McCandless set out to explore how to visualise information and ideas using both old and new methods, with the aim of making the results “approachable and beautiful.” The subjects are ones he found interesting and wanted to discover more about but, instead of relaying facts and figures, he decided to concentrate “…on the relationship between facts, the context, the connections that make information meaningful.”
The result is fantastic. Every page is impactful and dynamic. McCandless has filled them with shapes, silhouettes and amusing illustrations and thoughts, yet it’s still organised and easy to take in. Colour, typefaces and space have been skillfully used to break up the layout resulting in engaging diagrams. The subjects are fantastic, ranging from “Types of facial hair” to “Internet Virals.”
I admire McCandless because there is an unbelievable variety of ideas, each one different to the one before it. His use of colour and layout could be helpful towards my dissertation, as I’m also considering these two topics for my dissertation.
'Information is beautiful' is an amusing read and a great source of inspiration. I would definitely recommend it to anyone.
Through the use of this beautiful illustration McCandless has made complex topics less intimidating and more easy for people to grasp and remember. I mean I'd love any designer that could help me understand facts and figures. Maybe we should start commissioning designers to make school text books because I may have remembered the Carbon Dioxide cycle if the diagram looked like that (above).
ReplyDeleteThe designs are simple and uncluttered and make the information they are displaying much more inviting.
If you like this idea of explaining information and theories through graphics then you might like the book 'Visual Aid' by Draught Associates that illustrates all that stuff you just didn't get round to learning...