Information graphics are visual presentations of information. They are also known as "infographics" or just "graphics". They are commonly found in the news, in subway maps, airport signage, timelines, and popular scientific literature. Information graphics commonly make use of pictograms and other pictorial elements. Charts, graphs, maps, and diagrams are included in this field. Another example is a contour map, which encodes three kinds of data into two dimensions.
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.
One well-known infographic is the graphic description of Napoleon's disastrous march on Moscow in 1812 – 1813 by Charles Joseph Minard (1781-1870). In a single image, the graphic combines a map of the march, the size of the expedition showing the loss of lives, and the temperatures endured by the troops. Minard was important for data maps.
Statistician Edward Tufte is one expert in the field. Effective information design incorporates many dimensions of information into a two-dimensional image on a page or screen. He describes this as 'escaping flatland.'
Nigel Holmes is also notable.
Modern infographics are usually produced with computer programs such as Freehand.
Source
"Designing Infographics," by Eric K. Meyer
External links
Last updated: 10-18-2005 14:16:40
