information design – Page 117

Fashion and Instagram

I am an admittedly new user of the social network Instagram. But, for those unaware, it is basically an easy way of sharing visual content, e.g. photographs and videos. So from that you can see how it is a natural medium for the fashion industry. Well a little while ago Quartz looked at how the social network works for the fashion industry on Instagram. Quartz guides you through the piece in nine steps, but allows you to search for specific accounts.

Credit for the piece goes to David Yanofsky and Jenni Avins.

Where the (Disproportionate) Jobs Are

A little while ago, LinkedIn put together a map looking at the disproportionately represented jobs and skills in cities in both the United States and Europe. That is different from the most common jobs but those that are “most uniquely found” in cities.

The unique skills of America's various cities — The unique skills of America’s various cities

Unfortunately the interface is a bit clumsy. For something that is about exploring different cities, I think the small area of the map could be bigger. And the highlighting functionality lags. But the overall idea is interesting.

And on a side note, while graphic design is not specifically covered, I found the list of skills for Chicago surprising. If only because I work as a designer for a company in the market research industry.

Credit for the piece goes to Sohan Murthy.

Why I Became an Information Designer or: Why People Hate Watching Movies with Me

I don’t always watch pop culture. But on those occasions when I do, xkcd basically sums up why I became an information designer.

Reason No. 42 why I became an information designer

Credit for the piece goes to Randall Munroe.

Orion Test Flight

At the time of writing, Orion has yet to launch. But by the time this is published, Orion—NASA’s successor to the space shuttle—will hopefully be at or near the greatest distance from Earth achieved by a spacecraft since the Apollo programme. The Houston Chronicle illustrated the different stages of the unmanned test flight. Hopefully in several years when the programme has its manned flight this blog will still be here and somebody out there will similarly illustrate that mission.

Credit for the piece goes to Ken Ellis.

White (Immigrant) People

This is an old map that saw the light of day a while back. Featured on Vox, the map supports the notion that some white people are whiter than other white people. The map explores immigrant populations. Using a map for spatial arrangement of integrated components, the data looks at immigrants’ ethnic origins, their workforce breakdown, and their recent growth.

A look at PA, my ancestors are in that data set

Credit for the piece goes to FS Howell. (I presume.)

Russians in the Sky

This piece has been sitting for a month, but I still enjoy it. The Washing Post maps out Russian air activity around NATO airspace over a two-day period.

Credit for the piece goes to Gene Thorp.

Habitable Exoplanets

What is out there beyond our solar system? Are there little green men in flying saucers? Or Klingons waging war? The first step in figuring that out is knowing how many planets can be inhabited by life as we know it. This interactive graphic from National Geographic explores just that. And as it turns out, most of the exoplanets we have discovered are not habitable. But a few offer promise. If only we could warp on over and properly explore them.

Credit for the piece goes to John Tomanio and Xaquín G.V.

American College Football Part Deux

A couple of weeks ago I shared a map from the New York Times that looked at American college football programme loyalty. And I quipped that none of it made sense to me as someone born and raised in the Northeast. The New York Times followed that piece up with another that looks solely at Facebook likes of college football via likes for any team. Not surprisingly the sport does not do too well in the Northeast. But it does appear quite popular in other regions of the country.

Credit for the piece goes to Neil Irwin and Kevin Quealy.

Thanksgiving Recipes by State

Today is an American holiday: Thanksgiving. We give thanks that European diseases and military technology allowed us to remove the native population for colonisation of the continent. We do that by watching American football and eating lots and lots of food. For dessert, well, we have dessert. But also gluttonous amounts of shopping. So in that spirit, here is the New York Times’ presentation of Thanksgiving recipes per state. The description is followed by an expandable recipe.

To be fair, I really am a fan of shoofly pie. But that’s just me.

Credit for the piece goes to the New York Times.

The 76ers Are a Terrible Basketball Team

The Philadelphia 76ers are a terrible basketball team. FiveThirtyEight details the deficiencies of the team in this small table. Icons represent characteristics that can be either positive or negative. They are then placed within the table to quickly show how awful the team is. My favourite is the icon for poor player.

Credit for the piece goes to the FiveThirtyEight graphics department.