In the design world, designers are always looking for ways to present information in different and more creative ways. Whether this be for a poster to advertise a new business, or the brand guidelines for a new company to an infographic on the impact of global warming. It may not be the most obviously aspect of being a designer, but data visualisation plays a key role. It is an interdisciplinary speciality that deals with the graphic representation of data by dissecting facts and information and then reformatting it into a more digestible image.
Nicholas Felton is a designer, entrepreneur and artist who focuses on translating daily data into meaningful objects and experiences in his work. He is also the author of a number of annual reports where he condensed the events of the past year into maps, graphs and statistics.
Felton was one of the leading designers of the Facebook timeline and helped with the redesign of the profile. When designing a timeline, the structure must be sound enough to be able to present an entire life, whether that be an exciting, busy life or a simple, quiet one. Felton introduced new design elements which are now common features like the cover photo. He also challenged many of the existing components like colour, typography and map stying.
Creating annual reports is a common design for Felton. Over the course of ten years he was able to document how peoples’ personal data has changed. He based his graphs and charts entirely on commercial application and devices like cars, computers, location, environment, sleep, activity etc. Felton was able to break down the whole years data into two pages. The use of circles was effective as it allowed the space to be filled well and it clearly shows which parts are more popular than the rest. The division of the pages are also very effective as while there is a lot going on in the pages, the reader still doesn’t get overwhelmed as they can take each month/strip individually. Felton’s designs show that even a whole years worth of data can be condensed into a simple two page diagram if the correct design choices are made.
Lisa Mahapatra describes herself as a visualiser of data and data-driven product designer. Her main drive behind her infographics are that she wants to understand how everything works. Not only does she focus on data, but Mahapatra also creates graphics to help others design their own infographics.
It is not always the infographics you would expect, which is visible in her Lost Wallet Experiment. Mahapatra states that simple visualisations can be compelling if they tell a good story. In 2013, she created an infographic for Reader’s Digest after they wanted to see how honest cities would be. The illustration is very simple by comprising of a world map and simple dot category system. It turned out, that one of her most simple visualisations, became the most shared one on social media. The simple dot system of filling in and out is very easy to understand and the use of the ‘traffic light’ system is something that is universally understood. Mahapatra’s work shows that sometimes the simplest solution is the best option. Over-complication of some designs can be their downfall, particularly if it is depicting a large sum of knowledge. A simple title and short explanation was they only larger amount of text that was needed and this shows that the infographic is successful enough to be self explanatory.
