OK Trends continues to kick ass

It looks like the folks at OK Cupid are paying attention to their critics. As I've mentioned before, their analysis is inspired, but their data graphics need some work. Case in point, this post about profile photo myths. The graphs had a lot of rookie mistakes.

For Example... the chart on the right was taken from OK Trends, and there are a number of problems. It's always a good idea to eliminate all unnecessary data pixels. The outlines around the bars of these charts provides some visual distraction that can easily be eliminated. In addition, the legend requires a bit of ocular calisthenics. Your brain only keeps five to nine bits of information in short-term memory. In order to read any chart you need to understand the numbers and the context. The further you remove the context from the numbers, the more your brain has to work to put the pieces together. In this example the numbers in green at the top of the chart can't be understood until you read the title at the top of the chart and the legend at the bottom. In the western world we read from left to right, top to bottom, but this chart forces the viewer to read the top, then the bottom, then side to side. While the green data series is the first you encounter with your eyes, it's the last that's listed in the legend.

My version of the chart is on the right. Notice the legend is on the right of the chart, in the same order as the data series. Your eye reads left to right, the way it naturally wants to. I added an axis showing the sum of all the categories, so you don't need to do the mental math to know that these are parts of a whole population. In addition, the unnecessary outlines around the data series have been removed.

What I find interesting is the use of a stacked column chart. I think sometimes the impulse is to use a stacked column chart to show data that adds to 100%. I tend to use stacked column charts when I'm showing categories on a continuum. At times it may be better to show the information in a clustered bar chart, like the next one shown here. It depends on what you're trying to express with the data graphic. All of these charts contain the same data, but the last chart makes it easier to see the differences between men and women when it comes to profile pictures. It also makes it easier to see relative differences between categories.

I'm really impressed with the improvements that OK Trends employed in their most recent post. They're employing a wider variety of visualizations, and the graphics they're using are much more sophisticated. If you look at the fourth chart I've posted here, the information is presented in a more manageable form. Grid lines have been provided for quick and easy reference, there's a label indicating the sample size, and the labels are all oriented so they can be read left to right. It makes me really happy to see their data graphics rise to the quality of their analysis.