What’s wrong with it? The StarBiz Infographics

Confuse

What’s wrong with it?

What is it?

This is actually taken from the stackline, Amazon, business insider, Euro news, CNBC, Reuters, Bloomberg and Asian Nikkei Review but this infographic was a doozy. This graphic is definitely not sinful, but it presents the reader with some formatting problems that make it pretty painful to read and understand.

Honestly I had to stare at this graphic for about 5 minutes before I understood what was happening, and I'm still not sure I get it. The most problematic part of the graphic is the section shown 10 e-commerce product above and below. It’s downright confusing.

1. More than 10 products example given and the hybrid title says 10.

2. How to compare when there is no data for March 2019?

3. What was the top 10 fastest product in March 2019?

4. The purpose of infographics ? vs to the retail sales data / news contradict.

5. What was the percentage for March 2019 Top 10 fastest declining e-commerce product categories?

6. Who is your audience for this infographics?

The summary of problem is that they’ve presented a percentage (e-commerce product categories) and it’s unclear to me what was the data or percentage for year 2019?

Below is the re-design by my students:-
1. Tiara Firdaus nurtiarafirdaus@gmail.com

2. by Felicia Dores  doresfelicia@gmail.com

 
3. Najibah Rabihi najibahrabihi@gmail.com 

4. Amalina Farhatul Farida Mohd Seliman farhatulfarida@gmail.com

The Star News Mislead Loss of Employment Infographic

I got the feeling The Star News infographic is deliberately trying to mislead and confuse the readers. You have to do your own calculation to check how they derive to 275% and 185% up on loss of employment.
Check the confusing and mislead infographic from The Star News 03/04/2020

A simple pie infographic also can explain the entire news:-

or 
A simple graph can show the different instead of confusing chart. I have done a simple comparison chart. The motive is same but i explain in detail in clustered column chart.

Statistic Malaysia Divorce the Marriage with Confuse Data

Marriages and Divorces important subject in Malaysia - Department of statistic Malaysia once again failed to have an emotional impact. 

It would have been easy to just provide a bar chart to show the different instead so many numbers.

When being visual you have to think about making the connection and keeping the numbers simple. It was difficult to follow the marriages and divorces numbers below.

Below from Department of statistic Malaysia on Marriages and Divorces year 2017 & 2018

Below is my version magin/2020 - double click to enlarge

magin/2020
+6012 288 2490

Data Storytelling - Inconsistent Scales Create Confusion

Malaysia Rubber Statistic January 2020 data visualization consists of too much inconsistent scales it can create confusion in understanding the result behind it. However, it is not forbidden to use multiple variables in a single visualization but one must have the proper knowledge of using the way of it. Misrepresentation of data leads to misleading the person who wants to understand the data and the purpose. 

Department of Statistic Malaysia should not try to impress readers by showing your ability to make a fancy viz if this makes the data less clear. Always keeping the audience in mind by visualising the data in the clearest way possible.
From Department of Statistic of Malaysia

“In Data Storytelling, we need to keep our audience at the top of our mind. We serve a purpose, which is to explain a problem or story in the best way possible.

I do however think there should be a healthy balance between the beauty and the effectiveness of a visualisation. For instance, data visuals are easily shareable on social media. If you want people to read your visual, it should be attractive too
My version 

magin/2020
+6012 288 2490

Department of Statistic Malaysia failed to see the human in the data

We all know that data is key to telling an impact story, few understand how to use these points to spin meaningful but The department of statistic Malaysia failed.

The department of statistics Malaysia release crime statistic rate Malaysia 2018 report on 28/12/2018. The focus on their first publication of the department report mainly on five crime areas namely crime index drug, corruptions, environment and other crime. 

Very important report release by The Department of statistic Malaysia but there is no impact on their report. Data storytelling must have an emotional impact as this is crime statistic. Their report just presenting facts and not persuading you toward a conclusion. 

They fail to see “the human in the data.” Or even understand why the topic is needed by the person reading.

The below is just column chart is to compare individual data points with each other from The Department of Statistics Malaysia. My point of view its junk chart. The report also says 2017 improved against 2016 but not able to see from their chart clearly. 

According to the report six states recorded crime index above national level but the chart not able to shows clearly their statement.  

Graph is pretty much unreadable and you need to contort your neck to read sideways. 

The better version by magin/2020

Confined by the limited space on a page, we are often tempted to force all the data we have into a slot that’s way too small. So I decided to create 2 chart to provide clarity on the crime index by year in Malaysia and by state by year.

Chart 1 - The most straightforward comparison use line chart which is most suitable to show the decline of crime index from 2015 to 2017. It's ideal for comparing yearly trends.

Chart 2 - Column chart clearly sorted from high to low to support their claim, six states recorded crime index above national level and Sabah the lowest. 

magin/2020 - Data Story Telling

+6012 288 2490

It just doesn’t add up - Mislead Chart by TheStar News

From TheStar News 23/3/2020
It just doesn’t add up. We’ve all seen these before. A chart that simply don’t add up to a 100 percent, like the one below which totals 28% percent. Although you don’t have to be a math wiz to figure this one out, the mistake is more common than we think.
Another common mistake is selecting a data visualization that does not accurately reflect the information
There is a load of data in the sea of noise. To turn your numbers into knowledge, your job is not only to separate noise from the data, but also to present it the right way. 

The one below which total 36% also don’t add up to a 100 percent. Most of chart used in The StarNews to confuse readers. 

TheStar News - Uninformative headlines Chart

Uninformative headlines by TheStar news 23/03/2020

The infographic below (click to enlarge) not only errs on the side of not making data easy to understand, it also fails to grab the reader’s attention with a very general headline that is neither enticing nor informative. The cartoon is irrelevant and we want to know the detail percentage instead. When making charts for infographics, remember to always prioritize clarity and accuracy.

There are 2 information which clearly make readers confuse and forcing the reader to do more work.

The below chart  with clarity and detail without confusing readers
Know your reader, Keep simple, Make Idea and Not Design
Clustered Chart is most suitable to show the data from a study of the first 44,672 people diagnosed with the infection by the Chinese Centre for Desease Control and Prevention in China showed:-

3D Clustered Column to present / show out of 80,928 confirmed infections as on March 19.

magin/2020

Misleading Line Chart - The StarBiz Bank Negara cuts SRR

Misleading - The scale is disproportionate to the data, making the change over time seem BIG and percentage not in proper line. Line chart must shows the percentage in correct line. The chart is from The Star Biz 20/03/2020

Accurate - The scale is proportionate to the data showing a greater change over time and accurate percentage follow the line.

magin/2020

The StarBiz Misleading Chart / Data - Malaysia's Exports

The chart from The Star newspaper (StarBiz column) on 19/03/2020 shows Malaysia's export are exposed to global recessionary threat.

Stacked column chart not suitable for data visualization which is not clear and misleading.

The Star is people's paper should present / publish proper in clustered column chart which translate in layman's term.