Spotting Differences - Data Points: Visualization That Means Something - page 236

FIGurE 7-7 Heatmap using RColorBrewer for color palette
Check out Figure 7-7, which you can bring into Illustrator to spruce up.
The graphic doesn't need a ton of edits, but you can make the labels more
readable and soften the colors so that the graphic is easier to scan.
Addressing the former, it'd be better if the labels were the full descrip-
tions. As a basketball fan, I know what each abbreviation stands for, but
someone not so familiar with the sport would be confused. As for the lat-
ter, you can tone down the contrast by using transparency, available in the
Color Window in Illustrator. Cell borders can also provide more definition
to each cell so that the graphic is easier to scan left to right and top to bot-
tom. Figure 7-8 shows the finished graphic.