Journalism in the Age of Data

Infographics have always been one of my favorite pieces of media.  Most of them are beautifully designed and quite large.  I love working my way through the really large ones.  Without infographics breaking down the information for the average person to understand, the raw information that they present is quite overwhelming.  What impresses me is the ability to research, digest, and present statistics to other people for easier consumption.  Perhaps that is more mind blowing than the ability to present the information in a way that is aesthetically pleasing.  And I think that is the takeaway and concluding statement from this film.

Take Amanda Cox for example.  She is the graphics editor for the New York Times.  But I would not consider her to be a graphic designer; she’s more of a statistician.  And her infographics are widely known.  They are incredibly interactive and data heavy; the audience has the ability to play with so many what-if scenarios.

However, Nigel does present the idea that modern day graphic designers have the ability to make infographics even more appealing through the use of multimedia.  We enjoy being stimulated through multiple senses.  And paper can’t accomplish that.  When I think about my own experiences, I enjoy playing with pie charts, clicking through various graphs and sliders.

Having said that, I still have respect for both parties.  With our current project, it is very difficult to get started.  For one, it’s hard to find agreeable stats from multiple sources.  Designing an appealing infographic is also a challenge because I am just so blown away by the professional’s designs.  It’s really hard putting a bunch of information together and have it be easily understandable.