NY Times political graphic

This information graphic accompanied a story on the New York Times web site on Friday, Sept. 10. All the information graphics on this web page were created by the blog FiveThirtyEight, a blog “devoted to the rigorous analysis of politics…” Overall, this information graphic fails its purpose of explaining information in a way that the average reader can easily understand.

The information graphic has very few, if any, strengths. One of the weaknesses is that it doesn’t explain what the numbers along the bottom of the graph mean. I guess the numbers probably refer to the phrase “this many seats” written in the top left, but it makes very little sense in the context of this graphic. The main reason this information graphic is weak is because it fails to explain information in a simple way.

At first glance, it appears easy to read as a simple graph; however, after studying it at some length, I still can’t explain what it is trying to tell me. I believe the overall point of the graphic is to show that it is more likely the Republicans will control the House after the November elections. The graphic is very confusing because of the division between Republican and Democratic control at the bottom of the graph and the different shadings.

Focusing on only one political party in the information graphic would help eliminate this confusion. Another option would be to split it into two separate graphics. Because the division between Republican and Democratic control in the graphic confuses me, it would help if there were two separate graphics or only one political party.

Since the graphic has little to no explanation, the intended audience is probably readers who already know quite a bit about politics and the upcoming elections. Another reason I believe the intended audience is people who already know and are interested in politics is because there is very little artistic design to make the graphic appealing. Readers who aren’t interested in politics will not spend much time looking at or trying to interpret this information graphic.

The design for this graphic is not effective because it doesn’t help explain the information. Furthermore, there is nothing interesting or eye-catching about the design. While the focus should be a design that explains, the visual appeal of the design shouldn’t be ignored either. Unfortunately, this information graphic falls short on both design and information.