Instructions
Throughout the term we will be critiquing visualizations we find on the web as well as our own visualizations. By doing critique we help to refine our sensibility for design and build a library of effective (and ineffective) design patterns to use in our own work. In class today we'll start things off by critiquing visualizations together and then in smaller groups.

1. For the first critique, we will all be examining this example highlighted by researcher Robert Kosara.
2. We will then break into small groups.
3. At the bottom of this file you will see a long list of visualization examples. As a group, pick one to critique.
4. For the next 20 or so minutes, work together to understand, interpret, and eventually critique the visualization you chose. There are some helpful guidelines below. Take notes so that you can later describe your critique to your classmates.
5. If you feel you've done enough looking and want to build a better visualization of the same data, feel free to sketch up some improved re-design ideas to present to the class.
6. If sketching isn't your group's forté, feel free to take a look at a second visualization example.

Critique Guide
Design critique can take any number of forms. Some outline pros and cons, or identify particular visual elements and break them down. Others start with the data and discuss the construction of the visualization from the ground up.

Here are some questions to help guide your critique:

• What kind of data is the visualization presenting?
• What is the purpose of this visualization? How has the designer tailored this visualization to meet particular user information needs or goals?
• Does this visualization require training/study to work, or is it immediately effective?
• How are the data encoded into visual form? Does the author use specific visual channels (in)effectively to represent certain dimensions?
• What design trade-offs are present in the visualization? Are they emphasizing some part of the data at the expense of something else?
• How is interaction employed in this visualization? Are there any trade-offs that come from introducing interactions? Are the interactions helpful?
• Do you feel that this visualization is successful? What elements help make it effective, and what hurt its effectiveness?
• What’s missing from the visualization that would improve it? Is any element of the visualization misleading or at risk of misinterpretation?
• How would you do things differently if you were to re-design it?

Visualization examples for critique:

1. How do we compare?
2. Turkey's Toxic Dust
3. And the Earth shakes
4. Anatomy of the Lismore disaster
5. Culture in the Crosshairs (warning: concerns Ukraine war)
6. 100 Days of Protests Rock Hong Kong
7. Gender & Language
8. Visualizing Censorship in Iran
9. Science Paths
10. Racial Inequality in the United States
11. Rhythm of Food
12. Flood Phenomena in Europe
13. An Interactive Visualization of Every Line in Hamilton
14. XKCD History of the US Congress
15. Histography.io
16. NYT Rent Calculator