I made major changes transitioning from part II into part III. My initial plan was to visualize my data involved using Tableau. Starting in Part I and Part II, I was planning to use a packed bubble chart and map elements, with an animation feature my visual. I felt this was important because I wanted to highlight the cross-neighborhood differences. Unfortunately, the Tableau embed did not allow this. My dataset was either too large, or my Tableau public server was too slow. The result was that the animations were slow and unprofessional. I had to transition to a different data viz software, Flourish, which would allow me to animate effectively, but it also reduced the time I had to prepare additional visuals.
In terms of design decisions, my major “breakthrough” was using a consistent color pattern throughout the website. My initial drafts felt disconnected, and by including a consistent color scheme I was able to overcome this.
My primary takeaway is that data viz is very iterative. I ended up spending less time that I should have iterating new designs for my primary visual. I should have begun implementing my visual into Shorthand much earlier. I would have seen that I needed to switch to Flourish, and begin making changes earlier. I could have created additional elements in my data viz that would have allowed viewers to gain more valuable insights.
In creating my final product, I spent a considerable amount of time framing the issue of redlining in a greater context of systemic racism in the U.S. I felt this was particularly important for my audience, most of whom would be white and liberal. Most presidential candidates expressed some support for restorative justice policies like reparations, but there’s not totally widespread support. While I spent a good amount of time working on this, I wish I would have done more to visualize these components.
Howell, Junia, Sara Goodkind, Leah Jacobs, Dominique Branson and Elizabeth Miller. 2019. “Pittsburgh’s Inequality Across Gender and Race.” Gender Analysis White Papers. City of Pittsburgh’s Gender Equity Commission.
Jackson, Kenneth T.. Crabgrass Frontier: The Suburbanization of the United States. United Kingdom, Oxford University Press, USA, 1987.
Jackson Lee, Sheila. “H.R. 40 Is Not a Symbolic Act. It’s a Path to Restorative Justice.” May 2020.
Rothstein, Richard. The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America. United Kingdom, Liveright, 2017.
Ray, Rashawn and Perry, Andre. “Why we need reparations for Black Americans.” The Brookings Institution. (April 2020)