From Report to Infographic
After crafting many, many reports in the last few months, a simple realization dawned on me today. Reports are just a collection of number, raw data if you will. What to make of it, is up to the beholder. But as with the difference between bad powerpoints and good keynotes, it doesn’t have to end there.
More sophisticated reports - I tend to call them summaries - are data put into perspective, with emphasis on the important bits an pieces. Kinda like a well edited layout isn’t just words, but words that convey meaning through their appearance.
The next level I call Infographics. Not only is data presented in a interesting and easily digestible way, it also adds something more to it. It enhances the basis and delivers insight beyond the obvious.
Nowadays, I keep thinking that with everything going on (HTML5 & Canvas, CSS3 & Transformations, JS & Animations) Infographics can be even more. Think interactive, imagine scales and perspectives that can be changed in real time. Not only revealing new insights at every change, but also creating insights out of the interaction.
Thus seemingly simple constructs, originating from raw data, can become vastly more and true time-savers to understanding stuff.
I’ve been thinking about a “Everyday Information Architecture” course for some time now, and I believe understanding how to come from raw data to insight creating information - as in e.g. expressed by infographics - will be an integral part of it.
