Want to go back and look at something again? You now have to wait for the animation.
This is objectively bad design. I want static PNGs or SVGs, not JavaScript.
Also, that site got in my shitlist for taking control of my keyboard. I prefer to use the arrow keys to scroll one line at a time, and the stupid JavaScript on that site made that impossible.
Actually, I'd be happiest if that entire page was just a single static .svg file.
Scrolling by arrow key worked as normal for me (Firefox 37.0.2 on OS X). But I do agree about requiring javascript for a rather pointless bunch of animations - they could at least serve up the static images when javascript is unavailable. Its presence even led me to think they would be interactive - I tried clicking on my state, thinking it would be highlighted in the graphs below.
No, it's not. The animations add no information that isn't conveyed by the graph already--it just creates a delay before you can see the information. And changing the behavior of core functionality like the keyboard/pointer will confuse people, and on this page there is nothing to be gained in return.
I like that the animations allow you to follow the trend without much effort of finding the appropriate lines. It's clear, just fast enough, and works smoothly at least on my browser. At the very least, your claims are definitely subjective in terms of usability.
I think the animations do add some spatio-temporal information. Different states get highlighted at different times as the line graph progresses. I can't claim to know much about front-end design but I liked the animations.
I too hate when i don't get to use my computer as i see fit, but you have to admit that every point you have mad, previous to the comment i am responding to now, has been made from a personal, preferential point of view. I am not saying i do not agree with; i am saying its just, like, your opinion man.
You can make objective conclusions about subjective preferences. Most users do not want to wait to see information being presented to them. Nor do most users want to deal with websites that randomly change how their computer works. The distribution of subjective preferences can make design decisions objectively bad.
If you're going to present a graph, the point of that graph is to be understood so it needs to be read easily and promptly.
Animating the graph every time you move up or down the page gets in the way of that analysis. It erases the data you were about to look and forces you to wait needlessly for it to appear again.
Try to look at one graph and quickly go back to a previous one to check it out in comparison or anything. It's absolutely uncomfortable.
