As part of my job as a data journalist for the European Correspondent, I wanted to do a big showy infographic for our upcoming data visualization newsletter.
This was the theme I ended up going with.
This was the theme I ended up going with.
Note: This is a sneak peak of a yet unpublished piece, the final project might differ significantly from what you see.
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National Parks in Europe
National Parks are nature's playgrounds, offering stunning landscapes for you to feast your eyes, reconnect with your roots and snap that cool Instagram pic.
They are also crucial for conservation efforts in Europe, protecting diverse ecosystems and ensuring that future generations can enjoy the great outdoors in all its glory.
I wanted to make something in a large format that resembled those big encyclopedias or National Geographic centerfolds that fascinated me as a kid; always some new detail to check out and tips on how to find out more about it.
The design is dominated by a central graphic that's divided into 20 segments: one for each of the National Parks selected.
The smaller segments closer to the centre and colored from light beige to deep orange represent the average yearly temperature for each region. The little circles with letters on them identify the conservation initiatives associated with each National Park.
Everything is color coded.
Back when I was a kid, this was one of the things that captivated me the most. For some reason, the concept of seeing multiple differently colored variations of something was mesmerizing to my younger self. I went crazy for Staedtler Noris (had to google it) pencils for instance, each with a differently colored tip and a different use case.
That's a lot of yapping to say I like colors and variations of the same thing. So I divided each park into a number of categories, both geographical and biological.
Also I really like to put little flags on things.
Ever read something that's supposed to be informative and then feel dumb because the author assumed you should know what they are talking about?
That's what glossaries are for.
They were all the rage in those cool encyclopedias that I loved. Always a list of uncommon words that one might wonder about while reading. Here, they're even more important since The European Correspondent is a European publication and it's likely English is not most people's first language.
Everything is explained on the sides and some extra information is available such as brief concept definitions or interesting questions about the subject of National Parks.
As for the blobs. These are colored in a gradient. The upper and wider part is colored according to the geographical features of each region. The lower one is colored according to the biome type. If you're wondering, these shapes are called metaballs and they work great as a data visualization tool.
I loved playing Pro Evolution Soccer when I was a kid. I loved everything about it, but the sheer abundance of different attributes that affected a player's performance was impressive if a little overwhelming.
In order for a player's overall quality to be more easily comprehensible at a glance, they graphed a player's main attributes into a radar plot.
I thought they were so cool.
I still do.
And this is it. I hope you found it informative, if nothing else. If also you appreciated this in any way, go ahead and show me some love by pushing that blue button below.
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Also follow @theeuropeancorrespondent on Instagram and subscribe to the brand new Europe in Data Newsletter.
Stay tuned for more.
:)
