Top 6 Successful Authors of Infographic Books Worth Following in the Year 2017
In the world of data, numbers can often seem overwhelming and complex. However, with the right approach, data can be transformed into engaging, accessible, and actionable narratives that improve comprehension and drive informed decisions.
Key figures in the field of data visualization, such as Gareth Cook, Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic, Nathan Yau, and Alberto Cairo, advocate for simplifying complexity, knowing your audience, building a clear narrative, and using visual elements that highlight key insights and patterns.
Gareth Cook, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and contributing writer to the New York Times, believes that infographics act as a "cognitive prosthetic" that helps us process information. His selection of infographics includes intriguing interactive visualizations and simple but revealing infographics, making even the driest subjects palatable. Cook's work is popular in newsrooms exploring complex issues in politics, environment, science, and public health in an unbiased manner.
Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic, a mathematician who combines storytelling with data analysis, believes in using visual cues to draw attention to specific details in charts. Her approach to data visualization is more accessible and pragmatic, focusing on effectively communicating the key message. Her popular blog, Storytelling with Data, offers practical lessons on data visualization, and her book, "Storytelling with Data: A Data Visualization Guide for Business Professionals," is a best-seller.
Nathan Yau, the creator of the popular dataviz blog, F flowingdata, advocates a flexible approach to data, rather than adhering to conventional principles in chart creation. His visualizations explore less-trodden waters in the business-oriented dataviz world, such as how we will die and how we spend our time.
Alberto Cairo, a professor of visual journalism at the University of Miami's School of Communication, notes that the tools for producing complex dataviz work are becoming cheaper and more accessible. He advises having good information: not information that pushes your agenda but that has the potential to improve people's lives. Cairo authored the best-selling infographic book "The Functional Art."
Steven Heller, who was the art director at the New York Times for over 30 years, co-authored the book "Infographic Designers' Sketchbooks" to take a peek at the creative process behind the transformation of raw data into visuals. He sees infographics as a "groundswell," a means of "helping people understand or at least navigate through the swell of information."
To effectively use data visualization for telling compelling stories and improving audience understanding of complex information, it is crucial to define the audience and purpose clearly before creating visualizations, tailoring the story complexity and detail to their knowledge and needs. Simplify complex data by transforming raw numbers into clear, concise visuals like charts, heatmaps, sparklines, or conditional formatting that emphasize important trends and anomalies. Structure your story with a narrative arc: introduce the problem, show insights, and lead to a solution or action—this helps maintain engagement and clarity. Use titles, labels, and annotations to provide context and highlight the most relevant points so viewers know what to focus on and why it matters. Focus on one main message per visualization to avoid clutter and confusion, keeping visuals clean and straightforward. Leverage visualization to discover and reveal hidden patterns or outliers in data, thereby supporting deeper insights and decision-making. Always start from reliable and accurate data to ensure your story is trustworthy and compelling.
In practical terms, techniques like conditional formatting and sparklines in Excel can visually encode trends and key metrics directly alongside raw data for immediate insight. Using charts (bar, line, pie) with clear contextual explanations makes data accessible and actionable for both expert and non-expert audiences.
Overall, effective data visualization as part of storytelling transforms overwhelming numerical data into engaging, accessible, and actionable narratives that improve comprehension and drive informed decisions.
- In the realm of pop-culture, key figures in data visualization are recognized for their ability to simplify complex information, a sentiment shared by celebrities who use infographics as a "cognitive prosthetic" to process details effectively, such as Gareth Cook, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist.
- For those with an interest in fashion-and-beauty, Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic's approach to data visualization emphasizes the use of visual cues to draw attention to specific details in charts, making data more accessible and practical, much like how one might highlight key trends in the evolving world of beauty products.
- In the domain of lifestyle and entertainment, best-selling books like Steven Heller's "Infographic Designers' Sketchbooks" offer insights into the creative process behind transforming raw data into engaging visuals, just as one might delve into the behind-the-scenes stories of their favorite celebrities.
