First of all, the color choice is bad. The colors are so bright that they hurt my eyes. They are also so similar that you have to look really hard to differentiate them. For example Energy and education are almost the same. Science and Technology is almost the same as Labor.

The numbers inside the pie charts are so big that you can barely see anything behind them. I am not a big fan of pie charts because they distort the data slightly. For example, with a stack bar chart your eyes only have to compare one dimension, the height. That is demonstrated by the stack bar on the right, which I think is good. With a pie chart, especially when it is so small, you can’t really see the difference between two smaller slices.

Combine all that with the funky color scheme, I think this map is barely readable.

I do have to admit that I like the way the information is presented in the stack bar on the right.

There’s definitely millions of ARRA dollars coming from the NIH that do not seem to be represented on this interface.

Aside from that, the interface is leaps and bounds better than what the NIH has for ARRA funding.

It might also be interesting if the map had location data for each project. Then, as you drill down to the city level, you would be able to see where the money was flowing. Of course, this probably won’t work with every project, as it might cover an area or serve a program. But the education projects could easily be located using the school’s attendance area. And many of the infrastructure projects could be located using either points or lines.

Nathan, would you consider comparing it to the Tableau workbook at: http://www.tableausoftware.com.....-challenge ?