Examining How We Measure Our Lives
Commentary, critiques, and observations on information design and data visualisation
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Read on…: Sometimes Small Infographics Are Most Important
This is certainly not the largest, nor the most glamorous infographic. But to drivers in Los Angeles, probably a very useful one. It is a diagram of forthcoming changes to a series of on- and off-ramps to Interstate 405 and Wilshire Boulevard. Simple things like having a dangerous red for the soon-to-be-closed ramps set against the calmer, desaturated colours of…
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Frack You, Gas Hole.
Read on…: Frack You, Gas Hole.And not in the polite Galactica way, but more in the let’s drill you, rocks, and split you open. I could go in further detail about the injection of fracking fluids, but let’s leave the double entendre alone and talk about Marcellus Shale. It’s a layer of rocks in the dirt that contain natural gas. It’s a pain in the…
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It’s Five O’clock Somewhere
Read on…: It’s Five O’clock SomewhereInfographics and interactive pieces need not always be about data. Sometimes they can help you find things far more practical than levels of Canadian defence spending or changing demographics. Sometimes they can help you find new summer cocktail recipes. Like this piece from the New York Times. And if you’re me, you can add the experiments to your running tally…
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I Just Want to Retire
Read on…: I Just Want to RetireI don’t know about you, but I’ve got goals in life. Namely to retire. So thankfully the Economist put together this infographic on retirement age across the OECD (a cool club of rich countries), specifically to look at how retirement ages have changed between 1970 and 2010 alongside life expectancy.
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Canadian Military Spending
Read on…: Canadian Military SpendingCanada is spending more than ever on its military. The question is, to what end? Canada shares a land border with only two countries. And one of them is us… From the National Post comes an infographic looking at the rising expenditures on defence and how it currently ranks in the world. Credit for the piece goes to Tristin Hopper…
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The (Not So) Secret Service
Read on…: The (Not So) Secret ServiceThe Secret Service screwed up not so long ago with the whole hookers in Colombia scandal. (Proof that it pays to pay.) This infographic was passed along to me by my colleague Eileen and it investigates the results of congressional hearings into the Secret Service. Credit for the piece goes to the Onion.