omnia mea mecum fero

Let’s be honest, we don’t like to read big pieces of text. Text-heavy graphs are rather difficult for understanding, especially when dealing with numbers and statistics. That is why illustrations and flowcharts are often used for such kind of information.

An infographic, or a visual representation of study or data, like anything else, can be done right or wrong. How to create a successful infographic? A good idea and a good design.

Stop by the link for more on what defines an infographic, what contributes to its popularity, as well as the various types of infographics and references for tutorials and best practices.

Additional topics covered include:

The major parts of an infographic How to create an infographic Developing ideas & organizing data Research & sources Typography, graphics & color Facts & conclusions Designing & Editing

In this graphic by the Tree of Life web project and designer Leonard Eisenberg, we see all 3.5 billion years of life on earth evolving, not through limbs and timelines, but an elegant rainbow swirl. It’s as if our whole history is a colorful bunch of balloons, all tying back to bacteria.

As you look at the graphic, realize that time radiates outward and each kingdom’s appearance is also in chronological order from left to right. What you’ll discern then is a story of origins and mass extinctions, the way life almost bided its time through the Ice Age then hit the gas through the Cambrian Explosion. It was here when the protostomes (everything from trilobites to squids) simply went nuts, and the separation of plants vs. animals as we know them arose...

Visit the article to learn more about the graphic that visualizes the history of the world...

Robin Good: Here is a curated collection of "libraries for plotting data on maps, frameworks for creating charts, graphs and diagrams and tools to simplify the handling of data" to create interactive and dynamic data visualizations.

Useful. 8/10

Collection: http://datavisualization.ch/tools/selected-tools/

This map of all the world's recorded earthquakes between 1898 and 2003 is stunning. As you might expect, it also creates a brilliant outline of the plates of the Earth's crust—especially the infamous "Ring of Fire" around the Pacific Plate.

The plate boundaries are amazingly vivid in this geovisualization of the all the earthquakes over  a 105 year span.  How did scientist orginally come up with the theory of plate tectonics?  How did spatial thinking and mapping play a role in that scientific endeavor?

The point is to show how advances in imaging and data visualization technologies enable inter-disciplinary research which just a decade ago would have been impossible to conduct. There is also a somewhat artistic quality to these images, which reinforces the notion of data visualization being both art and science.

CONNECTOME: http://www.scoop.it/t/science-news?tag=connectome

In this new RSA Animate, Manuel Lima, senior UX design lead at Microsoft Bing, explores the power of network visualisation to help navigate our complex modern world. Taken from a lecture given by Manuel Lima as part of the RSA's free public events programme.

Via: http://www.scoop.it/t/newmediainschool/p/1832595210/manuel-lima-visualizes-knowledge-in-our-interconnected-world-in-a-brand-new-rsa-animated-video

This visualization reveals the freshwater stores that NASA’s GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) satellite detects from space and shows how that data can be used to evaluate groundwater gains and losses, critical information in the effort to conserve the water that people depend upon

Let’s be honest, we don’t like to read big pieces of text. Text-heavy graphs are rather difficult for understanding, especially when dealing with numbers and statistics. That is why illustrations and flowcharts are often used for such kind of information.

An infographic, or a visual representation of study or data, like anything else, can be done right or wrong. How to create a successful infographic? A good idea and a good design.

Stop by the link for more on what defines an infographic, what contributes to its popularity, as well as the various types of infographics and references for tutorials and best practices.

Additional topics covered include:

Simon Raper at Drunks & Lampposts has composed a data visualization of the relations of influence among philosophers.

Read more:

http://www.openculture.com/2012/07/the_history_of_philosophy_visualized.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29

This map of all the world's recorded earthquakes between 1898 and 2003 is stunning. As you might expect, it also creates a brilliant outline of the plates of the Earth's crust—especially the infamous "Ring of Fire" around the Pacific Plate.

The plate boundaries are amazingly vivid in this geovisualization of the all the earthquakes over  a 105 year span.  How did scientist orginally come up with the theory of plate tectonics?  How did spatial thinking and mapping play a role in that scientific endeavor?

Of course, the number of digits in π is infinite, but over the years, as computers have become more powerful, we know many more of them than ever before. But it’s one thing to say that I can download trillions of digits of π and another to make some sort of sense out of all of these digits. Into this steps a team of researchers from Australia, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and Simon Fraser University with some elegant visualizations of π. In a recent paper, they used a classic method of visualizing large strings of numbers: the random walk.

More on "Pi": http://www.scoop.it/t/science-news?tag=pi

When I meet with people and talk about our work, I get asked a lot what technology we use to create interactive and dynamic data visualizations.

At Interactive Things, we have a set of preferred libraries, applications and services that we use regularly in our work. We will select the most fitting tool for the job depending on the requirements of the project. Sometimes a really simple tool is all you need to create something meaningful. On other occasions, a more multifaceted repertoire is needed. But how does one choose the right thing to use? An endless list of every tool available, does not answer that question and a recommendation from a friend is oftentimes more valuable.

That’s why we have put together a selection of tools that we use the most and that we enjoy working with. We called it selection.datavisualization.ch. It includes libraries for plotting data on maps, frameworks for creating charts, graphs and diagrams and tools to simplify the handling of data. Even if you’re not into programming, you’ll find applications that can be used without writing one single line of code. We will keep this list as a living repository and add / remove things as technology develops...

Visual thinking is an approach that uses art to develop critical thinking, communication and visual literacy skills. Incorporating sketching and visual note-taking skills for meeting facilitation in real time instead of using PowerPoint presentations is an effective way to solve problems, articulate ideas and communicate with clients and team members.

The picture up top is adapted from a rather simple but effective piece of data visualization, created by the folks at design studio TWO-N, which represents the first four-million digits of Pi in a brilliant mess of interactive pointillism.

Other stories about PI: http://www.scoop.it/t/science-news?tag=pi