1. Infographics
by Monica Anderson
Presented to Becker Library
Washington University, St. Louis, MO
October 9, 2013

2. Courtesy of staff at the Research Medical Library at MD Anderson Cancer Center

3. Courtesy of Meggan Frost, Paul Smith’s College

4. • Author: Florence Nightingale. Published in Notes on Matters Affecting the Health, Efficiency, and Hospital Administration of the British Army, 1858
Source:http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/Page3943.asp
-Visual -Content -Knowledge

5. Author: Charles Minard, published 1869.
Source: www.edwardtufte.com / http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Minard.png
“best statistical graphic ever drawn” Edward Tufte

6. “… complex ideas communicated with clarity,
precision, and efficiency …”
“ … gives to the viewer the greatest number
of ideas in the shortest time with the least ink
in the smallest space …”
Tufte, Edward. The Visual Display of Quantitative Information. 2nd ed. 2004
Principles of Graphical Excellence

7. “ … is nearly always multivariate …”
“ … requires telling the truth about the
data.”
Tufte, Edward. The Visual Display of Quantitative Information. 2nd ed. 2004
Graphical excellence

8. Eyes of Arundhati Roy byTW Collins, taken January 11, 2007. http://www.flickr.com/creativecommons/
Vision is our most dominant sense

9. The yellow.ball is

10. Photo by Anthony Easton, 2010.

11. Photo by Sandy Schultz; 2010.
Graphics enhance our visual system’s
ability to see patterns and trends

12. Appeal ∙ Comprehension ∙ Retention
Comprehension ∙ Retention ∙ Appeal
Appeal ∙ Retention ∙ Comprehension

13. Comprehension
Retention Appeal

14. Comprehension
Retention
Appeal
Source: http://videohive.net/item/animated-infographic-promo-template/954010

15. Comprehension
Retention
Appeal
Source: http://www.sailpoint.com/news/img/USA-Today20100913.jpg

16. Embellish or not
to embellish
Nigel Holmes, http://nigelholmes.com/graphic/two-mindsets-stanford-magazine/

17. Nigel Holmes, http://nigelholmes.com/graphic/us-cross-sections-navigator-magazine/
Embellishment:
Power of picture for appeal and retention

18. University of Saskatchewan 2010 study
Standing Guideline: reduce visual
embellishments not essential to
understanding the data.
Is the use of elaborate imagery detrimental to
understanding, as has been proposed?
Does it have other benefits?
Embellish or not to embellish

19. University of Saskatchewan 2010 study
compared embellished charts with plain ones
measured both interpretation accuracy and
long-term recall

20. Created by Nigel Holmes
Nigel Holmes graph vs. plain graph

21. -Accuracy in describing embellished
charts no worse than for plain
-Recall after a two-to-three-week gap
was significantly better
Cautious to recommend
embellishment, but results question
some of the premises of the
minimalist approach to chart design
Bateman, S., Mandryk, R.L., Gutwin, C., Genest, A.M., McDine, D., Brooks, C. 2010. Useful Junk? The Effects of Visual Embellishment on Comprehension
and Memorability of Charts. In ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2010), Atlanta, GA, USA. 2573-2582. Best paper award.
DOI=10.1145/1753326.1753716.

22. Charles Minard, 1869
Embellish or not?
Verdict is still
out

23. Courtesy of staff at the Research Medical Library at MD Anderson Cancer Center
Infographics can be a
very compelling method
for presenting complex
data.

24. Thank you.

25. Bibliography
Publications:
Smiciklas, M. (2012). The power of infographics: Using pictures to
communicate and connect with your audience. Indianapolis, Ind: Que Pub.
Tufte, E. R. (2001). The visual display of quantitative information. Cheshire,
Conn: Graphics Press.
Tufte, E. R. (1997). Visual explanations: Images and quantities, evidence
and narrative. Cheshire, Conn: Graphics Press.
Bateman, S., Mandryk, R.L., Gutwin, C., Genest, A.M., McDine, D., Brooks,
C. 2010. Useful Junk? The Effects of Visual Embellishment on
Comprehension and Memorability of Charts. In ACM Conference on
Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2010), Atlanta, GA, USA.
2573-2582. Best paper award. DOI=10.1145/1753326.1753716.
Websites:
http://spyrestudios.com/the-anatomy-of-an-infographic-5-steps-to-create-a-
powerful-visual/
http://blog.visual.ly/source-code-the-5-rules-of-researching-and-sourcing-
infographics/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infographic#Data_visualization
http://librariandesignshare.org/2012/12/12/infographic-how-our-library-
helps-faculty-publish/

26. Further Reading
Publications:
Holmes, N. (1984). Designer's guide to creating charts & diagrams. New
York: Watson-Guptill Publications.
Holmes, N., & DeNeve, R. (1985). Designing pictorial symbols. New York:
Watson-Guptill Publications.
Holmes, N. (1991). Pictorial maps. New York: Watson-Guptill Publications.
Holmes, N. (1984). Designer's guide to creating charts & diagrams. New
York: Watson-Guptill Publications.
Holmes, N. (2005). Wordless diagrams. New York: Bloomsbury.
Tufte, E. R. (2003). The cognitive style of PowerPoint. Cheshire, Conn:
Graphics Press.
Tufte, E. R. (2006). Beautiful evidence. Cheshire, Conn: Graphics Press.

27. Further Reading
Websites:
http://blog.visual.ly/source-code-the-5-rules-of-researching-and-sourcing-
infographics/
http://www.mastermindblogger.com/2012/17-resources-to-help-you-create-
killer-infographics/
http://djdesignerlab.com/2012/05/02/25-awesome-infographic-designs/
http://www.behance.net/gallery/-Resume-Self-Promotion/3650343
http://www.edwardtufte.com/tufte/index
http://infographiclabs.com/infographic/what-is-an-infographic/
http://www.apma.org/files/images/kyso12_infographic_800.jpg
http://eagereyes.org/criticism/chart-junk-considered-useful-after-all
http://ibreakfast.blogspot.com/2012_10_01_archive.html
http://www.carlislerainey.com/2011/09/24/chart-junk-and-clear-
comparisons-of-data/
http://idratherbewriting.com/2010/11/01/what-is-chartjunk-visual-
imagination-2/