Having both self-induced interest and formal education in photography, video, journalism and graphics, I have long been fascinated with how stories are created - and with how people react and interact with those stories. Indeed, a murky, never-ending rabbit hole to fall into.
Today I’ll highlight just one aspect - how visuals effect our perception.
Below are two maps of the US illustrating which 2020 presidential candidate won the popular vote within each state. At this moment the election result is undetermined, explaining why six states are gray colored.
The first map shows the winning vote by geographic area (square miles).
The second map shows the winning vote by distribution (population).
Do you perceive two different stories, or more? Yet both maps were created using identical data.* The only difference is how the data is being displayed graphically.
Something to keep in mind with any visual presentation. Question not only how it is displayed, but why a particular method is selected. Especially when seen on social media sites, notorious for false representation in order to garner outrage towards an "enemy".
* Data as reported on November 4, 2020 at 12:29 PM Pacific time. The most current (live) version can be seen on the Aljazeera site, where you can toggle between views for the 2020, 2016, 2012 and 2008 presidential elections.