[ewheeler]

The 'Retail jobs growth by state' chart in this article (approx 2/3 down the page) is lovely: one square line chart for each US state, positioned roughly according to geography, all equal in size.

I find it very easy to grok compared to choropleth maps and similar charts that attempt to stay true to geography.

Unlike other non-map presentations of US state data, this layout preserves ability to spot regional similarities visually.

Is there a name for this kind of chart layout?

[athenot]

I find the hexagon version slightly more visually pleasing since it breaks up the straight lines—see the link for comparison. But either way, both are a huge improvement over the surface-based shapes when conveying data that is totally unrelated to the geographical surface of states.

http://blog.apps.npr.org/2015/05/11/hex-tile-maps.html

[bunderbunder]

The general idea of using lots of small visualizations broken up across some dimension like that is called "small multiples".

I agree, the geographic arrangement is a really nice innovation on the idea.

[munificent]

The repeated charts all the same size makes it a "small multiple" [1]. Laying them out in a meaningful spatial way is a brilliant idea. I don't know if there's a name for that.

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_multiple

[ryanmarsh]

It’s a sparkline[1] presented in “small multiples”[2].

[1]https://www.edwardtufte.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=...

[2]https://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&source=hp&ei=F0IDWp75...

[cbhl]

I felt like this chart shows that retail store closures are a lagging indicator for employment. Stores are up in NY, WA, TX -- all states where people migrate to to work in tech companies. (Not sure about ND and UT, though.)

[barake]

The charts are over a decade, wouldn’t be surprising if North Dakota could be explained by the oil boom that happened there. No idea about Utah...

[jjeaff]

Utah has experienced a tech boom as well. They have multiple unicorns. Qualtrics, Domo, pluralsight, as well as a large presence from Adobe, Microsoft, and eBay among others.

[knz]

ND has/had the oil boom (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Dakota_oil_boom). You can see it clearly on the map(s) under "Retail Landscape" (the percentage change maps).

[deme-rs]

Chorogrid [1] seems appropriate.

[1] https://github.com/Prooffreader/chorogrid

[wlesieutre]

Are we seeing different charts? Mine is sorted by the percent change (over 2007 to 2017), not geography. Has Rhode Island at the top left, Alaska on middle-right, etc.

[bunderbunder]

It's using a responsive layout. It shows them sorted like that if your browser's width is below a certain size, and the map-style arrangement if it's wider.

[majormajor]

The graph is wonderful and makes me tune out most of the rest of the article, because the picture in the graph is the same picture you see everywhere: certain areas are booming (the south, Texas, the coastal parts of the west coast), others are slowly declining.

What's unique to retail about that graph?

[hammock]

The chart itself is called a sparkline.[1] Neat use to organize many of them into the shape of the US

[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sparkline

[gr3yh47]

it looks like 'the periodic table of US retail jobs growth'

[mac01021]

I agree, that graphic is splendid.

But what's going on with Washington State?