Comparisons of small multiples is the next entry in Tufte’s Envisioning Information and it is all about how we can see things all at once “Small Multiples reveal, all at once, a scope of alternatives, a range of options” (Tufte, 1990, p.68).
Small multiples are usually used to “display many variables with less risk of confusing your audience” because “The reader can quickly read an individual chart and apply this as they scan the rest” (Gemignani and Gemignani, 2021). Looking at various environmental articles it seems that fire can breathe new life and destroy all life depending on how it is used however its in how fire grows where we can see small multiples and small multiples appear in nature very often but mostly blend into the background.
Fire grows quickly and in an environment teeming with plenty of fuel such as wood it grows even quicker for animation this might be advantageous as it won’t need as much fine-tuning to make it a real-looking type of fire such as this image. (Realistic Flame, 2021).
The image below shows logs from mass deforestation and how it’s important to replant trees to bring balance back to nature, “Forests and the benefits they provide are a critical ecological importance to the environment” (Jacobo, ABCnews). The sizes of the logs are all different and they can be easily identified into size category with little effort the bigger they are the longer that tree has been around “Information slices are positioned within eye span, so that viewers make comparisons at a glance” (Tufte, 1990, P.67).
Gemignani, Z. and Gemignani, Z., 2021. Better Know a Visualization: Small Multiples — Juice Analytics. [online] Data Analytics and Visualization Made Easy – Juice Analytics. Available at: <https://www.juiceanalytics.com/writing/better-know-visualization-small-multiples> [Accessed 13 October 2021].
News, A., 2021. Earth Day 2021: Why reforestation is a crucial part of saving the environment. [online] ABC News. Available at: <https://abcnews.go.com/US/earth-day-2021-reforestation-crucial-part-saving-environment/story?id=77028575> [Accessed 11 October 2021].
Shutterstock.com. 2021. Realistic Flame Concept Flaring Fire Blaze Stock Illustration 1798202866. [online] Available at: <https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/realistic-flame-concept-flaring-fire-blaze-1798202866> [Accessed 12 October 2021].
Tufte, E., 1990. Envisioning information. Cheshire, Connecticut:Graphics.
