18/02/2008

Quantity or quality? Do we have to choose?

I remember a Juan Velasco conference at Malofiej where he talked about how he has, progressively reducing his productivity (but not quality), coming from having the record of number of graphics on one issue with more than sixty (with elections topics) at El Mundo and then going to NY Times, and after that, National Geoographic, with nt many graphics per month, if one. He reduced the number, but improved quality.
If the record was true, we beated it this saturday at Publico with
81 graphics, and some double-spreaded, although my mother still thinks that elections graphics "do not count". Now we just need the quality.

These are just excuses to introduce the topic. Can we have quantity and quality together on infographics? What do editors prefer? And readers? I'm sure than readers prefer quality, but I've heard more than once people saying 'I love this newspaper, have a lot of infographics'. I would prefer to hear 'I love this newspaper, it have ver god infographics'. Or as Milfri Pérez said, somebody told her 'I love this graphic, was beautiful, althogh I didn't understand it'. Thanks?
About the second question, I've heard more then once 'But, how many graphcis can we ask you for?' being totally unsatisfactory the answer 'depend on the kind of graphics'
About the first one, I don't know. I suppouse that, to get quality and quantity together the 'trick' as Errea said, is to have a good team, with its economic cost.
But there is one more thing. In a place I worked for we were aked to develop a daily graphic for a daily section. We aswered that this was great if the information worth a graphic. The reaction was 'The thing is that grahics make the page looks great'. As a colleague use to say 'if you want a beautiful page, place there the photo of a puppy, people loves them'

I prefer a good graphic that five mediocrities. But I also prefer five good graphics than one. And if it's possible, go ahead. But each one of them must be as good as if we had a week just for it. If not, it doesn't worth (with the omnipresent exceptions). If we have to do 81, 81. But good ones.

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