This piece is a to-scale visualization of four data points- the large yellow circle is Jeff Bezos’s net worth, the orange circle is the GDP of the entire country of Iceland, the darker orange circle is the net worth of the Queen of England, and the single, red pixel is the average income an American will make within their entire lifetime. I originally hoped to compare a workers yearly salary to Jeff Bezos’s net worth to show how intense wealth disparity has become in this country, but the pixel that represented the median income was literally invisible. I needed several other data points so you could see the disparity of these numbers more clearly. A billion is not something our brains can truly visualize- I hope by including the extra two data points, it gives a better sense of the true scale of difference between Jeff Bezos and the average American.
In the final project, I intend to make a more interactive piece with more data points along the way where you zoom out from one data point to the next, similar to how this video represents the mass of stars: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i93Z7zljQ7I
Here are my sources, and my primary inspiration:
Jeff Bezos Net Worth 2021: https://www.forbes.com/billionaires/
Queen Elizabeth Net Worth (Estimate, as of 2011- no more recent data has been found): https://www.forbes.com/sites/luisakroll/2011/04/22/just-how-rich-is-queen-elizabeth-and-her-family/?sh=6490dfaedf40
Average American Income (will be used to calculate lifetime income as well): https://datacommons.org/tools/timeline#&place=country/USA&statsVar=Median_Income_Person
GDP of Iceland: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.CD?locations=IS
Jeff Bezos hourly income: https://www.vizaca.com/how-much-does-jeff-bezos-make-a-second/
Inspiration:
https://mkorostoff.github.io/1-pixel-wealth/
I really hoped to capture the anger I feel when thinking about wealth disparity- does this achieve that?
Also, do the extra data points I added achieve what I had hoped- do they help give a better sense of scale between my two primary points?
I like the idea a lot! I totally gets the anger behind the wealth disparity and the worst part is there is not much we can do to change that. One thing though, I did not notice the red dot being there in the first place. I dont know if that is intentional but I do think it would be easier for us to get the message if the red dot is more eye-catching. Maybe change the color scheme or composition would work?
I see the emotion behind this, and really like this concept! When trying to display your emotions over the wealth disparity, you did a great job using shapes to highlight the extremity of the situation. The large yellow in comparison to the tiny red really shows the significant difference in wealth. I can see your anger through making Jeff’s wealth so ridiculously big, in comparison to the average income an American will make within their life.
The extra data points do give a better visual understanding of how truly wide the gap is in wealth-it does help with grasping the scale. The only critique I have (bouncing off Han’s point) is making the red dot a bit more noticeable. I only saw it after re-reading your piece. Maybe a bolder red would help stand out?
I really enjoyed seeing the huge difference in incomes/GDP’s, truly puts things in perspective and better visualizes the idea at hand. I would agree with everyone else that making the red dot a bit more of a bolder red would show more anger in the piece.
I think that the circle sizes do a very good job of showing the immense wealth disparity between Jeff Bezos and the average American. Additionally, I think that the other circles do provide a good frame of reference when comparing sizes. While the red dot is hard to see, I think that further reinforces the idea that the average American income is virtually nothing compared to the billions Bezos is worth.
This is a great way of displaying the information and proving a point, but if you want this to represent your anger towards the divergence, I would suggest using colors that are harsh. Shades of red could work really well.
The immense scale of this data is done well. I think what could make the red dot stand out most is an even starker contrast, such as red and blue, to show better how much of a speck the average American is compared to Bezos.
I think you have definitely achieved your point, and I even think adding more points might be too much. Adding an immersive scale or having the objects fade in one at a time would make your impact greater.
The yellow definitely captures anger, it looks bright and burning like a sun against the background. Making the inner colors more intense as well might help, but the whole color scheme is great overall.
Also I’m sorry but I gotta say it. In this piece, first I saw a burning sun, then I saw a boob. I doubt that’s what you were going for. Repositioning the inner circles would likely fix that issue.
Your sketch perfectly demonstrates the wealth disparity and presents an overwhelming feeling by elaborating on the average wealth an American can accumulate in the lifetime in comparison to Bezos. I think that some text (or an arrow) pointing at the smallest point may better present this sketch since I did notice it until the description mentioned it.
I think your point comes across very well and the extra data points, especially after reading what they are, are doing exactly what you want them to. If you want to further emphasize anger, you could maybe flip the colors (red as Bezos’s net worth, yellow as the average worker’s lifetime wages) which might also make the smaller circles stand out more.