Data Visualization
An abstract data visualization about the suicide rate of Japan and South Korea in comparison and related data in four levels.
An abstract data visualization about the suicide rate of Japan and South Korea in comparison and related data in four levels.
For this abstract data visualization, I chose the following subject: the suicide rate of Japan and South Korea in comparison and related data in four levels. My aim is to visualize chronological data without the use of alphanumeric characters. The key focus of this project is the analysis of form and color.
The data visualization is based on a JSON data sheet published by ourworldindata.org on the suicide rate in Japan and South Korea. The goal is to create an interactive data visualization, where the user can navigate through different layers without buttons and receive more information with each added layer. The project was realized using HTML, CSS and Javascript.
First of all, it was important to choose colors and shapes that would represent my data. I decided to use rectangles and the colors violet, blue and red. The stronger the saturation of the colors, the higher the rate.
Level 1: Total Suicide Rate - You can hover over the rectangles, scroll and click on them and drag the mouse pointer to the left or right. The total suicide rate of both countries is displayed on the first level. The higher the saturation, the higher the suicide rate.
Level 2: Gender - By hovering over the rectangles of the first level, which indicate the total suicide rate, one gets to the second level. Hover a second time to return to the 1st level.
Level 3: Seasons - One can get here by clicking first and then hovering over the screen. The upper boxes stand for spring. One step down are the dates for the summer months and so forth.
Level 4: Gross Domestic Product - Scrolling through one of the halves, rectangles appear to represent Japan's gross domestic product from the middle of the screen. You can still see the first level data here. The longer the rectangles, the higher the GDP.
South Korea was one of the most affected countries by the Asian crisis 1997, which began in Thailand and reached several Asian countries over time. Although the concurrent economic crisis in Japan had its own causes, it was intensified by the Asian crisis. The distinction between men and women in regards to the suicide rate is of high importance. As prior mentioned, the amount of men committing suicide is comparably high. Especially for Japanese, who see their company as their second family, a termination is often regarded as an embarrassment. Another reason is the role of the men in the family: Providing financial security for their families is perceived as their duty. Thus, the economic crisis combined with various traditional beliefs result in a tragic mixture.
