A visual dashboard of how 530 CFOs see the economy

Our recent series of data visualizations have centered on making healthcare stats and energy issues more accessible and understandable. Now GE Capital is showing the power of interactive design with a new data visualization that reinterprets the results of its latest survey of 530 chief financial officers in the U.S.

As Fast Company, which named the data viz its “Infographic of the Day,” points out, it’s a view of “how collective emotions help shape our economy. ... Beautifully designed by Lisa Strausfeld, Hilla Katki, and Adam Suharja of Pentagram, it’s probably one of the most illuminating infographics we’ve seen in quite awhile. "We wanted a big picture view, representing how these 530 CFOs were feeling about their company’s position in this economy,” says Strausfeld. "The breakthrough was when Hilla lined up the answers to all the questions on a continuous (pessimistic to optimistic) axis."

For example, across all of the industrial sectors (you can use the tool to highlight just one or all seven), you can see a great deal of pessimism over the way energy, healthcare and labor costs will likely affect businesses. On the upside, there’s a great deal of optimism that that foreign competition and the economic slowdown in Europe will not affect U.S. businesses.

 

Mood watch: Click the image to enlarge it. As you can see above, there’s a general feeling of optimism when it comes to hiring. There’s also an option to compare Q1 data with the new Q3 responses. Try out the data visualization.

 

Sunny outlook? Click the image to enlarge it. The tool also lets users click on data points to learn more. For example, when it comes to hiring, it’s a good sign that CFOs are looking at permanent workers. Of those, most will be operational employees, the survey shows.

The data visualization also includes factoids about GE Capital’s work in the various sectors. For example, on the “Technology” tab, this blurb pops up when you click the plus sign: “GE Capital Americas currently has over $6.2 billion of committed financing to 12,227 companies in the Technology and Business Services Industry.”

* Try out the data visualization
* See all of our data visualizations in one place
* See Lisa Stausfield’s last data viz with GE on “energy thirst”
* Read Fast Company’s “Masters of Design” feature on Lisa Strausfeld