The Graphics Are The Information

“In designing infographics, applying a graphic style to the information is not nearly as important as giving a graphic form to the actual content.”

Information design is not about making things pretty or attractive or dressing up information that is clear enough in text form. Information design is about transmitting information that cannot be expressed as clearly through text – information about relationships, physical proximity, processes, etc. The classic example is John Snow’s map of a cholera epidemic in London in 1854. It was only by mapping out the incidences of cholera relative to the wells being used that one could see the connection and make the intuitive jump that the well water transmitted cholera.

This point is critical to make so that potential clients for information designers do not think they are simply buying a gussied up version of what they already know. They must understand that what they are buying is information they do not already know. Creating graphic depictions of the information or the content generates new insights and ideas by allowing clients to understand issues visually and spatially.

This is not about making fancy PowerPoint’s with meaningless graphics and creative fonts that do little more than confuse the issue. It is about using visual language to communicate ideas. Fundamentally, it is about the difference between a map and a set of directions. The directions will get you where you want to go but the map gives you options, lets you see context, provides details succinctly, and gives you a sense of the future.