The Art of Insight

Chapter 17No Treasure Hunts

with Lena Groeger

Figure 17.1: “Workers' Comp Benefits: How Much is a Limb Worth?” by Lena Groeger, Michael Grabell, and Cynthia Cotts

https://projects.propublica.org/graphics/workers-compensation-benefits-by-limb

Context: https://www.propublica.org/article/five-things-i-learned-making-a-chart-out-of-body-parts

Life can surprise us in giving us the work we are here to do.

—Dacher Keltner

In the fall of 2014 Lena Groeger, graphics director at ProPublica—in my opinion the gold standard when it comes to data and investigative journalism—emailed me to ask about a project she was working on. It was a visualization of the compensation that U.S. workers receive for damaged body parts. The amount depends on the state where the worker is. Lena wanted my opinion about using “a little person that represents each state, and size each body part according to difference from the national average.”

I replied that I wouldn't do it. I told Lena that her illustrations looked so creepy that they sent “shivers down my spine.” Instead I recommended traditional maps and graphs.

Lena is a wise journalist and designer, so she ignored me. The result was one of the most widely read and discussed graphics she's ever created (Figure 17.1). It was picked up by multiple news organizations—Gawker linked to it with the title “How Much Are Your Balls Worth?”—and fueled policy ...