Periodic Table of Visualization Methods

For those of you seeing this on the front page of MMI: I'm using this post to call attention to MMI blogs. If you're a member you can blog about metadata things on MMI. Ask us if you need help!

This Periodic Table of Visualization Methods is either not at all about metadata, or all about it. It sure is all about interoperability! The table has a remarkable amount of depth, even after you have discovered that mousing over an entry brings up an example of the corresponding visualization.

In addition to inspiring us about techniques for communicating about data and metadata, the table reminds us that interoperability is both a means and an end. Without interoperable data, systems, and metadata, it is so much harder to build good images showing off our concepts, and impossible to make those images always current with the latest data.

At the same time, the purpose of all this annoying interoperability work in standards and vocabularies and system interfaces is to let us communicate more effectively, creating charts, graphs, pictures, and other things we can use to compare and understand information. So in this holiday season, give a grateful thought to the interoperability experts that make it possible for us to view cool communication tools like these on the web.

Thanks to the Visual-Literacy.org e-learning site for this neat chart, MMI member Caryn Neiswender for passing along this link, and to the MMI members for their contributions to the blogs and the rest of the site!