Maksegraafiku

Maksegraafiku is a term used in information design and data visualization to describe a graphical approach that conceals or masks specific data values within a chart while preserving the overall structure and patterns of the data. The technique is typically employed to protect sensitive information when sharing data publicly or with constrained audiences, allowing viewers to discern trends, distributions, and relative comparisons without exposing exact figures. The word is of Estonian origin, combining makse (mask) and graafik (graph).

Construction and techniques commonly associated with maksegraafiku include replacing precise numbers with rounded values or intervals, applying masking patterns, or overlaying blurred or obfuscated elements over parts of the visualization. Visual cues such as color intensity, opacity, or hatch patterns signal which areas are masked. The method can be applied to various chart types, including bar charts, line charts, and heatmaps, and is often used in conjunction with generalization and suppression as part of privacy-preserving practices.

Applications and use cases frequently appear in government dashboards, health statistics, and market research where confidentiality requirements limit the disclosure of granular data. Maksegraafiku aims to retain the ability to compare groups and observe broad trends while mitigating disclosure risk.

Limitations and considerations include the potential for masking to distort interpretation if not clearly labeled, the loss of data granularity, and the need for careful communication to avoid misreading masked values. Practitioners emphasize transparency about what is masked and why, alongside efforts to maintain as much informational value as possible.

See also: data masking, privacy-preserving visualization, anonymization, visual literacy.