Before, During and After: The Richest 1 Percent

This weekend the NYT published Shaila Dewan and Robert Gebeloff’s story about the richest 1 percent of Americans (a more diverse bunch than you’d think). The graphics department published a lot of work in print and online to accompany the article. Online, there was an interactive map that shows you where you and your income rank in 344 zones across the country and a treemap of what jobs the 1 percent hold. But the print version, made by Alicia DeSantis and Ford Fessenden, was really imaginative. (I’m writing this only as a fan - my involvement was limited to about 10 minutes of data monkeying.)

First, Alicia’s original sketch, written on some junk paper:

Originally, they wanted to export the “labels-map” using ArcMap, but to make it as easy as possible to style (it’s not so fun to try to dynamically color or manipulate strings in Arcview, as far as I know, anyway), I used R (specifically, the maptools library) to make a pdf, which takes only about 5 lines of code.

Here’s the original output as a proof of concept:

Then, after a couple iterations, we did more styling on the programmatic side to cut down on manual labor.

And the final product:

This is a good example, I think, of using each medium to its best potential, meeting the design constraints of each. More and more, this means making totally separate versions of things – admittedly, it frequently takes twice the time and energy – but the mediums are just so different that works well in one just doesn’t work well in another. 

One thing I do wish we could do better online is integrating graphics in the context of stories and other assets – photos, videos, whatever. Unfortunately, we don’t get to make every web page by hand once per day like we do in print. 

1. sydney--lawyers reblogged this from chartsnthings
2. bombillas-led reblogged this from chartsnthings
3. avisos-clasificados reblogged this from chartsnthings
4. leo-sgovio reblogged this from chartsnthings
5. frameless-shower-doors reblogged this from chartsnthings
6. online-car-rental-coupons reblogged this from chartsnthings
7. lose-fat-scooby-gain-muscle reblogged this from chartsnthings
8. gaydating-1 reblogged this from chartsnthings
9. fixed--gear reblogged this from chartsnthings
10. rays-tickets reblogged this from chartsnthings
11. make--money-on-the-internet reblogged this from chartsnthings
12. anabolic--steroids reblogged this from chartsnthings
13. racing--games reblogged this from chartsnthings
14. photo-editing-toronto reblogged this from chartsnthings
15. coupe-de-cheveux-tendance reblogged this from chartsnthings
16. review-electronice reblogged this from chartsnthings
17. jazz-harmonica reblogged this from chartsnthings
18. logo--design reblogged this from chartsnthings
19. sydney-mobile-marketing reblogged this from chartsnthings
20. talk-radio reblogged this from chartsnthings
21. photography--courses reblogged this from chartsnthings
22. online--surveys-for-money reblogged this from chartsnthings
23. paint-colors-for-bedrooms reblogged this from chartsnthings
24. free--flash-games-online reblogged this from chartsnthings
25. jeanne625 reblogged this from chartsnthings
26. linda741 reblogged this from chartsnthings
27. blogging-1 reblogged this from chartsnthings
28. contractor-sales-training reblogged this from chartsnthings
29. austin-granite reblogged this from chartsnthings
30. scholarships-for-adults reblogged this from chartsnthings
31. becomeanelectrician reblogged this from chartsnthings
32. service-chiller reblogged this from chartsnthings
33. verity596 reblogged this from chartsnthings
34. willa825 reblogged this from chartsnthings
35. medical--assistant--programs reblogged this from chartsnthings
36. jacquelyn391 reblogged this from chartsnthings
37. vps--hosting reblogged this from chartsnthings
38. oil-change-coupon reblogged this from chartsnthings
39. how-to-make-hair-grow-faster reblogged this from chartsnthings
40. penis--enlargement reblogged this from chartsnthings
41. seo----service reblogged this from chartsnthings
42. actos-claims reblogged this from chartsnthings
43. psychometric-test reblogged this from chartsnthings
44. kataskeuh-istoselidon reblogged this from chartsnthings
45. pittsburgh-hardwood-refinishing liked this
46. pittsburgh-hardwood-refinishing reblogged this from chartsnthings
47. how-to-get-rid-of-canker-sores reblogged this from chartsnthings
48. how-to-get-rid-of-a-sore-throat reblogged this from chartsnthings
49. rapidshare-files-download reblogged this from chartsnthings
50. how-to-get-rid-of-acne-overnight reblogged this from chartsnthings
51. Show more notesLoading...