Wilkening Consulting
  • Services
    • Annual Survey of Museum-Goers
    • Philosophy
    • Resources
    • Annual Survey Methodology
  • Contact
    • Contact
    • About Us
    • In the media
    • Annual Survey Respondent Information
    • Data Privacy
  • Data Stories
    • Curiosity Resources
  • Services
    • Annual Survey of Museum-Goers
    • Philosophy
    • Resources
    • Annual Survey Methodology
  • Contact
    • Contact
    • About Us
    • In the media
    • Annual Survey Respondent Information
    • Data Privacy
  • Data Stories
    • Curiosity Resources
Picture

Infographic Inspiration

4/19/2018

 
I love infographics. I wish I could present all my research via infographics.

Sadly, I'm not that talented (though I am pretty proud of my Data Stories and work with a fantastic graphic designer to make my ugly sketches into beautiful reality).

But I do try to look at how others present data, and sometimes, when I'm lucky, something clicks and I figure out a better way of presenting my research to you.

With this post, I'll start sharing some of my favorite (and not-so-favorite) inspiration sources for infographics. Short reviews of books (below are three to start) and, from time to time, specific infographics I run across that I think are fabulous for some reason or other.

I have three goals here:

1 - to help you gain a better appreciation of infographics, because if the story it is trying to tell is beautifully clear, you can be sure that a lot of hard work went into it;

2 - to help train your eye and mind to consider the infographic medium as one that museums could make far better use of in exhibitions; and

3 - to have fun with this, because I find joy in a beautiful in finding new meaning in data, and infographics are a fun way of gaining those insights. I know, I'm weird.

Now, three quick reviews.

1 - The Best American Infographics. My favorite source. This yearbook, edited by Gareth Cook, brings together infographics from across many media, all in one handy book. Yearly. The styles vary widely, and the quantity of data presented also vary widely. For these reasons, when I am struggling to visualize something, I pick these books up first. Citation: Cook, Gareth (ed.). The Best American Infographics. New York: Mariner Books, 2013 - 2016.

2 - Knowledge is Beautiful. All of the infographics in this book are by the author, David McCandless. He does a great job of creating data-rich graphics in ways that are fairly easy to process. I don't tend to pack so many data points in my infographics as he does, but when I need to, this is the book I flip through to think about the best way of presenting it clearly. Citation: McCandless, David. Knowledge is Beautiful. New York: Harper Design, 2014.

3 - Dear Data. I had high hopes for this book. Two graphic designers pick a topic a week for a year, collect data, then visually present it to each other via postcard. As a concept, great. As an inspiration book, not so much. They tried to do too much in their infographics, and trying to decipher them was simply too much work. No inspiration here. Still, a cool project. Skip. Citation:  Lupi, Giorgia, and Posavec, Stefanie. Dear Data. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2016.


If you come across an infographic you think works particularly well, send it my way at susie (at) wilkeningconsulting (dot) com!

    Categories

    All
    About
    Children
    Community
    Curiosity
    Demographics
    Diversity & Inclusion
    Empathy/Pro Social
    Exhibitions And Design
    Health/Wellness
    Impact
    Individuals
    Membership
    Non Museum Experiences
    Philanthropy And Funding
    Planning

    Archives

    May 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    March 2020
    November 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    June 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017
    October 2016
    September 2016

Copyright © 2022 - Wilkening Consulting, LLC
I respectfully acknowledge that I live and work on the lands of the Duwamish people, whose ancestors have lived here for generations. I thank them for their ongoing care of this land, and I endeavor to help museums bring forward a more complete and inclusive history and culture in their work.