Visualize This: The FlowingData Guide to Design, Visualization, and Statistics

Wrapping Up

Maps are a tricky visualization type because in addition to your own data, you have to handle the dimension of geography. However, because of how intuitive they are, maps can also be rewarding, both in how you can present data to others and how you can explore your data deeper than you could with a statistical plot.

As seen from the examples in this chapter, there are a lot of possibilities for what you can do with spatial data. With just a few basic skills, you can visualize a lot of datasets and tell all sorts of interesting stories. This is just the tip of the iceberg. I mean, people go to college and beyond to earn degrees in cartography and geography, so you can imagine what else is out there. You can play with cartograms, which size geographic regions according to a metric; add more interaction in Flash; or combine maps with graphs for more detailed and exploratory views of your data.

Online maps have become especially prevalent, and their popularity is only going to grow as browsers and tools advance. For the growth map example, ActionScript and Flash were used, but it could have also been implemented in JavaScript. Which tool you use depends on the purpose. If it doesn’t matter what tool you use, then go with the one you’re more comfortable with. The main thing, regardless of software, is the logic. The syntax might change, but you do the same with your data, and you look for the same flow in your storytelling.