SME
Cartography · Problem type
Visual variables
Use this for “A map shows each farm’s main crop: wheat, corn or soy. Should the symbols differ by hue or by size?”
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What does this visual variable show well?
Tap a card, then tap its group.
Ask whether one symbol looks like more than another, or only different from it.
Assumptions
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Visual variables are the ways a symbol can differ: hue, shape, size, lightness and more (Bertin).
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Nominal data are names with no order, such as crops or languages; ordered data rank or measure, such as income or rainfall.
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Some variables look ordered, so a reader sees more or less; the others only look different.
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