I found this map on unemployment rates in the EU member states in the Guardian on Thursday. As soon as I saw it, the use of the circles and percentages reminded me of the diagram by Nigel Holmes that we looked at in the lecture.
I was immediately confused by the use of colour within the diagram because in the description, it simply read ‘Orange indicates countries experiencing protests and strike action yesterday’. Nothing was written about what the blue colour represented. I was unsure at first glance what the blue was supposed to be showing, as if it had a specific purpose like the colour orange. I think that the text along with the image could have been clearer here. Perhaps a key to show the meaning of two colours used.
However, after looking at it more closely I realised that the blue must have just been the colour to represent unemployment rates in general and so these countries had not been experiencing strikes and protests. It just goes to show that colour can confuse information being delivered.
I think that the sizes of the circles correlate well with the percentages of the unemployment rate. When the percentage is higher, the circle is larger in size. Also on the map at the bottom indicating Cyprus’ unemployment rate, the small arrow coming off the circle confused me at first. I think it is showing that Cyprus is not quite on the map and so the arrow is pointing to where the country actually is. There is no written explanation though, which can be confusing for the reader.
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