Visualizing Data

(Images by Otl Aicher for the XXth Olympic Games, 1967-1972)

I began this blog in honor of being selected as an offical speaker for TEDXZagreb in 2010.  It was such a special experience and the common thread is that people who think for the next generation get together and share whether they are speakers, participants, organizers or volunteers.  TED is a part of all the classes I teach and so is this blog.

The inspiration for this blog is that last rite of passage of my doctoral dissertation that is organizing and sharing all the data I have collected physically, electronically and now presenting so others can understand and use it.  My original title was Understanding Social Entrepreneurship in Croatia and I turned it into Visualizing Social Entrepreneurship in Croatia about 6 months ago.  I got brave enough to fully embrace mindmaps, infographics and push their scientific application that simplifies the complex and requires quite an immense amount of reflection and clarity.

Today, I wondered how to relay the importance of the visual elements to the storytelling nature of my qualitative dominant research.  Through my search I discovered that the infographics trend began as an attempt by the Olympic games to better organize and communicate to athletes, coaches, organizers and spectators.  While they started as "pictograms" at the London Games 1948, their advancement took of at the Tokyo Games of 1964, they evolved through experiment in Mexico in 1968 and finally reached a critical appeal point at the 1972 Olympic Games.  With the awareness of the Olympic games and the number of countries involved the interest in using visuals to inform and communicate accelerated.

Today, infographics have been mainstreamed because the information overload through satelite, cable, wireless, online software and hardware devices needs help directing the consumers to what's important and why fast.  Infographics are used to illustrate and inform in one image and text visual with many symbolic elements in an eye appealing way.  Some examples include static information or can even be set in motion to show dynamic change over time and space like the work of TED alums Hans Rosling, David McCandless, JoAnn Kuchera-Morin and Anders Ynnerman.  The application of visualizing data crosses borders and fields of far ranging interests.

Resources:

Moss, L. (n.d.). Visual Data. Retrieved from http://www.scoop.it/t/visual-data/p/1473462724/openstreetmap-overlays-turn-digital-maps-into-watercolors

Munich Organizing Committee. (1972). Die Spiele: The official report of the Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXth Olympiad Munich 1972. Munich: pro Sport Munchen.

Popovic, J. J. (n.d.). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://1stmuse.com/pictograms/

The Wondrous.com Design Magazine. (2012, March 20). 12 Inspirational Infog

raphic Designs. Retrieved March 31, 2012, from TheWondrous Design Magazine: http://thewondrous.com/12-inspirational-infographic-designs/