I chose to view the data in a way where the popularity of each individual name can be seen throughout the years. I thought this was more interesting than overlaying the data because I can actually see just how much certain names grew or shrunk in popularity. I also chose to include colors for the female/male names to see the differences between those as well.
It is really interesting to see how the names at the bottom seem to only have one small section where they are popular, while there are some names at the top that are consistently popular over this time frame. I would not have been able to make this connection if it were not for this data visualization. I also would not have been able to compare the popularity of different names, for example, Olivia and Ethan share a very similar pattern in popularity.
I changed the colors on the graph because I thought it made it more distinguishable, and also added a legend so that it was easier to tell which colors were which. I also played around with the different chart variables, until I found a format that I thought looked good, and told me a lot about the data.
I think that this visualization relates to digital humanities because it takes data that is not very relevant without any other context, and compares and contrasts it in a way that makes it easily understandable to the viewer.
4 thoughts on “Lab Week 6”
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This is a cool post, Molly! I never would have thought to separate the data by name and use this kind of graph. How are the graphs sorted? Did you have to select a setting to sort them in that way, or did it happen automatically? I also like the contrast between the colors you chose. You’re right — these colors do make the data much more distinguishable.
Your visualization of the data is impressive. Unlike conventional methods, you delve into the frequency of each name change over time, offering a fresh perspective. This approach effectively narrates a compelling story, making it an excellent choice for a DH project. Additionally, the intuitive icons eliminate the need for a detailed description, ensuring clarity for viewers. Great work!
I really like your representation of this dataset Molly! If I looked at the raw data by itself, I would not have been able to tell that certain names seem to go extinct. Your data visualization makes it really easy to interpret things like this, especially since each name has its own graph. Well done!
Thank you for your work Molly! I think you’ve made some very good choices with distinguishable colors and adding length to each individual graph. One thing your visualization does more compellingly than others is keeping the audience in mind. If I was a parent in New Zealand trying to pick a baby name it would be very helpful to see a graph for each individual name’s popularity through time. Line charts and bar chart races are more entertaining and interactive in communicating popularity but less visually informative for each name. Your visualization makes it much easier to compare how popular a name is on a standalone basis as well as compared to other shortlisted names.