Communication Design Quarterly Dec 2024 Open Access

Commemoration and Context: The Death Counter Graphics of COVID-19

Daniel Liddle Western Kentucky University

Abstract

During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, designers produced a number of novel data visualizations about the effects of the virus. Though many of these visualizations conveyed the current risks or actionable steps for mitigating risk, a subset of visualizations focused narrowly on depictions of total mortality. This article analyzes a set of 45 data graphics that fall into this latter group in order to unpack their rhetorical goals and to identify common design patterns. The article demonstrates that while these "death counter graphics" were rapidly produced and spread, they may have had limited value for conveying the immense scale of death during the start of the pandemic.

Journal
Communication Design Quarterly
Published
2024-12-01
DOI
10.1145/3658438.3658443
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Topics
rhetorical criticism
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