Hacker News: infowetrust

New comment by infowetrust in "Dual Axes, Not Dueling"

infowetrust — Thu, 15 Oct 2026 16:55:11 +0000

I'm the author of this essay. I design charts and host tours of my library of rare information graphics in San Francisco. I also work on dbt Charts, which is where this essay started: we added a warning that fires when a chart puts two measures on independent y-axes. The case against dual axes is old but I thought it deserved some nuance. There are different kinds of dual axes (competing, mirrored, translation). I also wanted to add an exchange rate metaphor: put two scales on one plot and some number of right-axis units always equals one left-axis unit, whether anyone states it or not. I took inspiration from Lisa Charlotte Muth (Datawrapper), Nathan Yau (Flowing Data) and historic writing and examples, especially Karl Karsten's 'Charts and Graphs' (1923) and some later William Playfair (1820s). I'd love to see any dueling-axis chart you think earns its place.

Dual Axes, Not Dueling

infowetrust — Thu, 15 Oct 2026 16:50:04 +0000

Article URL: https://dbtcharts.com/blog/dual-axes-not-dueling/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50106455

Points: 2

# Comments: 1

New comment by infowetrust in "Americans' social activity has steeply declined in the past 30 years"

infowetrust — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 19:47:24 +0000

Fun dumbbell plot. I like how the bottom "Used the internet" is graphically and metaphorically the foundation for the entire presentation of change. The change is so total that you might miss it, as if it is the baseline or the water we are all swimming in.

New comment by infowetrust in "Shit Flow Diagram"

infowetrust — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 19:44:22 +0000

To be a real Sankey, it needs recirculation, e.g. fertilizer-food-farm-food....

New comment by infowetrust in "Illustration Beyond Proof"

infowetrust — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 06:42:37 +0000

Reminds me of things learned from comics professor Nick Sousanis, who enthuses that drawing IS thinking. Sketches are ideas. For most, the pencil is the tightest bond between your imagination and the external world. And they are in dialog as we sketch, externalize, react, and surprise ourself.