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Graphical Integrity Principles

Graphical integrity is the principle of presenting data accurately and honestly in visualizations, emphasizing accuracy, consistency, completeness, clarity, transparency, and honesty. Tufte's principles stress the importance of showing data, maximizing data-ink ratio, using clear labels, avoiding chartjunk, and encouraging comparison. The document also discusses the pitfalls of misleading graphics and the necessity of coherent design to effectively communicate information.

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Hifsa Shafique
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7 views53 pages

Graphical Integrity Principles

Graphical integrity is the principle of presenting data accurately and honestly in visualizations, emphasizing accuracy, consistency, completeness, clarity, transparency, and honesty. Tufte's principles stress the importance of showing data, maximizing data-ink ratio, using clear labels, avoiding chartjunk, and encouraging comparison. The document also discusses the pitfalls of misleading graphics and the necessity of coherent design to effectively communicate information.

Uploaded by

Hifsa Shafique
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Graphical Integrity

Principles
What is Graphical Integrity?
• Definition of graphical integrity: the principle of presenting
data accurately and honestly in visualizations.
• Importance of graphical integrity in ensuring that
visualizations effectively communicate information without
misleading or distorting its meaning.
Principles of Graphical Integrity in Data
Visualization
• Accuracy
• Explanation of the importance of accurately representing data without distortion
or misrepresentation.
• Examples of techniques to ensure accuracy, such as using appropriate scales and
labeling axes clearly.

• Consistency
• Explanation of the importance of maintaining consistency in design elements
such as color, scale, and labeling.
• Examples of how consistency promotes comparability across different parts of a
visualization.
Principles of Graphical Integrity in Data
Visualization
• Completeness
• Explanation of the importance of presenting all relevant data in a complete
and comprehensive manner.
• Examples of how incomplete data presentation can bias interpretation.

• Clarity
• Explanation of the importance of clarity in design to ensure that
visualizations are easy to understand.
• Examples of techniques to enhance clarity, such as using clear and
straightforward visual elements.
Principles of Graphical Integrity in Data
Visualization
• Transparency
• Explanation of the importance of transparency in representing data, including any
assumptions or transformations made during visualization.
• Examples of how transparency helps viewers understand the limitations of the
data.

• Honesty
• Explanation of the importance of honesty in presenting data without deliberate
attempts to deceive or manipulate viewers.
• Examples of misleading visual cues to avoid, such as truncated axes or
exaggerated scales.
Principles of Graphical Integrity in Data
Visualization
• Interactivity
• Explanation of how interactivity can enhance exploration and
understanding of data in visualizations.
• Examples of interactive features that promote exploration while
maintaining graphical integrity.
Integrity

• Tell the truth about the data -- above all else show the data
• The representation of numbers, as physically measured on the surface of the graphic itself, should be directly proportional to the
numerical quantities represented.
• Clear, detailed, and thorough labeling should be used to defeat graphical distortion and ambiguity--but not clutter
• Graphics must not quote data out of context.
• Avoid distortion of what the data have to say (don't let the graphic help misinterpretation or "lie")

• Show data variation, not design variation.


• In time-series displays of money, deflated and standardized units of monetary measurement are nearly always better than nominal
units.
• The number of information-carrying (variable) dimensions dipicted should not exceed the number of dimensions in the data.
• Induce the viewer to think about the substance rather than about methodology, graphic design, or the methodology used in the
production
Integrity
• Make large data sets coherent
• Present many numbers in a small space (sparklines demonstrate this)
• Greatest number of ideas in the shortest time with the least ink (or pixels) in the smallest space
(maximizing the data-ink ratio) -- efficiency
• Encourage the eye to compare different pieces of data -- leverage preattentive visual features
• Nearly always multivariate to be most informative

• Reveal the data at several levels of detail from broad overview to the fine structure
• Integrate closely with the statistical and narrative description of a data set
• Write out explanations of the data on the graphic itself. Label important events in the data.
• Well-designed presentation of interesting data: of substance, of statistics, and of design
Tuffle's Graphical Integrity Principles
• Principle 1: Show the Data
• Explanation of the first principle: "Above all else, show the data."
• Importance of emphasizing the data itself rather than distracting embellishments or unnecessary graphical
elements.

• Principle 2: Maximize Data-Ink Ratio


• Explanation of the second principle: "Erase non-data ink, within reason, and erase redundant data-ink."
• Importance of minimizing non-essential graphical elements to maximize the clarity and effectiveness of the
visualization.

• Principle 3: Use Clear, Detailed Labels


• Explanation of the third principle: "Maximize the data-ink ratio and, within reason, the number of data points
per inch of space."
• Importance of providing clear and detailed labels to ensure that viewers can accurately interpret the data
represented in the visualization.
Tuffle's Graphical Integrity Principles
• Principle 4: Avoid Chartjunk
• Explanation of the fourth principle: "Erase redundant data-ink and non-data-ink alike."
• Importance of avoiding unnecessary embellishments or decorative elements that do not contribute to the
understanding of the data.

• Principle 5: Utilize High-Resolution Graphics


• Explanation of the fifth principle: "Data graphics should, whenever possible, carry the resolution of their
content."
• Importance of using high-resolution graphics to accurately represent the underlying data without loss of
detail or precision.

• Principle 6: Provide Detailed Data Tables


• Explanation of the sixth principle: "Give complete documentation for your data."
• Importance of providing detailed data tables or supplemental information to allow viewers to verify the
accuracy and integrity of the visualization.
Tuffle's Graphical Integrity Principles
• Principle 7: Encourage Comparison
• Explanation of the seventh principle: "Design graphics to enable viewers to
compare data."
• Importance of designing visualizations that facilitate comparison between different
data points, variables, or categories.

• Principle 8: Use Multidimensional Design


• Explanation of the eighth principle: "Use design to clarify and emphasize, not to
decorate, distort, or distract."
• Importance of using multidimensional design techniques to enhance the clarity and
effectiveness of the visualization without introducing unnecessary complexity.
False graphics
• Look closely at the baselines of
the three charts.

• How well they align.

• Look at the net income baseline.


See the negative value.

• Distracting pictures.

• Most above principles are


violated.
Lies, Damn Lies, and Bad Graphs
Lies, Damn Lies, and Bad Graphs
Lies, Damn Lies, and Bad Graphs
Percent Water

80
75
70
65
60
55
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0

body

brain

blood
Percent Water
85

80

75

70

65

60

55

50

45

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

0
body brain blood
100
Percent Water

75

50

25

0
body brain blood
Bad
Better
Even Better*
0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Too Little

About Right

Too Much

National Spending to Deal with Drug Addiction


0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

Too Little

About Right

Male
Too Much
Female

National Spending to Deal


with Drug Addiction
National Spending to Deal
with Drug Addiction

Too Little

About Male Female


Right

Too Much

- 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
National Spending to Deal
with Drug Addiction

Female

Too Little
About
Right
Too Much

Male

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Chartjunk and Graphics
Integrity
Types of chartjunk

• Chartjunk are non-data-ink or redundant data-ink


decoration
• Unintended Optical Art (Moiré vibration)
• The Grid
• The Duck: Self-promoting Graphics
Unintended Optical Art

• Mainly rely on moiré effects


• Distracting appearance of vibration and movement
• The most common form of graphical clutter
Moiré Vibrations
The Grid
• Dark grid lines are chartjunk
• The grid should usually be muted or completely
supressed
The Grid (cont’d)
• Marey’s train schedule
The Duck

• Self-promoting
graphics: when
the data measures
become design
elements
Lie Factor

size of effect shown in graphics


Lie Factor =
size of effect in data
• Lie Factor equal to one is ideal
Design and Data Variation
• Show data variation, not design variation

• 1973-1978: one vertical inch


equals to $8.00. In 1979,
One vertical inch equals $3-4

• 1973-1978: one horzontal inch


equals 3.7 years, while 1979
equals 0.57 year
Example

• Lie factor: 9.5


• The price of oil is
inflated so need
to be repaired.
Government Spending
• Tricks to exaggerate the growth of spending
Real Government Spending
 Tricks to exaggerate the growth of
spending
Visual Area and Numerical Measure
• Tricking the reviewer with design
variation is to use areas to show 1D
data

Lie factor: 2.8


Content is Essential

• Graphics must not


quote data out of
context
Content is Essential
 Graphics must not
quote data out of
context
On Using Color…
Rule #3: Use color only when needed to serve a
particular communication goal.
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180
Japan
Greece
Italy
Belgium
Portugal
Hungary
United
Kingdom
Austria
France
Netherlands
Poland
Iceland
United States
Turkey
Germany
Sweden
Spain
Denmark
Finland
Korea
Canada
Ireland
Czech Repub-
Slovaklic
Repub-
licMexico
Switzerland
New Zealand
Norway
Luxembourg
Australia

2008 Debt to GDP Ratio for OECD

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