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Renewable Energy

Thematic Maps Visualizing Primary Energy Consumption in Europe

These designs were developed as proposals for updating the Swiss World Atlas, aiming to create a more modern and user-friendly representation of economic maps. The maps visualize primary energy consumption in Europe, with a focus on highlighting the share of renewable energy.

Data Source: Eurostat

Pictures of the current thematic maps published in the Swiss World Atlas. The detailed informationen about the energy sources are difficult to read and it's difficult to compare with small countries.

The challenge of economic maps in an atlas lies in presenting a high density of information clearly and comprehensibly within a limited space. These designs address weaknesses in existing visualizations, such as overly arbitrary color schemes, lack of clarity, and difficulties in comparing countries. The maps omit thematically irrelevant elements (such as rivers or coordinate grids) and apply inclusive design principles to ensure readability for colorblind users. The new color scheme places renewable energy (green) in clear visual contrast to non-renewable sources (purple tones). This distinction simplifies interpretation and makes the visualization more intuitive. In the condensed thematic map, which shows the composition of energy sources directly within the circles, smaller countries with lower energy consumption are highlighted through enlarged diagrams. This ensures comparability with larger countries.

Thematic map of Europe visualizing energy import with bubbles visualizing primary energy consumption
Data visualization of the share of renewable energies in Europe
Thematic map of Europe visualizing energy import with data visualization of the share of renewable energies in Europe
Data visualization of energy sources of renewable energies in Europe