5 Diagrams

This diagram ran in Publico from Spain. It shows how Spain spends its money. Even though I'm not fluent in Spanish I can still understand what the graphic is trying to display and I think they do it very effectively with the two hands at the top and bottom and then with the break off of different sources coming off from the main source.

This is an interactive diagram in the New York Times, showing each shot Tiger Woods took on the 15th hole during the US Open. As someone who thinks golf is a pretty boring sport to watch, I enjoyed this graphic because I could rotate the ground to get different perspectives. I would consider this an active diagram. I guess this would be an effective graphic for gold fans, but probably wouldn't interest too many other people.

This is a mixture of passive diagram and chart picked up by the Guardian. It shows the rising sea levels and which cities they will affect, and it shows which ice sheets are contributing to the rising levels. One meter doesn't sound like a lot of water, but when it is shown like this, it is a bit more alarming. It's also alarming to see how many major cities fall within that one meter increase. I like that the cities are a silhouette because we can see what city they're talking about without being distracted and the gradient blue helps show the danger areas easier. This issue is definitely relevant to today.

This passive diagram is from the National Post and is about the intricacies of the Berlin Wall. I thought I knew a lot about the Berlin Wall, but this graphic shows details I've never heard about, such as the Death Strip. I think this is a passive diagram. It is definitely effective in showing the detail and work put into the Berlin Wall and the seriousness of the situation. This graphic ran during the anniversary of the Berlin Wall coming down and therefore is relevant for a news publication.

This diagram is from National Geographic. I think it is a active diagram because it gives more information when you click on the different levels. It shows the different layers of the underground in New York. The additional information is really nice. For example in the first level you learn that in order for workers to dig, they must rely on new and old maps to make sure they don't hit anything that could cost millions to fix and knock out power/water to hundreds of people. As far as I could tell, this was a stand alone graphic, but would compliment a story about New York's underground well. I think this is a very effective graphic.