An Exploratory Visualization Tool
Problem statement
This visualization tool is designed to gain a better understanding of the aspects contributing to the global loss of forest area, more specifically the relationship between global meat production and forest area loss.
Role
Description
I was the sole researcher and designer for this visualization. I used Tableau for the project.
I analyzed the data, created the visualizations, and conducted the usability study and evaluation.
Main insights
Users preferred the bubble graph and the geo-map for making comparisons and seeing trends between countries. The animation was the most useful in seeing trends in global loss of forest area and meat production.
​
Background
​
Forests keep the balance of our atmosphere through sequestration they absorb and store carbon dioxide and by using light and water, each tree produces energy and release oxygen into the air. Each acre of forest sequesters two tons of carbon dioxide a year. This process is key in keeping the balance of global temperatures regulated. However, years of massive deforestation have put this balance at risk tipping the scale towards unsustainable levels of greenhouse gas emissions. In this context it is important to create new ways of informing the general public about the pressing environmental concerns or our time, while exploring new ways of making vast amounts of data accessible to all.

Methodology
This project is grounded on robust data and current visualization techniques. It takes an iterative prototyping methodological approach to design.
1
Research, data and analysis
Data sources for this visualization came from the World Bank, Food and Agriculture Organization Files. I gathered data from several open-access files from the following categories: global forest area percentage, meat production, population, and land area. These were then compiled and transferred to the visualization tool for encoding. The data was categorized to include meat production in tonnes, forest area %, total land area in square km, region (country and continent), population size and dates
2
Prototyping
The first sketches utilized thematic maps, more specifically Choropleth maps to associate the data values to specific regions.


This approach posed problems in the visualization as change in the data values over time were difficult to read. Changes over time between regions were difficult to understand. The iteration addressed these challenges
Refinement and iterations
A bubble graph served as the primary visualization. The graph identified each mark and demonstrated the change of forest area and meat production in a thirty-year period. The data abstraction included the following categories: forest area percentage, meat production, population, continents, countries, total area in km, and time.

The use of the geo-map only served to let the user identify a country of interest and a second
country for comparison. A line-graph displayed the trends for both meat production and forest area at the bottom of the dashboard, as a country were selected

Interactions
Hover: Upon hover on a mark the tooltip window provides detailed information for that data point, including year, forest area, population, meat production, and total land area.
Animation: The use of animation affords navigation across time(1990-2018)
The timeline animation used three different speed buttons
Filters: The visualization made use of filters on the right side of the graph. The filters allowed selection of specific regions individually (country and continent)

3
Evaluation study
This prototype study consisted of a mixed-method design, which included a demographic and system usability questionnaire. This questionnaire included items on participants’ age, preference of device, familiarity with data visualization tools and systems. It also included system usability questions of specific features ranked from most “useful” to “not very useful.”
​
The study also included a task-based user testing and semi-structured interview sessions, during which the researcher observed the participants’ interactions with the prototype, and elicited feedback on its specific features and design.
4
Results
Participants were eager to engage to compare two countries and look for trends.
Animation was a preferred feature by both participants. They played the animation multiple times on the global graph and performed the same task for individual regions. Participants found the speed button for animation quickly and tested it right away.
They used the bubble graph and the geo-map for making comparisons between countries and looking at trends.
“I like that I can see the size of the territory, I am a visual person you know, so I like that I can compare the information at the same time” (P2)
Pain points
“I need more background information... whether they (country) are a forest-rich country or not” (P2)
The first graph suffered a glitch in the animation when selecting only one country. Participant with less technical experience found the continent filter hard to understand because the marks for some continents were too light in value to differentiate. More context was suggested to understand the depth of loss in forest area.
​
The final prototype addressed the limitations and challenges gathered from the study.