Re-imagining Napoleon
by Pete Gerr on December 1, 2009
Information may still be power, but in the hyper-caffeinated, over-saturated, help-me-i’m-drowning-in-data world we all live and operate in today, I believe it’s HOW information is conveyed that truly matters. I am an infographic geek, you see. Read on to see if you may be too…
In my inaugural post, I suggested that digital information is the currency of the new economy. Effectively communicating the most important bits of a message is, I believe, an art. So too, given the deluge of media we’re assaulted with everyday, is extracting the most relevant, valuable, interesting, or actionable bits out of the stream of information or raw data coming our way every day. Enter the infographic – one of my favorite, though perhaps not as immediately recognizable as more recent works is Charles Minard’s “Napoleon’s March on Moscow during the War of 1812″ below.
Infographic of Napoleon's 1812 March on Moscow; created by Charles Joseph Minard, 1869
How do we instill massive amounts of data, much of it complex, with context, meaning and value for our intended audiences? Furthermore, what if the subject matter of the data itself is, well, kinda boring? How do we get eyeballs to linger long enough to convey our message? How do you get potential investor’s to listen? What is your “story”? (in 140 characters or less)
Edward Tufte (of whom, I’m a huge fan) may have popularized and monetized the infographic over the past 30 years, but its importance is still on the upswing. The more data available, the more information is needed, the more important clarity of communication becomes, and humans comprehend visual, illustrations and pictures more readily than the written word.
This new category of blog posts will offer some shining examples of infographics, and in doing so, shine a spotlight on simple, yet brilliant ways to convey massive amounts of data that is easily identifiable, digestible, understandable, and therefore, instilled with meaning, context and value. My hope is they will inspire you to think about HOW you communicate, not necessarily WHAT you communicate.
If you’re a fan of infographics or have examples of great works, please comment and share them back through my blog.
Comments (5 )
Mark R. LePage, AIA, LEED AP on 01 Dec 2009 at 7:12 pm
Excellent post. I think architects have much to learn from other industries and how they communicate information (after all that’s what we do). Looking forward to more on infographics. Thanks for sharing Pete.
Pete Gerr on 01 Dec 2009 at 9:12 pm
Hi Mark, so good to hear from you in this forum and on this topic. My “previous life” in architecture design school, and your current life, is also one that we’ve seen transformed by technology from pencil on vellum, to CAD on computers, to…well, you should tell me what’s next. I look forward to continuing to track your progress, and discuss our common interests. Thanks for commenting.
Michael Hay on 02 Dec 2009 at 8:17 pm
Pete, here is a somewhat close example to infographics at one of MIT’s research labs.
http://www.simile-widgets.org/timeline/
Pete Gerr on 03 Dec 2009 at 5:56 am
Thanks Michael, both for sharing a comment and this MIT resource. It brings up another interesting possibility, which is the evolution from “static” infographics like the Minard graphic, to dynamic infographics that are generated on-demand, drawing from a vast archive of data to display the information you or I want in a context that is meaningful to us.
Ars Indicium » Blog Archive » Today’s required reading on 09 Dec 2009 at 8:15 am
[...] Last week I shared my affinity for the infographic and suggested that as the amount of raw data explodes, finding context and value in data becomes more dependent upon HOW it is presented. This week’s installment of “information inspiration” shows that data, when presented with appropriate context can even define WHO we are.I don’t know Michael Anderson. Odds are we will never meet in person. What he has created, however, in rethinking how to display his resume, immediately provides me with enormous information about his academic background, skills, employers, and even his “daily intake” of various raw materials; there’s great humor here too. (c) 2009 Michael Anderson [...]
