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Bests of 2008: Juanjo Cholbi picks

Posted: January 6th, 2009, 6:38pm PST by CHIQUI ESTEBAN

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Please forgive me for these days of inactive blog... but life in holiydays is that way...

Juanjo Cholbi is infographics journalist (and much more things) at the regional spanish newspaper Levante-EMV. He has chosen these as his favourite graphics of the year:

1. Mandioca Wichi

Perfect example of the latinamerican infographic style. I thinks this one is from 2007, but enters in the contest anyway.

2. Democratic primaries

Race for the democratic primaries. As the last example, I don't know where was it published, so I'll thank any clue.

3.Iraq war victims. The New Yok Times

This graphic was already commented on this blog and was published on the opinion pags of the Grey Lady just on year ago.

And these are the graphics Cholbi chooses as the best of his job the last year.

1. Potato year

2. El Pateller. From myth to reality

3. Aircraft carrier Juan Carlos I

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Bests of 2008: Pedro Jiménez picks

Posted: December 31st, 2008, 9:06am PST by CHIQUI ESTEBAN

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Pedro Jiménez, infogrgraphic journalist at El Mundo on its Valencia edition make his picks for the bet graphics of the year:

1. Berlin Water System. Infografik KircherBurkhardt

2. LHC. Clarín
Vanina Sánchez, Hugo Vasiliev, Pablo Loscri y Guillermo Milla

3. Magallanes pengüin (Clarín)

And these are his three choices as his own three bests graphics of the year:

1. F-1 circuit of Valencia

2. Volvo Ocean Race

3. How to make a Christmas greeting

If you want to participate, read this.

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Bests of 2008: Freddy Fiallos Calderón picks

Posted: December 30th, 2008, 9:07am PST by CHIQUI ESTEBAN

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Freddy Fiallos Calderón is a young infographics journalist at the ecuatorian daily El Telégrafo and writes along with his colleagues the blog Nacional Telegraphic.
These are the graphics he has chosen as the bests of 2008:

1. Noah's Arc of the 21st century. elmundo.es
Emilio Amade

Access the online graphic

2. Olympic venues. Golden Section Graphics

3.Millionaires by continents and countries. National Geographic en Español
Olliber Uberti, Zach Ferriola-Bruckenstein

And these has been the graphics chosen as his own three bests one of the year.

1. The ecuatorian tradition of puppets and frecrackers

2. Crabcatchers

3. The bull's agony

If you want t participate, here you are what yu've got to do.

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Bests of 2008

Posted: December 29th, 2008, 8:50am PST by CHIQUI ESTEBAN

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UPDATED 12/29 at 15.17 h (spanish time)
End of year means recopilations. That's a fact about this kind of holydays: we like traditions.
So, I encourage you, readers of Infographics News (or its spanish version Infografistas.com) to participate on one double faced recopilation: send me which are in your opinion the three best infographics of the year, print or online. If you can't have access to them, you can send just three very good graphics made at 2008. You can´t send your own works. Why? Because the second part consists on sending your own best three graphics of the year.
There's no obligation to participate on both categories.
If the initative is succesful and we get a good number of examples, we can also vote the top three among the graphics sent.
As you send the graphics I will upload them on the blog. If you want to comment why you picked them, much better!
Happy Holidays everyone!

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How did the crisis come? The multimedia side

Posted: December 26th, 2008, 6:56pm PST by CHIQUI ESTEBAN

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The credit crunch starred the news of the end of 2008 and will be also the star of the media at 2009. Some days ago, I published here the explanation by Mint. Today it's time for the audiovisual cases.

Matías Cortina
The former online infographic journalist at ELPAIS.com works now as freelance and made this online graphic to explain the crash. Sorry, it's in spanish.

Xplane
The agency created this video to make the crisis easy to understand.

And, as usual, any explanation of the crisis (explanations, not just yuxtaposition of data), please send them.

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Save the Children map

Posted: December 21st, 2008, 11:47pm PST by CHIQUI ESTEBAN

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Jonas Dagson, legend of the swedish infographics (and still working) send me this map ellaborated for the swedish 'Save the Children'. The legend, as he translated, because my swedish is not fluent (I just know how to say hello, thanks and some meals) you could read 'Children's Worldmap'

It just show the places where spanking is forbidden, whch only happens in 24 countries. A very powerful idea.

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Infographics and journalism

Posted: December 18th, 2008, 9:20pm PST by CHIQUI ESTEBAN

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I read on the spanish blog Así no son las cosas a recopilation of ten tips to do true journalism. They're all also useful for infographics, as infographics are journalistic pieces. The tips on bold, comments made be myself.

1. To have the best sources is and always will be the key
On graphics, which usually are more explanations than news, those sources are the data and the documentation. A graphic with good data and good information has more than half of the way walked.

2. You must know you'll be copied in 10 minutes time: offer more and more, step by step
Infographics are also that. A way to give context, some little data worth a spread.

This grahics about the Txalupa (a basque ship) by Fernando G. Baptista has the usual impressive illustrations, but the little details give the graphic a great one.

3. Write a blog, talk in Twitter, make photos, but, above all, show what you read, who you are
Well, this point may be difficult to export to specific graphics, it's essential for online communication, but just on general journalism.

4. Your readers don't want just you to tell them things, they look for recommendations also: link and comment
This is the reason why indicating the sources is very important. Also little pieces on where to find more information about the topic. It adds value to the graphic.

5. Make mistakes, learn to rectify
As anywhere in life...

6. Don't wait, search
Infographics departments must be proactive. You can't stay seated on your place waiting for the other sections to give you what you have to do on the day. Infographics departments must offer topics and graphics to the other departments. Propose, think, go where the information happens... Work as any other department, not as a service. This maybe one of the most important tips.

7. Seize the work of others, tell it's not yours and use it
If you make clear where you take the information from, is good to seize it and offer it. Meanwhile you tell the truth, is good to give your reader the best you can.

TRANSLATION: Data obtained from a graphic by The New York Times ellaborated with data from NASA.

8. The automatic works, but a good editor always gives a lot to the information
You must not be a mere translator of data into charts or any kind of graphics. Always try to add value to the information, to go a step further, to turn data into information.

9. If you don't have exclusive information, edit: photos, context... everything that would make a better reading
If you know everybody is going to have the same information the next day yu must go a step further. Try original ways of explain things. As somebody I don't remember used to say: The important is not the one who publish the information, the important is the one that gives the information on the good way.

10. Can yu go to the street with good equipment? Go. You can't? make good web researching
Infographics department can't be attached to the chair. They must go to the streets also, where information is, where news happen. If you can't for any reason, it's not enough just to google. Search the web as the journalist you must be, not as a common user. And use the phone also.

11. Don't just attend to press conferences, the interesting things are always outside
The press conferences of infographics are the press releases: informs with a lot of graphics already done. It's not enough for a good graphic, it's just the first step. Go further, go further, go further.

12. Friends are there to help you, seize them but compensate them
Ok, the translation of this tip for graphics could be this: You have a friend who is a doctor? Send him the graphic of the lung cancer you're doing to check that everything's allright. Maybe you're graphic is a little complicated? Show it to your mom (the best and fiercest critic you can have) or just someone who doesn't know anything about the topic.

13. Never lie or exaggerate if it's not necessary: let the reality spoil a good headline
I think you never need to lie. Keep the real scales on charts. If someone catches us lying they won't never trust us.

14. There are thousands as you. Which is your difference? Use it
Is the basis of all what we've told before.

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Three details from 2008

Posted: December 18th, 2008, 8:55am PST by CHIQUI ESTEBAN

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These are three details that called my attention this year. Of course, I'm forgetting a lot, so I encourge yu to comment, suggest some and remind me others.

Matt Haney,great ideas, great journalism

The topic can't be clsest to the reader and the explanation clearest. It's not 'exotic', not on the trend of visualizatin data, not spectacular, but the reader will appreciate them.

Maybe the style won't call your attention, maybe he's not inventing a visualization methd, but explains the information on a way very close to reader. They take the data and really explain them. Real explanations.

Houston, we've got a problem. One bar is growing and growing to the sky. Shall we cut it? No, the infrmation is precisely the terrific size of the bar.

Germany, mother of the infographics bussiness
Germany has two infographics studios at a very high level. Golden Section Graphics and Infografik KircherBurkhardt are developing really good infgraphics.

Berlin water system, by IKB

Golden Section, Jan Schowchow's bussiness, made this double spread for Pekín 2008

NYTimes.com are just better than themselves
They have nobody above them, so the only fight they have to win is against themselves, against relax. And they're winning it also. They do marvelous graphics like this one, where they encourage the reader to tell how they feel at the USA election night. And you can sort the results by the candidate they support or by time. Click here to access the online version

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How did this crisis come?

Posted: December 17th, 2008, 8:45am PST by CHIQUI ESTEBAN

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Mint explains it its way

Thanks to Mario Tascónfor the link.

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Heraldo de Aragon loses all its infographics journalists

Posted: December 13th, 2008, 1:00pm PST by CHIQUI ESTEBAN

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Trafalgar explained by Alberto Aragón

Luis Grañena and Alberto Aragón (Mandrake) have left Heraldo de Aragón,one of the big regional spanish newspapers, to start a new adventure with their new bussiness.
Grañena and Aragón are well known by their graphics, and they won the last gold medal at the ÑH, the awrds organized by the spanish chapter of teh SND to recognize the best design works of the years in Spain and Portugal. But what made them really famous were their illustrations. Local Estudio will be more focused on this discipline, so not just Heraldo de Aragón will miss them, the world of graphics could lose these great values.

Adding to all this, the third person of the departament, Isidro Gil, is now on the design team, so the infographics department is officially over.
This is a very bad new, not just for losing them, but for the sign that the newspaper makes with Gil's changing. They have no intention of hiring people to replace Grañena and Aragón. OK, we're in crisis, but you can't go to war leavibng some of your best weapons bahind. Not a very good example.

The spanish rock band 'Héroes del Silencio' as seen by Luis Grañena

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Obviously

Posted: December 10th, 2008, 11:35am PST by CHIQUI ESTEBAN

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If the data we show on the graphic is not absolutely true and is just an approach, we must indicate it (we rather don't publish the graphic, but in the 'fight' with the editors we're the weak part). But sometimes, some indications are obvious.

Seen on BestWeekEver

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Mantras (III): Aron Pilhofer

Posted: December 9th, 2008, 1:36pm PST by CHIQUI ESTEBAN

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I read on Alberto Cairo's webpage about this interview with Aron Pilhofer, editor of Interactive Newsroom Technologies at the NYT. These are some of the sentences I will keep on mind:

"In terms of what makes a powerful interactive, I think it depends on the story, obviously, but the best ones I believe are the ones that are truly … interactive. That term is widely used to describe a lot of web features whose level of interactivity is limited to the user clicking on a button and watching things move around the screen. That’s absolutely a form of online story telling, but it’s not interactive in any way, shape or form."

"Collaboration is maybe THE key ingredient to what makes a powerful interactive. One of the great things about our newsroom is that it is unusually collaborative, and most of the projects you’ll see involve multiple desks."

And I also want to highlight another thing: Pilhofer says that all the software they use is opensource. While there's still fear to use opensource software on many newspapers, at least in Spain (I still don't know any using Open Office, using a very simple example), the biggest one uses it. A good lesson for the managers.

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Being the fastest is not enough

Posted: December 4th, 2008, 4:56pm PST by CHIQUI ESTEBAN

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Yesterday, the terrosrist group ETA killed another person in Spain. In this cases, as most of the cases, internet media have the initative. The first idea is to place the new. Shw where it took place. But the problem is that in this kind of news all the information is changing all the time during the first hour, and the data are not accurate. Yesterday, we only knew that Ignacio Uria was killed while he was going to his favourite restaurant, Kiruri. We didn't even knew if he came form his house or form his job.

These are screenshots from some spanish websites two hours after the agencies gave the new:

ELPAIS.com

elmundo.es

El Correo

Público.es

ADN.es

Each has the location on a different place. If we don't know the exact place, we shouldn't publish anything. I really prefer this idea:

20minutos

ABC.es

They located Azpeitia, the village were everything happened, and not a very known place in Spain. And they were right. They told exactly what they really knew. Better than say something false. Somebody could say that journalism is for braves, but I prefer to think that in journalism we must be trusted. Losing credibility is very very easy. To recover it is very very hard.

None of those that placed the killing on a exact place were right.

Some rectified later, others didn't even change it. Being the fastest can't go before telling the truth. On reconstructions many editors use to say that "the reader know this is not exactly the truth, that we're just guessing". I don't want the reader to not trust us. I prefer to have a reader who really think that when we say something we know it and we're not guessing.

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Las tres extrañas reglas de Seth Godin

Posted: December 3rd, 2008, 7:00am PST by CHIQUI ESTEBAN

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Seth Godin es una especie de gurú del marketing, autor de bestsellers sobre el tema y habitual de las charlas para empresas.
Hace unos días Randy Krum se hacía eco en su blog de las 'Tres leyes para hacer buenos gráficos' que Godin había publicado en el suyo.
Leyes con la que estoy muy en desacuerdo. Al menos con dos de las tres.
A partir de ahora, en negrita lo que dice Godin, en redonda lo que opino yo.

1.UNA HISTORIA
Los gráficos sólo deben hacerse si explican algo. Obviamente, sí estoy de acuerdo con este punto. Cada gráfica debe mostrar una sola historia. Creo que sobre todo es cierto el hecho de no mezclar dos unidades en una sola gráfica, algo típico en los gráficos de empresa y que es un error. No se pueden mezclar dos evoluciones con una unidad escrita a cada lado de la misma. Por ejemplo en esta, que mezcla dinero y personas. La decisión de a qué altura comienza cada una o la escala entre ellas es absolutamente arbitraria.

2.NO A LAS GRÁFICAS DE BARRAS
Dice que están sobrevaloradas y que se usan para todos los casos, incluso para aquellos en los que las barras no valen. Cierto es que hay que usar un tipo de gráfica para cada tipo de dato, pero por eso mismo no se debe denostar una. Hay que usar barras cuando el gráfico lo requiera. Además, dice que los gráficas de barra sirven para mostrar cambios de unidades en el tiempo. En este caso, habría que usar evoluciones.

3.MOVIMIENTO
Seth Godin pide que animemos las gráficas. Que se muevan. O al menos que mostremos primero como eran las cosas y luego como cambian con el tiempo. Pedir que se muevan las cosas es una petición típica de los editores en las primeras épocas del Flash (y ahora). La fascinación por la herramienta. Que se mueva para que se vea que lo podemos mover. En el caso de querer mostar una evolución en el tiempo... Usemos una evolución. Quizá alguna vez tengamos que mover algo porque ese movimiento signifique algo, pero no como principio.

Como siempre, esto es una opinión propia, que podéis discutir en comentarios.

El Mundo convoca por tercera vez su curso de infograf?a multimedia. No he tenido el placer de ir nunca y, por el precio que vale, creo que de momento seguiré sin hacerlo (2355 € con alojamiento). Seguramente valdr? lo que cuesta sabiendo quién est? detr?s del curso, as? que, aquellos que pod?is, id y cont?dmelo.
Para m?s informaci?n, podéis pulsar aqu?

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The 14 wonders of Córdoba, Argentina

Posted: December 3rd, 2008, 9:08am PST by CHIQUI ESTEBAN

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Córdoba (Argentina) chose the 7 wonders of their zone made by man and the 7 made by nature. They did through a poll made by the local newspaper La Voz del Interior. Once chosen, the graphics department made a graphic explaining each one of them. One per week. Juan Colombato, form the graphics department, explain the process:

"Each graphic started on monday, with the research, a visit to the place, sketches, and the graphics were finished on fridays.

The good thing was that we could visit the place by ourselves. The bad one was that most of them, by being old and not very known, didnt have much technical or historical information available to show a informative-visual continuity (and we're also a ver small department and we had to keep doing the daily work).

With the ones made by man we tried to show the technical characteristics nad how they were built adn why it was considered a wonder.

With the natural ones, we had three lines on our research: how it was created, its geographical and natural characteristics and its biodiversity. In some of them we highlighted more the wild life and on others how was it formed.

The complexity of all was that, as all the places were close, they were very similar on wild life, so it was a challenge to show the diversity.

Visually, we decided to show the morphology tied to their characteristics for the better understanding of each one and with the others.

A very good excuse to tell local stories."

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Great comparisons (XI). Actual size pengüins

Posted: December 1st, 2008, 8:59am PST by CHIQUI ESTEBAN

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There's no better comparison than that made showing the actual size. That's why VIVA, the sunday magazine published by Clarín (Buenos Aires, Argentina) used four pages to show the reader how big is a Magallanes Pengüin, an animal who lives at the strait of the same name, in Argentina and Chile.

Thanks to Pablo Loscri for the images.

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Mantras (II)

Posted: November 29th, 2008, 3:35pm PST by CHIQUI ESTEBAN

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Michel Gaffré, former design director at Le Monde and now media consultant, wrote an article in 1998 on the magazine Latina about the labour of the infographic journalist (Gafré, Michel (1998): El rol de la infografía en el rediseño. Revista Latina de Comunicación Social, 6.). These are somes of the most important sentences of the article translated (at least, my favourites):

Which is the ideal profile for our visual journalist? The most important, by far, is the ability of thinking on a journalistic way.

Is essential that the newsroomcould accept the infographics journalist by what he is. He must be able to participate on the daily editorial meetings, to know the topics of the day and the topics that are being prepared for the future, accept works and propose ideas.

And one by Jeff Goertzen, at the moment graphics director at the Denver Post, quoted on the article:

The newspaper whose newsroom knows what a graphic is and could be able to think on them will publish good infographics.

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Junk Charts: the bad side of charts

Posted: November 28th, 2008, 10:41am PST by CHIQUI ESTEBAN

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Here in Spain we have a very famous blog among journalists called Malaprensa. It show the biggest mistakes of the spanish journals, all made by not double-checking the data or just not to think twice the things we're writing.
Thanks to infosthetics I could know that there is a blog on the same style, but focused on charts. That place is Junk Charts.

You can find examples of every kind, finding little (and most of the times not so little) mistakes on media that we use to consider sometimes half-gods instead of infographics journalists, as NYTimes.com. Or champions of the rigor, as The Economist or The Guardian.

Sometimes you can agree or not with the author's point of view, but it's a good place to visit before making our next pie.

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Online graphics of the Mumbai bombings

Posted: November 27th, 2008, 6:52pm PST by CHIQUI ESTEBAN

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- Guardian.co.uk
- NYTimes.com
- elmundo.es

This time my favourite is elmundo.es. For the value that has the animation showing the sequence of the bombing, giving the reader the possibility of watching it pasively. The problema that has for the reader is that, once the anmation is over, you can't have further data, you can't 'play' with the data. You only have the forward-back tool.

And one more comment: it's incredible how hard is to find an online graphic on the online media. It looks like the media owners (or directors) haven't realized yet the change the bussiness and the readers are suffering and they're just cared on saving the paper and forgetting the web, spending all the resources on the print version of their enterprises. We're not just not going some steps ahead, we're going back some steps already walked.

UPDATE
Steve Cavendish send me this piece published on The Times of London. It's not an online piece, but it works anyway. They go much further than the rest, explaining how the terrorists attacked the city. Being The Times I assume they're not just guessing, so this is a very valuable information...

The graphic on PDF

And also, Michael Agar send this one by the Telegraph.

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Fucking scale! (II)

Posted: November 26th, 2008, 10:20am PST by CHIQUI ESTEBAN

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A moment any spanish infographics jornalist fear is teh day that the OJD data (office that controls the newspapers diffusion) is released.
We all have to explain with a graphic that our newspaper has the best data, doen't matter what is actually happening. All the big bosses have something to say about this graphic, so it becomes more a bussiness matter than a journalistic one.
Yesterday we have some sort of that on Marca, the leading spanish sports newspaper.
You can see the difference of space that 83.000 issues need if it is the total issues by one newspaper or the difference between the ours and the second one.

Thanks to Álvaro for the clue.

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