Eva Yi Sung
200123284
March 09, 2011
Assignment Two
Compact Cars Fuel Efficiency and Green Rating 2011
Describe the objectives and intended users of visualization.
What is it? Who is it for?
The goal for this visualization is to show the relationship between fuel efficiency and Green rating. The target users are people that are interested in purchasing a new vehicle, those wishing to have a car that is fuel-efficient or has no clue which car to choose. While making the comparison readable, the visualization is intend to raise the awareness on picking a vehicle that can make a difference for the environment.
Why did you do it this way?
Simulacra
I believe the most successful persuasion is to convince user that something is “needed “(instead of being “wanted”). This requires the user to be a part of the experience that is somewhat “the reflection of profound reality” (page 72). And in this case making the connection between fuel efficiency and environment friendly with an illustration that is based on data, and also making the user feel good when they are picking a vehicle represented with a color that is green or yellow, and avoid ones that are red in their conscious.
Design choice and method.
The information graphic is produced with Adobe Illustrator. The color scheme is based on the Vehicle Labeling that uses a spectrum of colors to indicate the level of eco-friendliness. Instead of using one single line of spectrum color, I choose to break it apart because I feel spectrum with specific color are usually associated with energy. The background is dark because it allows the color of the circle to stand out more and creating a hierarchy.
For the y-axis I picked the cost of fuel as a factor instead of the distance, because the number is smaller and I think the cost usually attract more attention. The initiative was to compare several vehicles of the same mode, but as I look more into the subject of fuel efficiency, I find the more fuel-efficient a vehicle is, the less carbon dioxide it will produce.
Compare, contrast, difference
Several cars of the same engine sized are compared with fuel cost, fuel efficiency ranking and Green Rating. The cars are graphed with a circle, different in size, which is to show the different amount of carbon dioxide it will produce. And the colors are picked according to the Green Rating chart with corresponding color scheme for representation.
Causality, mechanism, structure, explanation
On the y-axis on the left is the fuel cost per 100km per liter, which determine how fuel efficient the vehicles is; the cheaper the cost is, the more fuel efficient the vehicle it is. On the right side of the x-axis is the Green Rating, the ranking uses carbon dioxide emission (g/km) as a guide to determine how eco-friendly the vehicle is.
Multivariate Analysis
The visualization is composed of fuel efficiency ranking (x-axis) and average fuel cost (y-axis). The further it is on the right (lower ranking) means higher fuel cost, and the vehicles that are closer to the left with higher ranking would have lower fuel cost. The fuel efficiency is determined though the fuel usage, cost, and average from the city and highway.
Integration of evidence
Fuel efficiency of the vehicle is determined by the cost of fuel per year. The data for distance, cost and carbon dioxide produced are available in the original information. The Green Rating is an index (page 109) that the color choice has nothing relevant to the actual amount but a concept on how harmful it is; even if the color is iconic in representing the number, and using the color as “primary subject matter” (page 90), the rating still can give the audience a very clear idea on how eco-friendly the car will be through comparison.
Documentation
The data are retrieved from Resource Canada. I believe it is accurate but it does not give a lot of details on the fuel use under different conditions (weathers, road condition, etc). However, the chart gives a very clear idea on the level of fuel efficiency and how eco-friendly it is with the color and position of the graph.
Source:
Panofsky, E. “Studies in Iconology”. Images: A Reader. London: Sage, 2006. Print.
Baudrillard, J. “The Precession of Simulacra”. Images: A Reader. London: Sage, 2006. Print.
Peirce, C S. “The sign: Icon, Index, and Symbol”. Images: A Reader. London: Sage, 2006. Print.
Tufte, Edward. Beautiful Evidence. Graphics Press, 2006. Online.
Natural Resources Canada (www.nrcan.gc.ca)
Vehicle Labeling (http://www.environ.ie/en/Environment/Atmosphere/ClimateChange/VehicleLabelling/)