Francesco Franchi gets it right. He has a strong vision for infographics — for data journalism — and he knows that at the foundation is good data and good storytelling.
Francesco Franchi: On Visual Storytelling and New Languages in Journalism from Gestalten on Vimeo
Recently, I’ve been following a discussion on LinkedIn about whether infographics have “tipped” — whether they’ve become so pervasive, so “expected” that designers are sacrificing the purpose for the pretty. This is clearly true. Infographics are everywhere, and many of them are just plain bad. At best they use disconnected and confusing graphical metaphors. At worst they are incomprehensible or have no story to tell.
I like the fun. Infographics don’t have to be serious. I rather like this one on Ramen Noodles. But they should elucidate, not obfuscate.
Anatomy of An Anonymous Attack actually helps users understand the sequence of events. (What a thought?) But this Google Search infographic — though packed full of useful info — is so long and skinny you can’t see what you need!
Infographics have to start with real data, identify the story they want to tell, and not let the pursuit of the pretty prevent them from telling the story. Pretty is not enough.