Slide deck to a workshop I gave at Bennington College on how making infographics helps us understand things better

1. The Power of Infographics
Gong Szeto, CAPA Fellow

2. visual communications

3. Cave Painting at Lascaux
17,000 BC
Petroglyphs
10,000 BC

4. Cuneiform
75 AD
Petroglyphs
10,000 BC
Egyptian Hieroglyphs
500 AD

5. Gothic Manuscripts
1150 AD

6. Gothic Manuscripts
1150 AD

7. Columbus’ Voyages
1507

9. Map of Botanical Geography
1856

10. Florence Nightingale
1858

11. Charles Minard’s information graphic of Napoleon’s invasion of Russia
1869

12. Planisphere Celeste
1878

13. Fortune, Richard
Edes Harrison, 1935

14. Fortune, Richard
Edes Harrison, 1938

15. Fortune, Ragan
Assoc, 1940

16. Fortune, Rolf Klep,
1943

17. Fortune, 1964

18. Pioneer 10, 11 Plaque
1972

19. Massimi Vignelli
1972

20. visually communicating

21. Design
Statistics Editorial

22. form, space, color, composition, organization
Design
INFOGRAPHIC
Statistics Editorial
data, evidence, measurement point of view, language

23. 39%!!
“Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet,
consectetur adipiscing elit.
Sed rhoncus, mauris ac
gravida rhoncus, mauris olit
condimentum tellus, vel
elementum enim 39% purus
id nunc. Proin sed urna vel
odio tristique convallis vitae
eu enim. Etiam consequat
ligula felis.”

24. e fish in the sea! Marine life is in danger! We have to
Tacit Knowledge
t! There will be no more fish in the sea! Marine life is
do something about it! There will be no more fish in Explicit Knowledge
s in danger! We have to do something about it! There
n the sea! Marine life is in danger! We have to do
out it! There will be no more fish in the sea! Marine
have to do something about it! There will be no more
e life is in danger! We have to do something about it!
e fish in the sea! Marine life is in danger! We have to
t! 25% There will be no more fish in the sea! Marine
have to do something about it! There will be no more
e life is in danger! We have to do something about it!
e fish in the sea! Marine life is in danger! We have to
t! There will be no more 17,555% fish in the sea!
er! We have to do something about it! There will be
ea! Marine life is in danger! We have to do something
e no more fish in the sea! Marine life is in danger! We
about it! There will be no more fish in the sea!
er! We have to do something about it! There will be
ea! 90% Marine life is in danger! We have to do
here will be no more fish in the sea! Marine life is in
o something about it! There will be no more fish in
s in danger! We have to do something about it! There
n the sea! Marine life is in danger! We have to do
here will be no more fish in the sea! Marine life is in
o something about it! There will be no more fish in
s in danger! We have to do something about it! There
ish in the sea! Marine life is in danger! We have to do Good Magazine
2010
here will be no more fish in the sea! Marine life is in

27. MSFT $25.64

28. MSFT $25.64
Yahoo Finance

29. MSFT $25.64
Yahoo Finance
Trefis

30. Cookingforengineers.com

32. Cookingforengineers.com

33. educating infographically

55. hannah barry’s independent research project
“visualizing community infrastructure in bennington”
(a work in progress)

63. now it’s your turn:
our workshop exercise

65. ✴In 1972, we spent $3 billion a year on fast food - today we spend more than $110 billion
✴McDonald's feeds more than 46 million people a day
✴French fries are the most eaten vegetable in America
✴Only seven items on McDonald's entire menu contain no sugar
✴40% of American meals are eaten outside the home
✴McDonald's represents 43% of total U.S. fast food market
✴McDonald's operates more than 30,000 restaurants in more then 100 countries

71. Constraints:
6 feet tall x 2 feet wide
1 side only
Assume no editorial constraints
Data:
McD Menu
McD Nutrition Info
McD Ingredients Info
US Gov Food Pyramid
Materials:
Newsprint Pad
Post-it Notes
Pens
Time: 30 minutes, Discussion to follow
Tasks:
Come up with a POV
Sketch concepts
Have fun with it! There is no right or wrong solution.