Gallery: Intermediate + Distorted map (cartogram)

This swingometer simulates voter’s change of preference among the main parties as well as the size of the change and its potential impact on the political landscape in each constituency.

This is a 'swingometer', designed to explore the changes each party requires to gain a majority in parliament.

The two maps both show levels of recorded crime across Leicestershire at Lower Super Output Area LSOA level (with darker red representing higher levels of crime). The map on the left shows the actual geography of the LSOA areas across the County. LSOA areas each contain roughly 1,500 residents - larger areas on this map therefore represent rural areas with lower-density population. The cartogram, or distorted, map on the right shows the same data at LSOA level, but represents each of the LSOAs as a fixed size hexagon. This avoids the problem of over-emphasising the more rural LSOAs, seen on the left. However, it becomes more difficult for users to understand which areas are which - so a numbered key is used to identify particular areas.

Local Council election results 1974 to 2008.

Proportion of people claiming benefits in English cities, 2003.

Where the recession hit the Us the hardest: an interactive map showing how different regions and industries have weathered the downturn—and the recovery