35 Compelling Infographics
Infographics, an abbreviated form of information graphics are a great way for companies to get out information about their products, the overall market, or for individuals to create representations of information. Some would say that they are useless to the people who have no idea what they are trying to represent, but there are many useful ones.
They have been around for quite some time, but have grown recently in popularity as information has become harder to collect and properly analyze. They can be used for literally any purpose, from maps to education, and they can be printed or distributed easily on the web.
In some ways, infographics are “worth a thousand words” like the popular saying. Although they can be rather simple in message, they can also be extremely powerful.
Within this collection, we have highlighted some of the best infographics and designs recently published. It is a “general” collection, and therefore, no general focus has been given. However, you can certainly use it for inspiration for your next graphic design project.
Best Practices of Infographics
Below you’ll find some great examples of infographics that have been created for a wide variety of purposes.
1. Music Retail: The Rise of Digital
A look at the rise of digital downloads and various sales figures involving both formats. Released by Mint.com, a popular personal finance service/infographics distributor.
2. The Boom of Social Sites
Many of us now use various social networking sites, but when did they get started, and which are the most popular. This is a look at some of the most popular sites created since 2005 (with at least a million members), and how quickly they’ve grown.
3. Are We Over the Worst?
A look at recovery and interesting figures associated with it. Many times, infographics are used to represent dollar figures, as they are quite huge and difficult to comprehend.
4. The Most Expensive Cities
Although you may not be able to live in these cities, it is still interesting to learn about how much it costs to buy a car, how much it costs to eat out, and how working hours compare to vacation days.
5. How Long Will Our Resources Last?
New Scientist analyzes how much more time we have left to use the top resources based on current consumption and trends.
6. 389 Years Ago
A typographic journey through more than four centuries of African American history. Created by WallStats.
7. Time Travel in Popular Film and TV
A look at how characters have traveled in time within popular film and TV shows.
8. Cell Size and Scale
Sometimes it is more beneficial to use other technologies to create visualizations. This one, by the University of Utah, shows the relative size of cells to other objects.
9. HGV Counts Along Motorways Compared to 2001
Traffic (both online and physical) can be visualized in unique ways, including the online shown below.
10. 50 Years of Space Exploration
An image/graphic created by the National Geographic Magazine, showing how space exploration has evolved and grown in the past fifty years or so.
11. Distance to the Nearest McDonald’s
A look at how closely built McDonald’s are within the United States.
12. How the Giants of Finance Shark, Then Grew, Under the Financial Crisis
Although you wouldn’t traditionally think of the New York Times as a company that creates infographics, they have created a number of interactive infographic displays, like this one.
13. Glass Half Empty – The Coming Water Wars
Some infographics are simple, while others, like this one, contain more information to absorb the overall picture and message of what is truly going on.
14. Disney World’s Huge Footprint
Thinking about a theme park that comprises of 30,000+ acres is one thing, but then seeing how it is composed is another.
15. Housing and Poverty
Poverty and social exclusion are tightly connected phenomenons – economical conditions often lead to a specific housing and environmental context, as shown in this infographic.
16. Global Emissions
A look at the five highest emitters in each region of the world as of 2007, and whether they’ve increased or decreased their total emissions.
17. Foods that Might Make You Sick
The foods with the highest chances of making people sick. A simpler infographic but with a powerful message.
18. A Visual Guide to Inflation
Another great financial infographic explaining what inflation is in a mostly visual and flow-chart format. Brought to you by Mint and Wall Stats.
19. Up In Smoke – A Look at Smoking in America
Infographics like this one make it easy to see the correlation between laws and pricing, and how they affect (or don’t) the consumer.
20. Web Trend Map 4
Visualizing some of the most visited sites in the world and how they are all connected, this is the fourth version of this particular visualization. It is available as a wall print, too.
21. Fast Food: Calories Per Dollar
Sometimes it pays off to have an infographic handy when choosing what to eat. In this case, you’ll want to head out to either Pizza Hut or Taco Bell (most calories per dollar).
22. How Cities Are Reducing Police Response Times
A good combination of text and graphics have gone to create this infographic, from GOOD Magazine.
23. The Map of the Future
You can even look at what the future may hold through the use of infographics. Image based on a large-format print for the Italian version of WIRED Magazine.
24. Save As/Google
A print version of an infographic showing how people interact with their favorite websites.
25. Flowing Data – Of Poverty and the Unequal Distribution of Wealth
There are dozens of ways to visualize data, and here is just another way, with a “splatter” representing the distribution of values.
26. Interactive Environmental Display
Taking over three months to complete, this is a graphic lightbox covering an area of 5m x 2m, to show how people live with the environment. There is a lot more work involved in making an infographic interactive, compared to just creating one visually and posting it online.
27. FOX International Channels
Most “reports” lack design and are generally dull to look at. This is one that truly works, and can be viewed as a printed version, showing ratings of various programming.
28. Seinfeld: Is Soup a Meal?
Being creative with infographics is key. This is a diagram showing re-occurring themes within the Seinfeld series through nine seasons. It was done on a sheet of perspex.
29. The Most Popular Names
Infographic showing some of the most popular names across 26 European countries.
30. 37 Minute Bus Ride
Infographic/project showing the activities of different groups of people while riding the bus.
31. Global Traffic Map 2008
A visual look at the flow of traffic and information around the world via the Internet.
32. Periodic Table of Typefaces
A sorting and look at some of the most commonly used fonts, similar to how the elements are placed.
33. Who is Coming to America?
A look at the top twenty countries from which people came to America during the year 2008.
34. Nonsensical Infogrpahics
Poking fun at the fact that not all infographics can really be used, these infographics don’t really have a purpose, but are still considered art.
35. Professional Baseball History in the United States
A look back at where baseball started in the U.S., along with the teams. Facts have also been included in this infographic.
Additional Resources
Despite the fact that we’ve created a resource of a good selection of infographics, there are most certainly more available on the web. The resources listed below were used in collecting and writing this post, or also provide further information about infographics.
- Information Graphics
- Diagram Diaries Flickr Set
- Information Aesthetics Blog
- GOOD Magazine – A collection of transparencies.
- Datavisualization
- Flip Flop Fly Ball – Baseball/assorted infographics.
Conclusion
Infographics definitely have a clear purpose, and that is helping people visually understand “boring” figures and information. They integrate images, typography, and overall print design into one image, and they are great from a design perspective in learning how to design posters.
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