FlowingData - Network diagrams simplified

Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. Contents: Network diagrams simplified Network diagrams simplified May 28, 2012 12:17 am  •  Permalink Network diagrams are notoriously messy. Even a small number of nodes can be overwhelmed by their chaotic placement and relationships. Cody Dunne of HCIL showed off his new work in simplifying these complex structures. In essence, he aggregates leaf nodes into a fan glyph that describes the underlying data in its size, arc, and color. Span nodes are similarly captured into crescent glyphs. The result is an easy to read, high level look at the network. You can easily compare different sections of the network, understand areas that may have been occluded by the lines in a traditional diagram, and see relationships far more quickly. I love the elegance and simplicity of Cody's work. He details every step of the new layout in his paper, and it's definitely worth a read. The code for it will be pushed to NodeXL, an open-source tool for Excel, in the coming weeks. More to read: Thoughts on the HCIL symposium Tornado tracks Even simple charts can tell a story Which nations consume the most water? More infographic software  follow on Twitter | forward to a friend  Copyright © 2012 FlowingData, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in on FlowingData. Our mailing address is: FlowingData PO Box 3381 Livermore, CA 94550 Add us to your address book  unsubscribe from this list | update subscription preferences