COVID-19 has been the main topic around the world for almost nine months. Despite many reported confirmed cases, as well as deaths, it is still on the rise in certain regions of the world.
WHO, micro-macrocosm data representation on Coronavirus is a very refine achievement on how one should use Tufte’s theory to represent data on a large scale. For example, the below Fig-1 is representing confirmed cases in different regions of the world, which also goes to show how a refined combination of micro can have an accurate statistical representation in a biologically diverse population over a period of time. This also allows a better understanding of the epidemiological catastrophe of coronavirus from when it first emerged up to November 11th 2020.

Fig-1 (confirmed case by region)

Once all data has been gathered, WHO puts together a daily report which became a large useful piece of information for those needing to comprehend better the virus spread over time. However, to represent such to the members of the public, they had to follow a simple rule of combing the micro in a way that once completed, both micro and macro are coordinated as well as understood as organisms that correspond with each other.

For further elaboration, the below Fig-2 is a daily confirmed case that started at the micro-level by representing how coronavirus has been spreading on a daily basis at a large scale around the world.

Fig-2 – a close up of the daily confirmed cases (“micro”)

It is worth mentioning that when principles of design replicate principles of thought, the act of arranging information becomes an act of insight (Tufte, 1942).

References:

Covid19.who.int. 2020. WHO Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Dashboard. [online] Available at: <https://covid19.who.int/> [Accessed 16 November 2020].

Tufte. E.R., 1997. Envisioning Explanations: Images and Quantities, Evidence and Narrative. . Cheshire, Connecticut: Graphics Press. P.9

Tufte. E.R., 1990. Envisioning Information. Cheshire, Connecticut: Graphics Press.

Tufte. E.R., 1990. Envisioning Information. Cheshire, Connecticut: Graphics Press. (pp. 81-93). https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51768274

Zachry, M. and Thralls, C., 2004. An Interview with Edward R. Tufte. Technical Communication Quarterly. [Online], 13(4), pp. 447–462. Available at: http://www.edwardtufte.com/tufte/s15427625tcq1304_5.pdf [Accessed 7 March 2016].