Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
The decision as to what adds clarity and what detracts from it is not always
easy, however. Beck continued to battle against movements to revert key
aspects of his design, some successful and some not, until parting ways
with the department in 1959. Looking back from a twenty-first century
perspective, with all the benefits of precise modern printing techniques, you
might wonder whether Beck's design would benefit from a few additional
aboveground landmarks as reference points. However, the fundamental
principles behind the schematic approach to spatial layout remain timeless.
A Modern Application
Many of the best schematic spatial layouts are fixed and manually authored,
like the London Underground. For a network of your own that is relatively
static and that you want to revisit frequently, this is a practical approach.
However, when you are working quickly to assemble a visualization of new
data, you can apply techniques to achieve some of the same results. For
example, the chord diagram of global trade flow in Chapter 12, “Flows,”
takes a schematic approach to country layout by arranging them around the
circle by geographic orientation (see Figure 12-7). The following example
uses a similar data set, this time with U.S. interstate transport of goods
measured by value.
A chord diagram is an option you might consider here as well. However,
there is one significant difference between the nodes in this network versus
the previous one. In the global data, a ring is a reasonable approximation
of spatial relationships between the countries involved, whereas here it is
not. There is no way to keep neighboring interior states from ending up at
opposite sides of the circle. Introducing confusion into spatial relationships
(which have a natural correlation with transportation) will corrupt a clear
view of patterns of transport flow across the country. Finding a means of
maintaining approximate geographic location will give truer shape to the
data.
The interstate transport data here was made available by the U.S.
Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS).
The BTS maintains statistics for all modes of transportation, much of which
is updated continuously. This particular data set was obtained from the
results of a detailed 1997 Commodity Flow Survey (CFS), and subsequently
enhanced with state locations.
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