lee chu – looking outwards 07

gun death visualization by Periscope for 2013

Kim Ree, co-founder of a data visualization firm Periscopic, is probably best known for her work in visualizing gun deaths in 2010 and 2013. The diagram above illustrates the overwhelming amount of deaths from U.S. owned guns. The orange strokes depict the actual lifespans of gun victims, and the gray projects an estimated lifespan according to the U.S. distribution of deaths and likely causes of death. By also counting the amount of hours that these victims were robbed of, the data is much more impactful than if it were simply a death count. Play with the visualizer here.

Not speaking in relation to this particular piece, but I think the most interesting aspect about data visualization is that it can be depicted in a way to sway or even change one’s impressions of anything.