Lab 8 - Analytical Data & Infographics


For this week's lab assignment we were provided County Health Rankings National Data from 2015. To find positive correlations, I ran the Correlation tool in Excel (from the Data Analysis Toolpak). The two variables I decided on were: Children Living in Single-Parent Households and Chlamydia Cases. These variables are meaningful because there is a strong, positive relationship between them (with a correlation value of 0.659 to be exact). The variable of children living in a single-parent household is a percentage derived by dividing the number of children in households by the number of children living in single-parent households – making it normalized data. The chlamydia variable uses a calculated rate that was derived by taking the raw count of chlamydia cases and dividing it by the population x 100,000 – thus, also making it normalized data.

Because the theme colors of my infographic are blue and pink, I designed my scatter plot with a neutral color: gray. As suggested in our reading from “Data Visualization 101: How to Design Charts and Graphs” by Hubspot + Visage, I started my scatter plot’s y-axis value at zero, and I used a trend line (p. 16). Also, I removed the outline border so that it gave it a cleaner look in my infographic. My blue, vertical chart 
compares the contiguous U.S. states and their respective percentage of children living in single-parent households. As suggested in our reading, the space between the bars are spaced appropriately, the y-axis value starts at zero, I used a consistent color that matches the blue theme of the percentage of children living in single-parent household (like the map), and the data is ordered alphabetically by states A-Z ( Hubspot + Visage, p. 8). Like my scatter plot, I also removed the outline border so that it gave it a cleaner look in my infographic.

Additionally, I created a horizontal bar chart depicting the top 10 U.S. states with the highest rates of chlamydia cases. I also used a raw total count of all chlamydia cases reported in 2015 (which was 1.4 million) as a statistic text. It was difficult finding graphics that were directly related to my infographic’s message, but I made the best of it. 
As suggested in our lab assignment, I designed my legends in a horizontal manner with no gaps between, and as thinner rectangles so that they didn’t take up as much space. I kept the theme going by using images and fonts in the colors gray, pink, and blue. I removed my north arrow and scale bars as suggested. I used a lot of invisible neatlines to make sure my graphics were equally spaced and aligned correctly. One of the main design principles I used in placing my graphics and data elements was balance: I tried to reduce the awkward white spaces as much as possible, while also making sure that graphics were balancing each other contextually as well as visually. I like how my infographic turned out.

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