Author: Brendan Barry

  • Useful Africa

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    Brendan Barry
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    Another rather recent infographic from Le Monde’s Philippe Rekacewicz is this, called Useful Africa. One of the key problems for African development is its lack of infrastructure. Here we see the proposed and under-construction projects that will hopefully raise Africa up from its current state. But the infrastructure is only as good as it is…

  • Beam Me Up, Scotty. Then Pixelate the Pattern Before Rematerialising.

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    Brendan Barry
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    Today is Friday. Behold the awesomeness of Star Trek characters in pixel form, trexels. How many can you identify? I admit, I got a whole bunch. I shall admit no further. Designed by John Martz with Koyama Press. Posting via Flowing Data.

  • Maps Made by Hand (Or Simulations Thereof)

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    Brendan Barry
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    Le Monde is a French-language publication and so I never really bother with it, despite favourable reviews. However, they do have a small site with some content in the English language that I check from time to time. Frequently they have maps or other graphics of some interest, and this time upon visiting—done to see…

  • Little Red (or blue or yellow or light-blue) Riding (neighbour-)Hoods

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    Brendan Barry
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    While not new news, if you have not heard, Canada’s minority government fell and Canada is having an election. And, as we all know, elections mean infographic insanity. Map mania. Graphs galore. You get my drift. The Globe and Mail, a Toronto-based newspaper, printed an infographic about the 50 ridings to watch. (A riding is,…

  • Complex Nigeria

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    Brendan Barry
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    The BBC has a new feature on Nigeria, one of Africa’s most important—and most complicated—countries. And a few days ago it was supposed to hold elections. But these have been postponed, apparently on logistical problems. This piece attempts to explain the complexities of modern Nigeria across several different metrics via maps. Overall, it is very…

  • Japanese Radiation in Perspective

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    Brendan Barry
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    Japan continues to deal with damage from the earthquake and its subsequent tsunami. Yet, much of the news that seems to come out of Japan focuses on the leak of radioactive materials from the Fukushima power station. Certainly that is a story, but is it more important than the tens of thousands of people missing…

  • iPads on eBay

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    Brendan Barry
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    This post comes to us from eBay via cnet. Ebay does a wonderful thing, it fills in the gaps in the marketplace. If you live in, say, the Netherlands, and want something that is available only in the United States, chances are you might find somebody willing to sell it to you from the US.…

  • Pie Charts v Bar Charts, Round…Some Really High Number

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    Brendan Barry
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    Not strictly a commentary on a piece or project, instead, this is a link to an interesting opinion piece about the Great Infographic Debate, i.e., most loosely and least helpfully, substance vs. style, vis-a-vis the use of pie charts and such vs. bar charts. Where does one draw the line between clear communication and, frankly, just…

  • Counting People

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    Brendan Barry
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    The Census Bureau has been releasing state population figures over the past several weeks and one means of accessing those figures is through a small, interactive map feature. Clicking through makes for some interesting observations—although not all states are currently available. In this screenshot, one can see an interesting story. Western Pennsylvania is shrinking whereas…

  • Rule, Britannia

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    Brendan Barry
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    The United Kingdom. England. Britain. All pretty much mean the same thing, right? No. But, if you do not believe me, might I recommend going to Glasgow or Edinburgh and calling a local an Englishman. It may very well be a quick education. Colin Grey attempts to untangle the constitutional and jurisdictional mess in both…