Visualizing Spatial Relationships - Data Points: Visualization That Means Something - page 302

The best part is that you can now download almost any dataset from the
World Bank (and there are a lot of them) and create a choropleth map
fairly quickly just by changing a few lines of code. To spruce up the graphic
in Figure 8-22, again, you can open the SVG file in Illustrator and edit away.
Mainly, the map needs a title and a legend to indicate what each shade
means, as shown in Figure 8-23.
FIGurE 8-23 Finished world map
over Space and Time
The examples so far enable you to visualize a lot of data types, whether it
be qualitative or quantitative. You can vary colors, categories, and symbols
to fit the story you're trying to tell; annotate your maps to highlight specific
regions or features; and aggregate to zoom in on counties or countries.