Martin J. Eppler/Ralph Lengler/University of Lugano

Inside Innovation

TOOL: Periodic Table of Visualization Methods

Elegant visualizations can make sense of dense sets of data. Martin Eppler, a professor at the Institute of Corporate Communication at Switzerland’s University of Lugano, and Ralph Lengler, coordinator of the school’s visual literacy initiative, created a handy online tool that neatly classifies 100 classic types of visualization graphics (http://www.visual-literacy.org/
periodic_table/periodic_table.html). It looks like a periodic table of elements. Scroll a cursor across the entries, and examples of graphs—from hype cycles to semantic-network charts—pop up. The appropriate use for each appears, too: for diagramming stats, concepts, or strategies.