Exploring VizHealth: Comparing Risk with Icon Arrays

Category: Comparing Numbers • Topic: Health Risk Visualization

For this week’s post, I explored the VizHealth site from our textbook’s Chapter 2 prompt. The Using Visualizing Health section is active and offers two great, hands-on tools: a Risk Calculator and an Icon Array Generator. My goal was to test different inputs, watch how the visuals change, and reflect on how well these designs help people compare numbers (e.g., “How many out of 100?”).

Note: As of now, the Gallery and About Us pages may be unavailable. The “Using Visualizing Health” tab works and is what I used for this reflection.

Trying the Risk Calculator

I experimented with a range of inputs (age, sex, and other parameters). The most useful aspect was how the interface translates a percentage into something concrete—often framed as “out of 100.” That framing lets viewers instantly compare numbers: Is 8 out of 100 meaningfully different from 15 out of 100? Presenting risk this way supports quicker, clearer comparisons than raw percentages alone.

Building Icon Arrays (Screenshots)

The Icon Array Generator lets you set a numerator/denominator (e.g., 25/100), choose colors, and arrange icons. Below are two versions I made to compare how arrangement and proportion change the story. (Replace these images with your own screenshots.)

Icon Array A — Example: 10 out of 100 highlighted

Icon Array B — Example: 25 out of 100 highlighted

What Worked Well

• Concrete comparison: Seeing filled vs. unfilled icons makes differences tangible (e.g., 10/100 vs. 25/100).
• Instant feedback: Changing the inputs immediately updates the visual, which encourages “what-if” exploration.
• Accessible framing: “Out of 100” is intuitive for most audiences and supports side-by-side comparisons.

Challenges & Design Watch-outs

• Arrangement matters: Different icon layouts (clustered vs. scattered) can change the perceived risk.
• Very small/large risks: Extremely low or high probabilities can be tricky to show legibly in a 100-icon grid.
• Labeling & color: Legends and direct labels are essential so viewers interpret highlighted icons correctly.

Takeaways for Comparing Numbers

• Use icon arrays when you want audiences to feel the difference between counts (e.g., 8/100 vs. 20/100).
• For change over time or between two groups, try slopegraphs or dumbbell plots (ties to Evergreen, Ch. 3).
• Keep designs minimal: clear titles, direct labels, and colors that highlight the comparison—not decoration.

Overall, VizHealth is a strong learning tool because it turns abstract risk into concrete visuals that invite quick, meaningful comparisons.

Links

🔗 Explore the tools: VizHealth — Using Visualizing Health
🔗 Main site: vizhealth.org