So true, although I think the percentage dedicated to organizing and legibility should probably be higher. 
via Cool Infographics
via Cool Infographics Friday, April 9, 2010
Average College Student's Budget
Ahh this chart brings me back to the good ol' days of college. Was it really almost 4 years ago? Eek! 
Student Budget
Student Budget Solar System
After a long hiatus I've finally put together another poster, this time of the planets of the solar system (you can imagine the debate I had with people about whether or not to include Pluto, but ultimately it came down to aesthetics because you could barely see it to scale compared to the other planets. Poor Pluto....). The original concept design was supposed to include almost all of the moons next to their respective planets, but since I really wanted everything to be to scale, I decided to take them out since the vast majority of the moons would simply be tiny specs. There were even a few occasions where I mistook a couple for dust on my screen. So I decided to keep it very clean and very simple, with a little color to distinguish the rockier, warmer inner planets and brighten up what is predominantly a gray poster. Hope you guys like it! 
(Full poster via Zazzle)
(Full poster via Zazzle) Thursday, April 8, 2010
Diagram Pillows
Designer Heather Lin has created some nifty pillows based on textbook diagrams. They come in three themes: geology, botany and biology. So cute! :)
Heather Lins Home (via Boing Boing)
Heather Lins Home (via Boing Boing) Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Maps in Modern Web Design
Smashing Magazine has written up an article discussing the fundamentals of online maps and how interactivity allows the designer to forgo traditional map staples such as legends if you do it right. In their own words: "The expansion of Web technology over the past decade has opened a number of doors to presenting data online. One of the most rapidly improving tools for interactive presentation is the map."
http://awesome.good.is/ecosystem/#/home
Check out the full Smashing Magazine article!
"Interactive maps on the Internet present data most effectively when they invite action from the user. Showing relationships between data is easier when the user has the power to change the visuals. These are advantages that traditional print maps do not have. If a print map is not clear initially, a person can do very little to make sense of it. With online interactive maps, the simple action of moving sliders around reveals relationships between data and content."
Here are some of the more nifty examples of different map navigation styles they provide:http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/interactives/campaign08/election/uscounties.htmlhttp://awesome.good.is/ecosystem/#/home
Check out the full Smashing Magazine article! Monday, April 5, 2010
Different Depictions of the Same Data
Going through the blogs, I noticed an interesting pattern this morning. Over at Information is Beautiful, there was an infographic comparing the size of different countries' militaries. Specifically, it showed the number of active soldiers per 100,000 people of several respective countries. In this infographic, North Korea is huge, with 4,711 active soldiers per citizen. In this light, the U.S.'s military seems pretty small, in 45th place, and China's is even smaller, at 124th place.
This other infographic, from Chart Porn, declares that North Korea has 1.1 million. Even though that's the smallest nominal-size military on the chart, it's put up in huge red highlights above the other countries listed. Nominally, China is now the biggest military in the world and the U.S. is number 2. http://www.onlineschools.org/blog/the-craziest-country-in-the-world/Both charts try to emphasize North Korea's huge military with respect to its population and GDP, but go about it very differently. Personally, despite the use of area to represent 1-dimensional data, the first chart is much better at showing just how ridiculous North Korea's military is compared to the actual size and resources of the country, whereas in the second chart you have to look all over the place to piece together the full picture, and the nominal rankings of the countries is confusing when looked at separately from the rest of the infographic.
This other infographic, from Chart Porn, declares that North Korea has 1.1 million. Even though that's the smallest nominal-size military on the chart, it's put up in huge red highlights above the other countries listed. Nominally, China is now the biggest military in the world and the U.S. is number 2. http://www.onlineschools.org/blog/the-craziest-country-in-the-world/Both charts try to emphasize North Korea's huge military with respect to its population and GDP, but go about it very differently. Personally, despite the use of area to represent 1-dimensional data, the first chart is much better at showing just how ridiculous North Korea's military is compared to the actual size and resources of the country, whereas in the second chart you have to look all over the place to piece together the full picture, and the nominal rankings of the countries is confusing when looked at separately from the rest of the infographic. Taxi Hot Spots in New York City
The New York Times has put out another awesome infographic, this time tracking the average number of pickups at different times of the day over different days of the week. It creates a very interesting pattern that really shows the rush and flow of the city. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/04/02/nyregion/taxi-map.html
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