A new government-sponsored website has launched that advises communities and local government on how to best display data. The DataViz site launches with the aim of “Improving Data Visualisation for the Public Sector.” The project offers case studies and guides as well as galleries of examples that provide a rich amount of detail aimed at improving visualization and communication.

There are whole galleries devoted to different maps and map types, including galleries dedicated specifically to choropleth maps, bubble maps, flow maps,  distorted maps (cartograms), point location maps,  smooth statistical maps, and a topology map.

There is excellent practical advice on this site even for the most seasoned cartographer, and the examples provide a rich set of ideas that can be mined for your own work. Followers of Edward Tufte may see his influence here. This is a great companion piece to his writings, offering a wealth of real-world examples of good design.

It’s interesting that a government entity has launched this site, and refreshing to think of how the government transparency movement is spreading its wings. What better way to provide transparency than to teach those intent on opening up to visualize their data in a straightforward and coherent manner.

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