#bigbadworld

Big Bad World

A big bad infographic on death, phobias, and the fact behind the fear (nice and cheery, I know). My focus was weaving the data into a narrative, presenting death as we know it, fears, flipping those fears on their head, and then bringing a new perspective on death around the world. The true value of data visualisation is the ability to show context and comparisons and I wanted to use that as much as possible to tell the story. Seeing that 7/10 people die age 70+ in high income countries is one thing, seeing that next to only 2/10 reaching 70+ in low income countries is another.

To build this story, I wanted to make sure each topic led naturally to the next and spent quite a while selecting what information to include and organising the hierarchy. The layout adds to this flow, with sharp cutouts highlighting key data and headings and directing the eyes back and forth across the page.

My goal was to put the data first with minimal illustration so it would neither distract/clutter the information or be unsuitable for what is a serious topic. To highlight key points or label data, I designed an icon set which matches the angular and minimal design of the infographic. The minimal colour scheme is carried on from there, making use of a monochromatic grey palette with lime green to highlight key points and headings. Coloured sections break up the data and divide it into defined topics.

It was a challenge to strike a balance between the gravity of the subject matter and the slightly tongue in cheek tone of pointing out the exaggerated aspects of our common fears. The typefaces play into this, with a technical serif for the body text and the almost playful Gil Sans Ultra Bold for headings that subconsciously makes you wonder how bad it could really be. Ultimately, I hope that the more playful elements serve to highlight the need not to get caught up in fears while emphasising the impact of the real horrors they are juxtaposed against.

Big Bad Icons

To achieve a minimal style for my infographic, I wanted to use simple icons paired with a limited colour palette. Ideally, they will be able to replace certain labels and put the focus on the data as well as highlight key points. I also tested the icons in a monochrome scheme (see above), to make sure they are identifiable and the designs work with and without the colour highlights.

I went in a different direction from the icon set for my travel app, using an outline style and spurning curves and rounded edges completely. The angular style reflects the theme and tone of the infographic, showcasing the deadly nature and exaggerated phobias. Eyes and additional characterisation help ‘humanise’ these fears and reflect the underlying story of the infographic which questions our common fears.

Maybe believe

Or maybe don't care

Sure, maybe there is no god in the big white clouds up there

Maybe live long

Or maybe die young

Gathering up my notes for my Big Bad World infographic so I have compiled most of the sources (which were drawn from in some form or fashion) here. The rest was cut before I reached the design stage so are not listed here (though bees and lightning did get a design, albeit not in the final piece, so are included).

General Population

Worldometers

Our World in Data

WHO Map Gallery

Death

Mortality Rate

Birth & Death Rates

WHO Mortality Database

WHO Global Health Estimates

WHO Cause-Specific Mortality - (the spreadsheet is massive but incredibly handy)

Life Expectancy by Country

Mortality.org

Animal-Related

Which animal kills the most humans?

World Atlas - animals that kill the most

Animals most likely to kill you (chart)

Misplaced phobias

Mosquitoes

Mosquito (and Dog) Related Deaths

Malaria

Mosquito.org

Snakes

The Guardian

WHO Snake Antivenoms

Sharks

Annual Australian Shark Attack Report

World Shark Attack Rates

Lightning

Deaths and Injuries by the Numbers

BBC Small Data

Bees

Deadliest Non-Human in America

Bee Sting Facts

The Cut

My main goal with the layout of my infographic was to weave the data into a narrative. The topics flow from death in general to fear, the facts behind those fears, and the true disparity in death. To ensure that each section leads naturally to the other, I cut several chunks which might disrupt the pacing and do not contribute to the story.

First up was bees. I really wanted to include this because it is a nice way to flip phobias on their head by showing how unsuspecting creatures like bees can be more lethal than popular villains such as spiders or sharks. However, I found this became an odd one out in my infographic because it did not fit in with the larger ‘bar chart of deadliness’ so ultimately it was scrapped. I had a soft spot for the bee icon, though, and am a bit sad I didn’t get to use it in the final version.

The annual lightning death rate was another interesting fact and I wanted to include it to accompany one of the common phobias (Astraphobia, fear of thunder and lightning) but I felt it did not contribute enough to the narrative and was disruptive to the flow.

The Reason for the Ratio

At first the data-ink ratio can seem like an arbitrary rule to reduce printing cost and, at best, reduce clutter or, at worst, make the visualisation boring and harder to follow. But applying it as I began designing the various charts for my infographic made me realise the true strength of the ratio: it forces you to consider what is essential.

What is it that you are truly trying to say? If all the data is in a very small range, do you really need that lengthy bar chart where the lower 3/4 of each one is showing the same, unnecessary information? It is not about simplifying the design so much as clarifying the point.

In this case, I was trying to present a chart of life expectancy by continent compared to the world average. A traditional bar chart seemed like an obvious choice but it wasn’t until after I had created one that it stood out to me just how much wasted space there was getting each bar from 0-60 years. Not only was it consuming valuable screen real-estate, it also made the comparison to the world average and certain points (like the fact that Africa is the only continent to fall below the world average) less obvious.

So considering the data-ink ratio, I stripped the design back by focusing only on what the chart was intended to convey: a comparison in life expectancy. As a comparison, the only truly necessary data is the difference so the bar chart can be simplified to show only that range. This much shorter bar chart cut out all the unnecessary height and is more minimal than my final approach at first glance but it would still require labels (which lead to confusion when trying to see the true height of each bar) or a detailed scale to be understood.

By trimming it back even further, the labels can be integrated into the chart while also emphasising both the total and the size of the difference from both gender averages and the averages of other continents. This also aids comprehension as the chart flows naturally from left to right with an easy up and down rhythm in between, no need to go back search for the right number on an axis.