As a company focused on the effective use of visuals to deepen conversations and thought, we try to stay tuned to all the things an eyeball can take in. As a team, fortunately, we all have different areas of interest. Traditional visual arts, like painting and photography, for instance — or more contemporary examples like comics and manga.
One of my hands-down favorites, though, is infography. Loosely defined, infography is the art and science of using visuals to communicate information. Of course, that definition is so broad as to encompass nearly everything — including traditional paintings and photography. I tend to narrow it a bit further by defining information to be meaning supported by data.
As an example, take a look at the following graphic:
One of the longtime forerunners in the field is Edward Tufte, who has published often (and continues to do so) on data visualization, particularly visualizations for clarity. Infography today, though, seems to be focusing as much on being artistic as being clear. For the visually minded, this is a very good thing.
There’s something about a particularly well-done infographic that gives the observer multiple reactions. First, there’s a “wow” factor, because the graphic just looks amazing on its face. That seems like a good test of whether the infographic works well as art. Then the observer may experience a brief “huh?” moment, as they try to figure out just what information the graphic is trying to represent.
Is the graphic above about the numbers of people coming to the U.S.? Or the countries they’re coming from? Or something else entirely? It turns out that in that graphic, the answer to all three is “yes.” This “huh” stage is a good measure of how well the graphic performs on Tufte’s rubrics of information and data clarity.
From there, a common final reaction with a well-done infographic is the more long-lasting “cool.” It’s the stage where the observer picks into the graphic for meaning and leaves having learned something and appreciating the art AND science of the graphic.
Whether you’re an experienced infographer or just finding out about this emerging area, here are some links to sites with great examples of the form:
- Transparency from GOOD Magazine
- Archive of past Transparencies
- Information is Beautiful Infographics blog
- Cool Infographics, a blog that is aptly named
- 50 Great Examples of Infographics
