Purple America:

Using Color and Other Visual Cues to Convey

Information

Robert J. Vanderbei

December 7, 2007

Politics Department Lunchtime SeminarPrinceton University

http://www.princeton.edu/∼rvdb

1. USA Today

2. ElectionMaps

3. PurpleAmerica

4. Color Perception

Physically, color is infinite dimensional—it can be described by a function I(λ).

But, the human eye has only three types of color receptors. They are locatedin the cones. Hence, human color perception is 3 dimensional.

Primary Colors

Computer monitors use Red, Green, and Blue as primary colors:

5. Purple America, The Movie

Click Here

6. Red, White, and Blue America

Margin of Victory

Very patriotic!

7. Brighter America 2004

8. Brighter America 1992

9. Colors Reversed

10. Where People Live

11. Purple Mountains Majesty

12. Red-Blue Cartogram

c©2004 M.T. Gastner, C.R. Shalizi, M.E.J. Newman

13. Purple Cartogram

c©2004 M.T. Gastner, C.R. Shalizi, M.E.J. Newman

14. 2006 Congressional Election

County-by-County

15. 2006 Congressional Election

District-by-District

16. 2006 Congressional Election: Margin-Of-Victory

District-by-District

17. Statistical Analysis of Polling Data