Nate Garvis has an thought provoking blogpost on infographics as a “new language for our new world”. In the post he examines the impact infographics can make in the construction of a good story – in terms of aggregating information to construct a narrative:
An infographic presents a visual landscape of the story being told. The language used in an infographic is nearly universal, as while not everyone can relate to numbers for instance, everyone with sight can interpret shapes and arrows and bubbles. This type of story construction is compelling, what with the stunning graphics and the stories within the story, but it also helps the readers (or viewers) understand the story better. In other words, an infographic is more than just a pretty picture – it is a narrative with context and as such it holds that much more power and impact.
He references a Fast Co Design article Why “Infographic Thinking” Is The Future, Not A Fad, in which visual designer Francesco Franchi, explains how technology is changing the language of design. He outlines his thoughts on “infographic thinking” and “visual journalism” as a narrative language – “representation plus interpretation to develop an idea”.
From the FastCo Design article:
He talks about “the nonlinearity of reading” an infographic, which is something that can set a true example of the form apart from its faddish imitators. Infographics aren’t like Powerpoint presentations — they don’t have to be one-dimensional. In the hands of a Fathom or a Felton, even a static infographic can feel immersive and interactive because of the way it offers multiple paths for discovering stories.
Francesco Franchi: On Visual Storytelling and New Languages in Journalism from Gestalten on Vimeo.
In the video above he also stresses the importance of content as a platform upon which ideas must rest:
If we do not have content we do not have design, You have to be informative, but at the same time entertain the reader.
To see more of Francesco Franchi’s work check click here.
Infographics