrowed graphs and “adjusted” scales Here’s a data display with regular scales.

60. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 60 Ethos Strategies Here’s the same data in a display with “adjusted” scales.

61. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 61 Ethos Strategies Here’s the same data on a logarithmic scale

62. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 62 Ethos Strategies Deception problems can take many forms: Readers might be deceived and not realize it, and even the writer might not realize it. Readers might detect the distortion, leading to a loss of ethos for the writer. Readers might suspect deception, eroding the credibility of the writer.

63. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 63 Ethos Strategies A heavy-handed design like this one might lead readers to suspect that the writer is trying to hide something.

64. 6/3/2016 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 7 64 Conclusion Remember that the six cognate strategies do not exist in separate, isolated packages but constantly work together (and at times against one another) to respond to the rhetorical situation.