Given the recent explosion of interest in data
visualization, I’m just assuming you’re all familiar with the
Malofiej World Infographics Summit, which takes place every March in Pamplona, Spain.
Think Cannes Film Festival-meets-Ted-meets-World Economic
Forum--but for infographics. This year’s confab being the 20
th, was
a star-studded affair. Conference mastermind,
Javier Errea, who is president of
SND Spain, programmed two full days of back-to-back presentations. It made for
an exhausting, yet exhilarating event. The roster of presenters, needless to
say, was who’s who of Visual Journalism. (i.e. Nigel Holmes, Jaime Serra, Carl
de Torres, Bryan Christie, Alberto Cairo, and John Grimwade to name a few).
The conference culminated in an awards ceremony for graphics
created during 2011.
The New York Times made its usual sweep, winning six of
the eight Gold Medals awarded and a full one-third of the total 111 “Malos.” (I
doubt “Malo” would go over in Spain as a name for an award, which, come to
think of it, is probably why it’s never been used. I like it, though, in a 90s
hip-hop bad-means-good kind of way.)
Design assignment: Brand this award with a nickname and trophy!
I tried making a
Pin Board of the print winners.
Easier said than done. Many of the graphics are not findable, and often, the
print graphics have very different online versions.
Alas, many winning graphics I was able to locate are not
pinnable (i.e. Nat Geo, South China News). It’s just a bit unfortunate because a
“pin” retains its original-source link, and that provides an opportunity to
experience sites you might not necessarily visit. As it is, a number of the images I’ve linked
to, are posts from other blogs.
“It’s the beauty, stupid” is how I would summarize
Bryan Christie’s message. Beauty, of course, cannot be defined, or taught, but we all
know how powerful it is. Bryan’s epiphany upon seeing Michelangelo’s Pieta in
Rome was that the force with which beauty communicates is not to be ignored by
anyone, let alone an information designer. It has forever changed his work, and
it is a large component of what we find so sublimely compelling about his
anatomical and medical illustration.
Matthew Bloch’s map for the New York Times showing taxi
rides per hour over an entire week in Manhattan involved close to two million
data points and much experimentation.
We were all envious of
Nigel Holmes’s artistic license authorizing
him to “combine pictures and information.” We were also envious of his
grandchildren for whom he makes wonderful toys from found materials.
Much thanks goes to
Professor Michael Stoll who provided an exhibit
of some mouthwatering vintage infographics from his collection. On display, in
addition to large panels of reproductions, were original books and documents. Visit
Michael’s Flickr galleries, at your own risk. Once entering, you might never
emerge.
Euskara fonts
popularized at the end of the 19
th century, with the emergence of
Basque nationalism can be found throughout Pamplona, from the stenciling on
dumpsters to shop and restaurant signage. Read more about Basque typography at
Social Design Notes.
Another graphic feature you’ll see in the city is the
stylized scallop shell signifying that you are on the Camino de Santiago/ Way
of St. James/Chemin de St. Jacques, the pilgrimage route that leads to Santiago
de Compostela in Galicia. Luckily the pilgrimage must be walked on foot, so Shell Oil has no tie-in here.
Model of Pamplona at the city’s Archive.
