The Most Iconic Visualizations

I was asked about the most iconic data graphics in the last ten years for an article on FastCoLabs last week (so were Andy Kirk and Matt Stiles). It’s an interesting question not only because of the actual choices, but also the criteria to use. Is something iconic because of its unique look and/or shape? Does it have to have impact? What is an iconic visualization?

One of my choices was the Bikini Chart, which is perhaps my favorite bar chart ever. It’s simple, clear, easy to read. It’s also unique in its shape. I’m not sure if it has had the impact that it was probably meant to have, though.

Another choice was 512 Paths To the White House, which I think did have an enormous impact just before the 2012 Presidential election. It finally drove home to many people that the pundits were just producing a lot of hot air, while the statisticians (in particular Nate Silver) knew that the race was practically won. It came at exactly the right time and just worked incredibly well.

Another easy choice was gapminder. Hans Rosling made a huge impact with his talks, and has set the bar for data-backed presentations.

What all these have in common is that none of them came out of academic research. The first one was published by the Obama administration, the second one by the NY Times, and third one by a small non-profit. Where is academia in all [...]