Information Graphics

The infographic is, as this book explains, a mode of communication universally loved by newspaper and magazine art directors, data analysts and the ancient Egyptians. 

On Hold Hold on. Project Info: Mark, magazine article, 2009, Netherlands. Data Source: SkyscraperPage.com; Emporis.com; Oobject.com; BBC News Design: Theo Deutinger, Barbara Weingartner
On Hold Hold on. Project Info: Mark, magazine article, 2009, Netherlands. Data Source: SkyscraperPage.com; Emporis.com; Oobject.com; BBC News Design: Theo Deutinger, Barbara Weingartner

Data visualisation is on the-up it claims, brought on by statistical data becoming more readily available, more demand for the processing of data, and the increased use of visual interactive user interfaces to access digital archives, all backdropped by a communication trend which is ‘shifting towards generally shorter texts in combination with charts and images,’ according to editor Sandra Rendgen.

Mission(s) to Mars. Project Info: IEEE Spectrum, magazine article, 2009, USA. Data Source: Cornell University; European Space Agency; NASA; RussianSpaceWeb.com Design: Bryan Christie, Joe Lertola, Art Direction: Mark Montgomery, Michael Solita
Mission(s) to Mars. Project Info: IEEE Spectrum, magazine article, 2009, USA. Data Source: Cornell University; European Space Agency; NASA; RussianSpaceWeb.com Design: Bryan Christie, Joe Lertola, Art Direction: Mark Montgomery, Michael Solita

Well we’d better get on and show some more images then…but not before leaving you with this quote from French cartographer Jacques Bertin whom the book references.

The Greatest Curiosities of the Human Body, Project Info: Mundo Estranho, magazine article, 2008, Brazil Research: Fabio Volpe, Yuri Vasconscelos Design: Alessandra Kalko, Illustration: Gabriel Silveira
The Greatest Curiosities of the Human Body, Project Info: Mundo Estranho, magazine article, 2008, Brazil Research: Fabio Volpe, Yuri Vasconscelos Design: Alessandra Kalko, Illustration: Gabriel Silveira

‘A graphic representation is not merely a drawing, but often entails a heavy responsibility when deciding on how to proceed. One does not “draw” a graphic representation in a solid form; instead one constructs it and rearranges it until every relationship with the data has been revealed.’

On Hold Hold on. Project Info: Mark, magazine article, 2009, Netherlands. Data Source: SkyscraperPage.com; Emporis.com; Oobject.com; BBC News Design: Theo Deutinger, Barbara Weingartner
The Digital Dump. Project Info:

And another thing. The book is packed with infographic firsts, such as the flow map – a cross between, that’s right, a map and a flow chart –  developed by the French engineer Charles Jospeh Minard,  who in 1869 developed the technique to show how Napoleon set out to Russia with 422,000 troops and returned with 10,000.

The Digital Dump. Project Info: "The Growing E-Waste Situation", GOOD, website, 2010, USA. Data Source: CBS News; ABI Research; US EPA; Basel Action Network; Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition. Research: Brian Wolford Design: Andrew Effendy (Column Five Medi
The Very Many Varieties of Beer Project Info: Poster, 2010, USA Design: Ben Gibson, Patrick Mulligan (Pop Chart Lab)

Note that the ever resourceful Florence Nightingale moved this design on, creating a polar area diagram showing the mortality of soldiers over two years during The Crimean War. Other such infographic, based tales abound.

The Digital Dump. Project Info: "The Growing E-Waste Situation", GOOD, website, 2010, USA. Data Source: CBS News; ABI Research; US EPA; Basel Action Network; Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition. Research: Brian Wolford Design: Andrew Effendy (Column Five Medi
Information Graphics front cover

Information Graphics by Sandra Rendgen and Julius Wiedemann is published by Taschen and costs  £44.99

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  • Graphic design los angeles November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    Thanks for sharing this great content, I really enjoyed the insign you bring to the topic, awesome stuff!

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