Changes: Infographics

Latest revision as of 19:30, 27 September 2012

Infographics (also called invisual display of information but also of knowledge - how to do things. He created graphics for Time magazine for 16 years, and is the author of several books on the subject.

Close and strongly related to the field of information graphics, is information design. Actually, making infographics is a certain discipline within the information design world. Modern day American information designers, like Nigel Holmes, Edward Tufte, Peter Sullivan and Sam Ward, Donald Norman; are accompanied by a very active Dutch information designer: Paul Mijksenaar. His Amsterdam and New York based design studio is specialized in the development of visual oriented information systems. They create so called wayfinding and waysigning systems for all kinds of large public transport systems and infrastructures. Examples of their work are, the signing systems for airports in the Netherlands (Schiphol, Amsterdam), but also for airports in Italy and the United States like: JFK and Dallas Fort Worth.

Types of information graphic[]

chart
flowchart
histogram
graph
map
diagram
concept map
contour map
isotherm, isobar
mind map
signage systems

Interpreting information graphics[]

Many information graphics are specialised forms of depiction that represent their content in sophisticated and often abstract ways. In order to interpret the meaning of these graphics appropriately, the viewer requires a suitable level of graphicacy. In many cases, the required graphicacy involves comprehension skills that are learned rather than innate. At a fundamental level, the skills of decoding individual graphic signs and symbols must be acquired before sense can be made of an information graphic as a whole. However, knowledge of the conventions for distributing and arranging these individual components is also necessary for the building of understanding.

References and further reading[]

Blood, Dirt, and Nomograms: A Particular History of Graphs, Thomas L. Hankins, University of Chicago Press (1999, 90: 50-80).
Designing Infographics (1998), Eric K. Meyer, ISBN 1-56830-339-4
The Visual Display of Quantitative Information (1983), Edward Tufte, ISBN 0-9613921-0-X
Envisioning Information (1990), Edward Tufte, ISBN 0-9613921-1-8
Visual Explanations (1997), Edward Tufte, ISBN 0-9613921-2-6
Beautiful Evidence (2006), Edward Tufte, ISBN 0-9613921-7-7
Billion Dollar Graphics, Michael Parkinson, ISBN 978-1-4243-1668-7 and ISBN 978-1-4243-1665-6

External links[]

Online collections of infographics[]

information aesthetics - weblog
NiXLOG - weblog
Milestones in the History of Thematic Cartography, Statistical Graphics and Data Visualization - history site

Infographics awards[]

NSF Science & Engineering Visualization Challenge - Yearly award with an information graphics category.
[1] - Society for Newsdesign, holds an annual competition for newsdesign. categories are for example: infographics, pagesdesign, illustration and photography

Sources and more information[]

Books

"Designing Infographics," by Eric K. Meyer
Book reviews, by Emil J. Posavac, psychology professor at Loyola University Chicago, Aug. 6, 2002

Web sites

Edward Tufte's site
Visual Journalism, An Eye on Graphics in the News, includes a gallery, articles and discussion

Tip sheets

Graphics Opportunities: When to Say No and When to Say Yes, by Warren Watson, American Press Institute
Tips for Preventing Errors in Graphics, compiled from a discussion among participants in the 2002 Knight Summer institute for Midcareer Copy Editors

Miscellaneous

Credit and categories[]

This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at {{{Information graphics}}}. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Journawiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.

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+'''Infographics''' (also called invisual display of information but also of knowledge - how to do things. He created graphics for [[Time magazine]] for 16 years, and is the author of several books on the subject.
-'''Infographics''' (also called '''information graphics''' or just '''graphics''') can be loosely defined as a pictorial representation of data. Infographics are a type of visual [[journalism]]. Common examples are [[chart]]s, [[graph]]s, [[map]]s, and [[diagram]]s.
-;Common problems:
-*Not starting at zero
-*Projections that aren't obvious
-*Information that does not match the article
-*Not accounting for inflation or population changes
-==History==
-An early pioneer of the field was [[William Playfair]] (1759-1823). According to Eric K. Meyer, "Playfair began a type of graphics journalism that many did not believe to exist until the founding of [[USA Today]]."
-Forty-four graphics were included in Playfair's "The Commercial & Political Atlas," which was published in London in 1786. His "Statistical Breviary" (1801) is considered to have the first area charts.
-Others important in the field include [[Charles Joseph Minard]] (1781-1870), especially for data maps; [[Nigel Holmes]]; and statistician [[Edward Tufte]].
-Modern infographics are usually produced with computer programs such as [[Freehand]].
-'''Information graphics''' or '''infographics''' are visual representations of [[information]], [[data]] or [[knowledge]]. These [[graphics]] are used anywhere where information needs to be explained quickly or simply, such as in [[information sign|signs]], [[maps]], [[journalism]], [[technical writing]], and [[education]]. They are also used extensively as tools by [[Computer science|computer scientists]], [[mathematician]]s, and [[List of statisticians|statisticians]] to ease the process of developing and communicating conceptual information. They are applied in all aspects of [[scientific visualization]].
-==History of information graphics==
-===Early experiments===
-In [[prehistory]], early humans created the first information graphics: [[cave paintings]] and later [[maps]]. Map-making began several millennia before [[writing]], and map at [[Çatalhöyük]] dates from around [[7500 BCE]]. Later icons were used to keep record of cattle and stock. The Indians of [[Mesoamerica]] used imagery to depict the journeys of past generations. Illegible on their own, they served as a supportive element to memory and storytelling.
-In [[1626]] [[Christopher Scheiner]] published the ''Rosa Ursina sive Sol'' which used a variety of graphics to reveal his astronomical research on the sun. He used a series of images to explain the rotation of the sun over time (by tracking sunspots).
-In [[1786]], [[William Playfair]] published the first data [[graphs]] in his book [[The Commercial and Political Atlas]]. The book is filled with statistical graphs that represent the economy of [[18th century]] [[England]] using [[bar chart]]s and [[histogram]]s. In [[1801]] Playfair introduced the first [[area chart]] in ''Statistical Breviary''.
-[[James Joseph Sylvester]] introduced the term "graph" in [[1878]] and published a set of diagrams showing the relationship between [[chemical bonds]] and mathematical properties. These were also the first [[Graph (mathematics)|mathematic graphs]].
-[[Image:Minard.png|250px|thumb|right|Charles Minard's information graphic of Napoleon's March]]
-[[1861]] saw the release of a seminal information graphic on the subject of [[Napoleon]]'s disastrous [[Napoleon's Invasion of Russia|march on Moscow]]. The creator, [[Charles Joseph Minard]], captured four different changing variables that contributed to the failure, in a single [[two-dimensional]] image:
-* the army's direction as they travelled
-* the location the troops passed through
-* the size of the army as troops died from hunger and wounds
-* the freezing temperatures they experienced
-===The development of a visual language in the 20th century===
-In [[1936]] [[Otto Neurath]] introduced a system of [[pictographs]] intended to function as an international visual or picture language. [[Isotype (picture language)|Isotype]] included a set of stylized human figures which were the basis for the ubiquitous modern [[stick figures]].
-In [[1942]] [[Isidore Isou]] published the [[Lettrist]] manifesto.
-The [[1972]] [[Munich Olympics]] were the venue for [[Otl Aicher]] to introduce a new set of [[pictograms]] that proved to be extremely popular, and influenced the ubiquitous modern [[stick figures]] used in public signs.
-[[Image:Pioneer plaque.svg|250px|thumb|right|The Pioneer Plaque]]
-Also in 1972 the [[Pioneer Plaque]] was launched into space with the [[Pioneer 10]] probe. Inscribed into the plaque was an information graphic intended as a kind of interstellar [[message in a bottle]], designed by [[Carl Sagan]] and [[Frank Drake]]. The message is unique in that it is intended to be [[Communication with Extraterrestrial Intelligence|understood]] by [[Extraterrestrial intelligence|extraterrestrial beings]] who would share no common language with humans. It depicts a picture of a man and a woman standing in front of a simplified silhouette of the probe in order to give a sense of scale. It also contains a map locating the sun relative to a number of [[pulsars]], and a simplified depiction of the solar system, with the probe's path from earth into outer space shown with an arrow.
-==Modern uses==
-Today information graphics surround us in the media, in published works both pedestrian and scientific, in road signs and manuals. They illustrate information that would be unwieldy in text form, and act as a visual shorthand for everyday concepts such as [[Stop sign|stop]] and [[Arrow (symbol)|go]].
-In newspapers, infographics are commonly used to show the weather, as well as maps and site plans for newsworthy events, and graphs for statistical data. Some books are almost entirely made up of information graphics, such as [[David Macaulay]]'s [[The Way Things Work]]. Although they are used heavily in children's books, they are also common in scientific literature, where they are used to illustrate physical systems, especially ones that cannot be photographed (such as cutaway diagrams, astronomical diagrams, and images of microscopic or sub-microscopic systems).
-Modern maps, especially route maps for transit systems, use infographic techniques to integrate a variety of information, such as the conceptual layout of the transit network, transfer points, and local landmarks.
-[[Traffic signs]] and other public signs rely heavily on information graphics, such as stylized human figures (the ubiquitous [[stick figure]]), icons and emblems to represent concepts such as yield, caution, and the direction of traffic. Public places such as transit terminals usually have some sort of integrated "signage system" with standardized icons and stylized maps.
-Technical manuals make extensive use of diagrams and also common icons to highlight warnings, dangers, and standards certifications.
-==Elements of information graphics==
-The basic material of an information graphic is the [[data]], [[information]], or [[knowledge]] that the graphic presents. In the case of data, the creator may make use of automated tools such as graphing software to represent the data in the form of lines, boxes, arrows, and various [[symbols]] and [[pictograms]]. The information graphic might also feature a [[glossary|key]] which defines the visual elements in plain English. A [[scale (map)|scale]] and [[labels]] are also common.
-==Modern practitioners of information graphics / design==
-A statistician and sculptor, [[Edward Tufte]] has written a series of highly regarded books on the subject of information graphics. Tufte also delivers lectures and workshops on a regular basis.  He describes the process of incorporating many dimensions of information into a two-dimensional image as 'escaping flatland' (alluding to the 2-dimensional world of the Victorian novella [[Flatland]]).
-[[Nigel Holmes]] is an established commercial creator of what he calls "explanation graphics". His works deal not only with the visual display of information but also of knowledge - how to do things. He created graphics for [[Time magazine]] for 16 years, and is the author of several books on the subject.
 Close and strongly related to the field of information graphics, is information design. Actually, making infographics is a certain discipline within the information design world. Modern day American information designers, like [[Nigel Holmes]], [[Edward Tufte]], [[Peter Sullivan]] and [[Sam Ward]], [[Donald Norman]]; are accompanied by a very active Dutch information designer: [[Paul Mijksenaar]]. His Amsterdam and New York based design studio is specialized in the development of visual oriented information systems. They create so called wayfinding and waysigning systems for all kinds of large public transport systems and infrastructures. Examples of their work are, the signing systems for airports in the Netherlands (Schiphol, Amsterdam), but also for airports in Italy and the United States like: JFK and Dallas Fort Worth.
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 | style="font-size: 90%" | This page uses content from [http://www.wikipedia.org '''Wikipedia''']. The original article was at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/{{urlencode:{{{Information graphics}}}}} '''{{{Information graphics}}}''']. The list of authors can be seen in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title={{urlencode:{{{Information graphics}}}}}&action=history '''page history''']. As with [[Project:About|{{SITENAME}}]], the text of Wikipedia is available under the [[Wikia:Text of the GNU Free Documentation License|GNU Free Documentation License]].
 |}
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