A hexagon tile grid, square tile grid and geographic choropleth map. Maps by Danny DeBelius and Alyson Hurt
As the saying goes, nothing is certain in this life but death, taxes and requests for geographic data to be plotted on a map.
When that data is associated with geographic areas, the choropleth map is a tried and true visualization technique, but not without significant dangers depending on the nature of the data and map areas represented. Clarity of mapped state-level data, for instance, is frequently complicated by the reality that most states in the western U.S. carry far more visual weight than the northeastern states.