The Infographic Taxonomy

It can be hard to find the most appropriate visualization method. But the basic journalistic questions and the structure of your data-set already define your visualization. To help you find it, I build this taxonomy.

Pentagon

Within each pentagon you’ll find one of the journalistic questions:

Who (icons, pictograms): PINK
Where (maps): GREEN
When (timelines): PURPLE
What (illustrations): ORANGE
How (process charts): RED
How much (data visualizations): CYAN

Intersection

Combine two colors, like WHO and HOW MUCH, to find at the intersection the most appropriate visualization. In this case: the hierarchy of persons (or objects) based on values.

Triangle

When combining three questions you’ll find the visualization within the vertices in the corresponding color. So the combination of WHO + WHERE + WHEN results in ‘Tracks’ of people (or objects) through space and time.

Glue your own!

Have your own Infographic Taxonomy-cube (which I constructed using a polyhedron: a icosidodecahedron) by sending me an e-mail f.ruys @ vizualism.com. No need to use your pair of scissors; you’ll get a pre-folded and laser cutted plan to glue your own Infographic Taxonomy.

Design: Frederik Ruys.

Population pyramid 1980 – 2040

Visualizing tripolar role patterns with a Fano matroid