I’ve been doing a few interviews to promote my book, The Visual Miscellaneum, and a question keeps coming up. “What makes good information design?â€
This is the point where I go a bit glassy. To be honest, I don’t know. I am unschooled in both information (I was a college dropout) and design (I am a self-taught designer). I’ve never really thought about it.
So, I made a nice cup of tea and had a think and came up with this.
To me, these seem like the key components of a good infographic / data visualisation / piece of information design.
You may disagree. I welcome your input. I may not have got it right.
Something surprised me about doing this though.
In information design, it seems, if you have just two elements, you get something tolerable and cool. i.e.
(I’m not entirely sure about these combos)
But if you combine three elements without the fourth, things suddenly FAIL:
What do you think? This is a work in progress. Can you help me shape this a bit? Have I missed anything?
Thanks to data gathering by Brian Solis. My data here.
In passing, it’s interesting how Google Ad Planner gives detailed data on every big website online. But not on any of Google’s own sites.
How To Get Replies Online Dating
Dating site OKCupid examined which words in an opening email to women increased or decreased the chances of a reply. Hilarious and revealing.
Christopher Niemann
This US illustrator does a nice line in hand-drawn infographics
(I also like his ‘I Confess’ range)
How many troops has each country sent to Afghanistan?
Ok I did this one. But I think it’s an important question. And quite surprising.
Susanna Hertrich: Reality Checking Device
A visual device for getting some perspective. Nice!
(sorry about the tiny screen shot – it’s the only one I could find) UPDATE: Here’s a big version (Thanks to Matthew Goldthwaite)
If you come across any visual delights, please send them through.
The Hierarchy of Digital Distractions
I notice these days that I can spend hours at my computer, in a cloud. A swampy blur of digital activity, smeared across various activities and media and software.
Emailing, writing, tweeting, designing, browsing, taking calls, Skyping, Facebooking, RSS Feeding – all blurred into a single technological trance.
I seem to switch randomly from one to the other. But actually is there a subtle hierarchy in this cloud? Do I prefer some distractions over others? I think so.
In this diagram, each level in this hierarchy trumps the next.
So, if you get a new msg on Facebook, but your landline rings, you’ll take the landline call. You might have a spasmodic moment of ‘uh? wadd I do’. But, usually, you’ll take the call.
Similarly, if you get a new SMS whilst opening a new online dating message, you’ll be hard pressed not to read that SMS. It’ll take a great force of will. You may attempt to do both simultaneously. But if you really observe yourself closely, one will take priority – even if it’s only by milliseconds. The SMS will win your attention.
And so on up the chart…
(I understand this post reveals much about my pitiful life. There’s no need to say that in the comments, thanks.)
But if I’ve missed any distractions, feel free to suggest them. I realise AIM and MS Messenger introduce a whole universe of distraction. I don’t go there. I have enough distractions.
How much will your Double Frozen FrapMochaChino add to both your bulge and your buzz?
It’s an advertising machine.
Ok, I know I said I hate piecharts. But they only really work when the data is dramatic like this.
[via The Industry Standard]
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What makes a successful online dating photo?
Dating site OKCupid uses data from their members to overturn myths about what makes a successful online dating profile photo. A fascinating & funny read.
Summary:
men – mysteriously looking away from camera, unsmiling, holding an animal
women – flirting into camera, outdoors, with a hint of cleavage
They also did another great data-piece about what to say in an opening message.
[via Waxy.org]
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