Talk held at RoCHI 2008, Iasi, 18-19 September 2008

1. Visual Communication
through Infographics
Ecaterina Valicã
http://students.info.uaic.ro/~evalica
“A. I. Cuza” University of Iaşi, Romania
Faculty of Computer Science
Visual Communication through Infographics

2. Information Design
● Ubiquitous
● Where do we see information design?
● roadway signage when you're driving;
● the map you use to plan your journey;
● the simplest brochure for a product or
service;
● instructions on your prescription bottle;
● new product assembly and usage guides for
toys, furniture, etc;
Visual Communication through Infographics

3. Information Design
● Uses pictures, symbols, colors, and words to
communicate ideas, illustrate information or
express relationships visually
● It implies:
– filtering the information,
– establishing relationships,
– discerning patterns and representing them in a manner
that enables a consumer of that information construct
meaningful knowledge.
Visual Communication through Infographics

4. Infographic
● Initially used in newspaper
● Provides a summarized, colorful and quick
overview to everyday news
● Condenses big amounts of information in a small
space
● USA Today, the paradigm of “visual newspaper”
● Weather page, designed by George Rorick
Visual Communication through Infographics

5. Visual Communication through Infographics

6. Infographic
● It's a visual explanation that helps you more
easily understand, find or do something.
● It's visual, and when necessary, integrates
words and pictures in a fluid, dynamic way.
● It stands alone and is completely self­
explanatory.
● It reveals information that was formerly hidden
or submerged.
Visual Communication through Infographics

7. Infographic
● There is no better way to display large sets of data
than with a good statistical chart, or to provide
geographical context to a story with a map
Charts and graphs can communicate data
●
Infographics turn data into information
●
Visual Communication through Infographics

8. Infographic
● We’ll use hybrid to describe a single visual that
incorporates two or more visualization types
(rather than subjects)
● Whereas a hybrid combines multiple graphic
types within a single visualization, an
infographic combines multiple visualizations,
(often including text blocks), within a singly
viewed narrative composition.
Visual Communication through Infographics

9. Infographic
● People understand pictures faster and more
easily than words
● You can communicate complex ideas instantly
● Words need to be translated, while pictures are a
universal form of communication
● The main purpose is to show facts that would not
be tellable otherwise
Visual Communication through Infographics

10. Infographic
● Representation provides the basis for all
communication
● We can convey ideas about things that are not
materially in our presence only by calling forth
an appropriate mental representation
● While words and sentences are part of the verbal
communication system, images and graphical
representations form the visual communication
system.
Visual Communication through Infographics

11. Infographic
● The visual­verbal dichotomy [nothing can belong
simultaneously to both parts]
“This is a square”
● Images make identification easy
● When word and image collide, as in this case, the
image dominates perception and it is impossible
to read the caption (“this is a square”) without
first recognizing the circle.
Visual Communication through Infographics

12. Infographic
● Pictorial representations cross social and
linguistic boundaries with ease
● However they are dependant upon the culture in
which their meaning is established
● Graphics and texts are complements, not
exclusive
● Because infographics use a combination of
images, words, and numbers, operate in a
hybrid system of both the verbal and the visual.
Visual Communication through Infographics

13. Wordless Diagrams
● Nigel Holmes:
quot;explanation graphicsquot;
● Display knowledge ­
how to do things
Visual Communication through Infographics

14. Visual Communication through Infographics

15. Visual Communication through Infographics

16. Visual Communication through Infographics

17. Visual Communication through Infographics

18. Visual Communication through Infographics

19. Visual Communication through Infographics

20. Visual Communication through Infographics

21. Visual Communication through Infographics

22. ● Google Chrome
(September 2008)
used infographics to
explain the complex
inner workings
Visual Communication through Infographics

23. Visual Communication through Infographics

24. Visual Communication through Infographics

25. Google Insights for Search
– You can compare search volume patterns across
specific regions, categories, and time frames.
– A more advanced extension to Google Trends
● Potential business uses:
● examining seasonality,
● comparing synonyms,
● finding regions that are interested in a certain
product.
Visual Communication through Infographics

26. Google Insights for Search
Answers to questions:
● what are the most
popular cars in the
US this year?
● what are the
top searches in
France for the past
30 days?
Visual Communication through Infographics

27. Google Finance
● Information for Google Inc
Visual Communication through Infographics

28. Visual Communication through Infographics

29. Google Chart
Sparklines
Map charts
Radar charts
Visual Communication through Infographics

30. Google Chart
http://chart.apis.google.com/ Chs ­ size in pixels
chart? Chd ­ chart's data
chs=250x100 Cht ­ chart's type
&chd=t:60,40 Chl ­ chart's label
&cht=p3
&chl=Hello|World
Visual Communication through Infographics

31. Google Visualization
Motion chart Gadget Gallery
Eureka Gadget
Time Series Chart
Visual Communication through Infographics

32. Google Visualization
● Integrate in Google Spreadsheets
Visual Communication through Infographics

33. Geographical Distribution
● The best infographics
department in the world:
The New York Times
● Map with infographic
artist around the world
Visual Communication through Infographics

34. Thank you
Visual Communication through Infographics

35. Links
● http://www.visualcomplexity.com
● http://www.flickr.com/groups/856209@N23/
● http://infographicsnews.blogspot.com
● http://www.meryl.net/2008/01/175­data­and­informatio
● http://www.tom­carden.co.uk/2008/04/16/data­visualis
● http://the.taoofmac.com/space/Visualization
Visual Communication through Infographics