Column Five Media: Infographics, Content Strategy, Interactive Design 27 Visualizations and Infographics to Understand the Financial C I've said it before, and I'll say it again. If there's anything good that has come out of the financial crisis it's the slew of high-quality graphics to help us understand what's going on. Some visualizations attempt to explain it all while others focus on affected business. Others concentrate on how we, as citizens are affected. Visual Guides to the Financial Crisis Let's start things off with some comprehensive guides to the financial crisis. 2008 Financial Crisis by Carolyn Aler and Sam Conway A Visual Guide to the Financial Crisis by Jess Bachman Jess from WallStats put this together for the Mint blog. The Global Finanical Crisis by Cypher 13 Where Did All the Money Go? From Feliciano Rahardjo Looks like the beginning of a comic book. A Closer Look at the Global Financial Crisis by Liam Johnstone Economic Meltdown of 2008-2009 by Pei San Ng The Global Money Mess by Karen Ong Crisis of Credit Visualized by Jonathan Jarvis We saw this one a few days ago in animated form. Effects on Business
Cool Infographics - Blog PBS Frontline has published the interactive data visualization, NFL Concussion Watch 2013 to summarize all of the player concussions reported in the NFL. Every week in the National Football League, a player is sidelined by a head injury. In some cases, their symptoms are clearly visible and they exit the game. Other times, less obvious warning signs can mean a missed diagnosis and a return to the field. I really like the idea of this data visualization, but they messed up the visuals. In visualizations, the design is supposed to visually compare values to create context and understand for the readers. I do like the design layout that places the circles into their correct player positions. Thanks to Melanie for sending in the link!
The Geography of Jobs - TIP Strategies Map below has been updated to reflect data through May 2012. Click on the map to see the animation. Map Highlights This animated map provides a striking visual of employment trends over the last business cycle using net change in jobs from the U.S. The timeline begins in 2004 as the country starts its recovery from the 2001 recession, following the bursting of the dot-com bubble. Equally telling is the short-lived expansion of construction- and real estate-related job growth in Sun Belt states, such as California, Florida, Georgia, and Arizona, during the middle of the decade as the nation’s appetite for new homes increases. By 2007, regional evidence of the coming economic downturn starts to appear. Even as much of the nation was showing clear signs of entering into recession, New York City continued to boom as the flow of easy credit (much of it related to the speculation in the housing sector) stimulated employment growth in the nation’s financial center. Strategic Response
Breathingearth - CO2, birth & death rates by country, simulated real-time What strategy for a green recovery? Did We Read the Same Plan? Apollo, Obama, and the Real Deal Few have been more enthusiastic about Obama’s recovery plan than the Apollo Alliance, which sees it as the culmination of their hopes to re-energize the US economy through “green” technology. The President-elect himself spent much of his energy between election and inauguration attempting to dampen those hopes and expectations, warning us that change will not come overnight, and asking us to bear with him with faith in his intentions. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, presumably drawn up with Obama’s blessing, would, to hear it described by Keith Schneider of the Apollo Alliance, usher in the green millennium. Unfortunately, it doesn’t quite do that. I don’t know that the leaders of Apollo accept or understand the limitations of energy and resources. As an organizer, I see three things that need to happen to take advantage of the opportunities the new administration and Congress present.
7 billion people and you: What's your number? Sources: All population data are based on estimates by the UN Population Division and all calculations provided by the UN Population Fund. The remaining data are from other sections of the UN, the Global Footprint Network and the International Telecommunications Union. Want to find out more? Visit the UN Population Fund's detailed population calculator, 7 billion and me. Notes on the data: Only birth dates after 1910 can be accommodated and only countries with populations of more than 100,000 people are included. Three country groupings - developed, developing and least developed - featured in the conclusions are those referenced by the UN for assessing the Millennium Development Goals. Read the answers to frequently asked questions here.
What Design Can't Do Article by Christopher SimmonsSeptember 1, 2010 Years ago, inspired by something I heard Terry Irwin describe, I created a diagram to explain to clients just where design fits into their business plan. It was as much about managing expectations as it was about selling the value of design. Concentric model of a strong brand. At the center of any organization is its leadership—an individual or small group of partners on whose vision the organization is founded. Next are the people—the managers, directors, employees, members, volunteers, etc., who believe in the leader's vision. After that is the product. The product (which can also be a service) must be supported by a strategy. Finally, there is design. If you want to be a brand, I tell clients, you must work from the inside out. Critics will say that this is an outmoded view of design—one that relegates the designer to the role of a stylist who merely dresses up an idea after all the hard decisions have been made. What design can do
Affording Health Care Even with health insurance, health care can cost an arm and a leg. The infographic below shows across geographies, income and education levels, between 1997 and 2006, a growing number of Americans avoided health care due to cost. About this data Health, United States, 2009 is the 33rd annual report on the health status of the Nation, prepared by the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services for the President and the Congress. The report provides an annual picture of the health of the entire United States. Share Downloads Download Image Design Partner A collaboration between GOOD and Thomas Porostocky
Visualising sustainability « Computing for Sustainability New (Dec 2011): “Sustainable Lens: A visual guide” published by NewSplash available through Amazon. How to convey the essence of sustainability in a few sketched lines? I’m wading through the net and my bookshelves to find examples of the genre. I’m looking for schematics of the notion of sustainability itself rather than the underlying science – greenhouse, carbon, meso climate process, ground water, etc for which there are a zillion diagrams. The list is not meant to be exhaustive, but if I’ve missed your favourite diagram, leave a link and I’ll add it to the list. Many of these images are duplicated all over the web, I’ve tried to find original sources (try tineye, is really cool), but again, let me know if I’ve missed something. In no particular order, here’s 100 125 137 158 179 188 218 255 of what I’ve found. 1. 2. This model is very very common (google search sustainability Venn). Venn diagrams coming together and showing changing dominance of sectors in a static animation. 3. 4. 5.
Twitter Dots - Beautiful map rendering of realtime Twitter tweets Immigration Nation More Infographics on Good Wood Dimensional Changes A Handsome Atlas: Wildly Awesome Data Visualizations from the Nineteenth Century