Visualize the World: Inspiration

The World Clock, Or What Time it is in the Different Places of the Earth When it is Noon in Dresden, is from “Alexander von Humboldt's Kosmos,” 1851.

In my last post, I told you about the forthcoming Lonely Planet book of information graphics, “How to Land A Jumbo Jet.” The book intends to be a “visual guide to the world - a collection of cultural and travel-inspired infographics and visualizations of all kinds.” The book's content will be developed from submissions to an open call for infographic and visualization ideas. The project is under the direction of renowned 'graphic explainer,' Nigel Holmes.

As promised, here’s an assortment of travel-related information design, for inspiration …


Fifty years of Exploration, traces the nearly 200 missions launched in a half-century of space travel.
National Geographic Map by Sean McNaughton and Samuel Velasco, 5W Infographics



This dictionary of cultural nuance, “Speak Italian: The Fine Art of the Gesture," by graphic designer Bruno Munari, was first published in 1958. It was re-released by Chronicle Books in 2005.


From 1923, "New and Improved View of the Comparative Heights of the Principal Mountains and Lengths of the Principal Rivers In The World, The whole Judiciously arranged from the various Authorities Extant” Via Natural Selections
Go to "River Deep Mountain High,” on BibliOdyssey for a dozen more examples of this type of info-geo-graphic illustration.



Vintage booklet from Mobil, “DIAL your MILEAGE,” includes a section to record your mileage and offers tips on how to save fuel.


Explained here, by Nigel Holmes, is how the unique choreography of the social kiss varies from country to country. From his book, Wordless Diagrams.


This cutaway of the street below Rockefeller Center, by Emil Lowenstein, appeared in the July, 1939 issue of Fortune, which was devoted entirely to New York City.


Cutaway model by Model by Richard Peduzzi, of the the Garnier's Paris Opéra. Via Oobject


To actually read what the different colors represent in various cultures, you’ll have to view the David McCandless original at his sight, Information is Beautiful. (By the way, his post today includes, and links to, one of the Du Bois charts from AME.)


Promotional infographic for the startup Airbnb, highlights some of the more unusual properties available for short-term rental. Via Co.Design


Snapped this one in San Clemente.


Map of touristiness, based on analysis of photos on Panoramio. Via LA Times


Twelve maps in a case showing the best bicycle routes in the state of Wisconsin. Published in 1897, by The League of American Wheelmen, the maps are keyed to show good, medium, bad, level, hilly, and very hilly roads. An Index map is provided as well. Via the David Rumsey Map Collection


This vintage map (year unknown), shows driving distances between cities in France.

Infographics Contest: Land a Jumbo Jet with Nigel Holmes

The folks at Lonely Planet are publishing ‘How to Land a Jumbo Jet,’ which they describe as a “visual guide to the world - a collection of cultural and travel-inspired infographics and visualisations of all kinds.”

And they want you to be in it. They are asking for submissions of ideas for visualizations from which they will commission content for the book.

Okay, there are plenty of infographics “contests” out there which are usually nothing more than clever, but thinly disguised attempts at getting free content from eager, creative, workaholics. But this is the real deal. The selected work will not end up on a web gallery, but printed on a full spread in a published book.

You will be paid for material to be published, and directed through the development and production of the graphic by infographics guru, Nigel Holmes. Getting paid to have Nigel work with you—I don’t think you can do any better than that.

Here's what they're looking for:

We want infographics that illuminate, entertain and inform. We want them to be great examples of information design, and we want the information in them to be true and for them to have a good degree of integrity. That doesn't mean they can't be light-hearted though!

They don't need to be about travel per se, they just need to provide an insight into the world from the perspective of a traveller. So it's not just a case of planes, trains & automobiles ... (Though it could be!)

How to submit an entry:

If you have an idea that you think would make a great infographic or visualisation for our book, read this section on submitting an idea, then simply email us with your submission.

Your idea doesn't haven't to be complete - sketches, mock-ups or even a written pitch for your concept are fine, just make sure you've read the project terms.

Start thinking!

Not sure what to create your graphic about?
-Visualise cultural faux pas for a particular country
-Show classic souvenirs from around the world
-Compare the popularity of chilli in a local cuisine with the happiness index of that culture.
-How about a world map featuring hotspots of tourism activity at Christmas time
Check out this infographic from David McCandless on reducing your odds of dying in a plane crash.

Stay tuned, my next post will be some visual inspiration for all info-jetsetters ...

Good Luck!

Black History Charts, 1900

The stunning charts you see here were hand drawn and colored at the turn of the 19th century, by Sociology students at Atlanta University (now Clark Atlanta University). Their professor at the time, African American activist W.E.B. Du Bois, was organizing the upcoming “American Negro” exhibit for the 1900 Exposition Universelle in Paris.

Over 60 charts and maps, along with specially commissioned photographs were prepared for The Georgia Negro Exhibit, which was part of the larger display. Only three of these infographics are available in color from the Library of Congress. Click on them to view them larger. There are black and white reproductions of the entire group (see selection below), at the extensive online archive created by Professor Eugene F. Provenzo, Jr., of the University of Miami. There, you will find an enormous amount of information and visual material pertaining to this important historic exhibit.




The following excerpts from Professor Provenzo’s site offer more detail about the information graphics.

Du Boise described the project in his autobiography:
In 1900 came a significant occurrence which not until lately have I set in its proper place in my life. I had been for over nine years studying the American Negro problem. The result had been significant because of its unusual nature and not for its positive accomplishment. I wanted to set down its aim and method in some outstanding way which would bring my work to the notice of the thinking world. The great World's Fair at Paris was being planned and I thought I might put my findings into plans, charts and figures, so one might see what we were trying to accomplish. I got a couple of my best students and put a series of facts into charts: the size and growth of the Negro American group; its division by age and sex; its distribution, education and occupations; its books and periodicals. We made a most interesting set of drawings, limned on pasteboard cards about a yard square and mounted on a number of moveable standards.

From an official report provided to the Exposition:
Finally should be mentioned the results of the special studies carried out by Professor Du Bois. These consisted of a series of charts showing the condition of the colored race in the State of Georgia. This State was selected as being the one with the largest negro population. These charts showed first the general distribution of the negro race in all parts of the world, then the distribution in the United States by States, and finally the conditions in Georgia in great detail. These latter charts indicated the growth of the negro population in the State by decades; its relative increase in comparison with that of the white race; migration to and from the State; the distribution of the negroes according to age, sex, and conjugal condition; the occupations of the negroes; the number who could read and write; the value of the property owned by negroes; the number of acres owned by them or being cultivated by them as owners or tenants; the value of farm implements, horses, and stock owned, etc.

The variety and inventiveness of charting devices used, is quite impressive, especially for undergraduate Sociology students in 1900. Unfortunately, the quality of reproduction is not very good. I’ve uploaded the files here, as I found them. Some will enlarge when clicked, and some won’t. Once again, to view the entire series go here.

Fortune's Glorious Infographic Past

At long last, the article I wrote for Print based on my lecture about the amazing infographics Fortune published during the first half (1930-1970) of its 80-year existence.

A number of years ago, I was invited to give a presentation at Malofiej, the Society of News Design's worldwide infographics conference held each year in Pamplona, Spain. At the time, I was Fortune’s graphics editor and had always wanted an excuse to subject myself to going through every issue of the magazine and document its use of charts, diagrams, maps, etc. Talk about falling down the rabbit hole! Of the few hundred images I collected, some 80 went into the presentation, and 18 of those appear in this article.

I still like to imagine that I will do the book one of these days, but size is a real issue. Unlike the early spectacular Fortune covers that are legible even when reproduced as thumbnails (there weren’t even cover-lines in those days), the infographics are often readable only at the original print size. Each page was 11" by 14" in the early days, and many graphics ran as full spreads and with tiny labels. Sumptuous and gorgeous, but not very iPhone-friendly, or even iPad-friendly for that matter. I just can’t see an 8" by 10" format doing justice to the ‘Financial Irrigation of the United States’ (second spread, below), and I’m not sure I can handle being laughed out of the office of any publisher still in business. The research (most of it) is done ...


The body text should be readable when you click on the pages to enlarge.

Sarah Illenberger's Infographics

Berlin, Stadtansichten Magazin

Berlin-based Sarah Illenberger is well know for her use of humble materials—paper, styrofoam, cold cuts, etc.—for illustrative purposes. Since posting a piece she did for The New York Times Magazine, I’ve been wanting to show some of her infographics, which display the same inventiveness with imagery and materials. Though her work is often admired for its meticulous handwork and attention to detail (see recent project, smart fortwo), Illenberger’s approach to data/info display demonstrates that her true skill lies not in her hands, but in her mind. They are refreshing examples of infographic possibilities that exist beyond the computer.

Dresden, Neuland


Sex Survey, Neon

How many people have you slept with?

Have you ever paid for sex?
What is your sexual orientation?
How many times a month do you look at pornographic sites on the internet?


Knitted Organs, SZ


Love these "alternative" 3D models. (Good to keep in mind for when Bryan Christie isn’t available.)

Berlei Type Indicator

In 1926, Berlei Ltd. of Australia embarked on the ambitious project of measuring 6000 women. 23 individual measurements were recorded for each subject. The purpose of this historic anthropometric study? None other than to achieve proper fit for the corsets they manufactured. It seems that in the years between lace-up corsets and advances in stretch textiles, foundation garments contained only small strips of elastic for give. With little room for error, construction for proper fit was a tricky business. The study resulted in a classification system of five basic body types and a patented nomogram—a calculating device, with which to identify the body type of any woman’s figure.


The Powerhouse Museum archive explains: “The chart featured a moveable disc for indicating bust measurement and a moveable pointer for indicating waist measurement. Hip measurement sizes were printed on the border surrounding the moveable disc. An instruction sheet with illustrations was pasted onto the back of the chart…”

The exact body types and the colors of the device varied slightly over the years, but the Berlei fitting system set a standard for the industry and remained in use for some 30 years.