What are infographics and what can they show us? In this presentation, we’ll look at the types of information that they can be used to visualize and how you can create your own quality infographics. To get a better idea of what infographics can teach us, let’s take a look at some of the best ones from 2013, as compiled by Gareth Cook in The Best American Infographics. The book divides the the graphics into three categories:
Infographics 101
by Geoff Nash
The Best American Infographics 2013
You
The Material World
Us
Some of the best infographics also show us how we relate to each other as a whole. This chart depicts the prevalence of different types of influenza in the general population over time.
The best infographics can also help us visualize data about the world we inhabit. This map redraws the boundaries inside the United States so that each area represents an equal population.
The book shows that some of the best infographics teach us about ourselves.
In this example, birth dates are color coded to show which are most common. One can easily scan the graph to see what time of the year has the most birthdays or to find out how common their own birthday is.
It's evident from these quick examples that there are a world of topics that make great infographics. But what specific types of data can be visualized through infographics?
Infographics are everywhere, and not just on the internet. Though the colorful diagrams and interactive features popular across the internet are most likely what comes to mind when discussing infographics, the term can describe something as simple as a weather report or as complex as the New York City subway map.
This chart, “A Periodic Table of Visualization Methods” by Ralph Lengler & Martin J. Eppler, categories types of visualization methods.
Let’s use these categories to explore the different types of data presented in The Best American Infographics 2013.
The chart identifies 6 categories of visualization methods:
In the "Census Dotmap," census population data is visually plotted on a map of Canada, Mexico, and the United States. The dots mesh together in more densely populated areas, highlighting from a bird’s-eye view the areas where population concentrates to the east, on the est coast, and at the southern portions of Mexico. White space denotes the vast swaths of sparsely populated land in the west.
“Over the Decades, How States Have Shifted” uses a line graph, with election years marked on the vertical axis, to show how voters in each state have shifted their preference from party to party over time. Clicking on a line allows you to trace a particular state’s voting history. The chart helps visualize the concept of a “swing state,” as you can literally watch these election battlegrounds swing back and forth over the center line.
Info
Visualizations
are “visual representations of quantitative data in schematic form (either with or without axes).” (Lengler & Martin) This category includes many of the more familiar methods of visualizations, like line, bar, and pie charts.
Information visualizations build upon data visualizations by mapping data, numerical or not, to an image. (Lengler & Martin)
by Martin-Anderson
by Bostock, Carter, and Cox
The “512 Paths to the White House” infographic was very popular during the 2012 presidential elections. It shows the various combinations of states that each candidate needed to win in order to win the election. In the days leading up to the election, much talk was made about each candidates attempts to win votes in these crucial states, and this infographic helped visualize why.
Metaphor visualizations often depict literal illustrations of the metaphor in use, like a picture of a bridge showing the “Bridge to Success.”“New York’s Carbon Emissions -- In Real Time” depicts New York City’s carbon emissions as metaphorical spheres literally clogging the streets and overtaking the iconic skyline to emphasize the scale of the problem.
shows the “analysis, development, formulation, communication, and implementation of strategies in organizations.” (Lengler & Martin)
Metaphor
Visualizations
position information graphically to organize and structure information. They also convey an insight about the represented information through the key characteristics of the metaphor that is employed.” (Lengler & Martin)
by Nieman and Rabet
by Bostock and Carter
"Bear 21" uses a variety of interactive maps, videos, narration, and data sets to show the plight of the american grizzly bear.
"Cheating the System" lays out the various ways counterfeit drugs are leaked into the system and how these avenues are inter-related.
Compound Visualizations use “different representation formats in one single schema or frame” to help visualize the data. (Lengler & Martin)
Information need not be quantitative to be visualized in an infographic. Concept visualizations can depict “qualitative concepts, ideas, plans, and analyses” in addition to raw data. (Lengler & Martin)
by Mendes, Allison, and the Digital Studio of The National Film Board of Canada
nfo
by: Carl DeTorres
Within these categories, the table also sorts these categories into three subgroups.
Process & Structural
“The Immune System Paradox” shows the process that takes place when the body's immune system attacks cancer cells in a tumor.
A process visualization “depicts a temporal sequence, either stepwise, cyclical and/or continuous sequential.” A structural visualization is “a set of conceptual relationships such as hierarchies or networks.” (Lengler & Martin)
The video infographic "A Perfect Terrorist" makes extensive use of structural hierarchies to weave the story of terrorist David Coleman. You can watch the video straight through or click special markers on the video timeline to fast forward to specific points on the hierarchy.
by Jennings, Shankman, Golis, Milward, Gagliano, and Lougheed
Divergent & Convergent
"Lucious" is a project that extracts peak colors from fashion photographs to map which colors are essential to the photographs and what region of the frame they occupy. This divergent infographic helps us see the proportional use of color in an attractive photograph.
Divergent thinking “is a mode of thinking in which a person generates many creative responses to a question or problem.” Visuals can promote divergent thinking by showing us interesting possibilities. Convergent thinking “is a mode of critical thinking in which a person attempts to reduce complexity through analysis and synthesis.” Infographics that use convergent thinking help us make sense of complex data. (Lengler & Martin)
“Political Moneyball” is an interactive map that tracks the complex web of political contributions donated during the 2012 election based on data from the Federal Election Commission. Circles on the graph represent donations, their size correlating the with the size of the donation. Political affiliations are color coded, and details of the contributions are provided on click, complete with links to the FEC website. This convergent infographic makes it easier to visualize and analyze this vast set of data.
by Andrew Garcia Phillips
Detail & Overview
Overview infographics give a global perspective on the data at hand and can reveal patterns and “micro-insights.” Infographics with a detail focus “highlight individual pieces of information and their characteristics.” (Lengler & Martin)
“How Fast Is LAFD Where You Live?” breaks down, in detail, fire department response times in the LA area, showing neighborhood by neighborhood how long it takes for the trucks to arrive on scene.
“Wind Map” shows in real-time the prevailing winds on a map of the United States. A zoom function allows the user to view the winds at a regional or local level. The lines scale as you zoom, providing an overview of wind patterns on a national, regional, and local level.
by Walsh, Lopes, and Linthicum
by Viegas and Wattenberg
by: O'leary, Kelly, West, and Jacquet
Some infographics can depict both detail and overview data. “Women as Academic Authors, 1665-2010” shows how prevalent women are in a variety of academic topics over time. The data can be narrowed to show what fields women specialize in within the categories and at what percentage.
Guidelines for
Effective Infographics
Free tools to make
your own infographics
Works Cited
- Keep it simple: "Data design follows the same rules as visual design. Remove anything you can’t justify and isn’t relevant to the message you’re trying to convey. The empty spaces, the things you leave out, can provide clarity – and can also provide an opportunity to evoke questions in the viewer’s mind (that’s a good thing)." (Ciatro, Reeves)
Piktochart
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Cairo, Albert. "Column: Content Marketing Column." Marketing Land. Ed. Arnie Kuenn. N.p., 12 Mar. 2013. Web. 01 Dec. 2013.
Ledger, Ralph, and Martin J. Eppler. Periodic Table of Visual Elements. Digital image. Visualliteracy.org. N.p., n.d. Web.
Rees, Kim, and Dino Citraro. "Kim Rees and Dino Citraro - What Makes an Infographic Cool? - Blog About Infographics and Data Visualization - Cool Infographics." Kim Rees and Dino Citraro - What Makes an Infographic Cool? - Blog About Infographics and Data Visualization - Cool Infographics. N.p., 17 July 2013. Web. 05 Dec. 2013.
Yau, Nathan. "Smashing Magazine." The Do's And Don'ts Of Infographic Design: Revisited. N.p., 21 Oct. 2011. Web. 01 Dec. 2013.
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- Drag and drop interface creates custom infographics using a large database of built-in images and styles.
- Know your data: "Data is the foundation of every infographic, so when you have a dataset on hand, take the time to learn what it’s about, where it’s from, the methodology behind the estimates and what makes it interesting and unique." (Yau)
Visualize.me
- Create a custom profile with your personal information, education history, skill set and share with your colleagues.
- Choose the right format: "Do you want to show the geographical pattern of scattering of a variable? Then, you may need a bubble or choropleth map. Do you want readers to be able to accurately compare values and rank the regions? Then, maps or bubbles are inappropriate and you need to use a bar graph or a dot plot. In other words, think about function before you think about aesthetics." (Cario)