I have (not surprisingly) always been a fan of data visualization, especially in a news context. Personally, I often find the news and their findings to be far too dry for me to enjoy reading about it. In a creative storybook, the author tries to create an in-depth world and interest the reader using language to paint a picture in the reader’s mind. In a news story, the author is attempting to show only the important information without any superfluous elements (also, they often only have a few hours to weave together a story as much as they can). I can sit and read a book for hours, become entrapped in the characters and storyline; I would cry if someone told me to read news stories for hours. I simply find their structure not at all engaging. I do understand the importance of news stories, but I often find myself searching for something more than what a journalist puts on the page.
Enter the infographic! Finally, something that a crazy artist-type can make sense of. I believe that there are a lot of people who, like me, find the news to be tedious and dull to read. In fact, of the three major learning types (visual, auditory, and kinesthetic), reading a news paper addresses none. The case can be made for visual learners, but data visualization clearly trumps the simple words-on-a-page newspaper format.
Data visualization adds a new and exciting element to boring but often very important information. I believe that contemporary data visualization is a pinnacle of modern computer-based design. They are sleek and to-the-point, combining many theoretical elements of art, such as color theory and Gestalt psychology, in a pleasurable way that is accessible to all. When reading a newspaper, the reader is charged with making sense of the data. Infographics allow a designer to think about the hierarchy of information and apply it in a logical sense so that the layman can follow it.
I’m personally very happy to be working on a data visualization project and hope to do more in the future.
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