Those kind of things that infographics journalist use to like

Some days ago a friend sent me this map developed by the European Union showing the accesibility of the different points of the world. It shows the time that takes to reach from anywhere to a city with a population bigger than 50,000.



DMultimedia, the new blog created by the responsible of the online graphics at ELPAIS.com, Carlos Gámez, I saw this 'Multiwidget' that explains what happens in the world right now. Click on the image to watch it!



And if you want to know more things on what's happening right now on Earth, you can check Breathing Earth (thanks to Mario Tascón for the link). It simulates the CO2 emissions, births and deaths by country on real time.

Best of 2008: Mario Chumpitazi picks

Mario Chumpitazi, peruvian infographics journalist, also chooses his favourite graphic for the past year.

1. Preview of the american elections. Reforma (Mexico)

"I like the graphics with a lot of details, clean and easy to read."



2 y 3. LHC. Clarín (Argentina) and Público (Spain)

"I've chosen two graphics of the hadron collider because I think the topic is amazing, like something from a film by Steven Spielberg. In both cases, the explanations of how it works is excellent."





And also shows his best own works.

1. The Diaper
"Infographic made for Kimberly-Clark Peru. There was a new diaper plant in Lima, one of the modernests of the world. (Fábrica de Ideas)"



2. XV centuries of history
"Graphic made for the Bienvenida Group. At the end of the year, this magazine edits a book about the history of Peru. (Fábrica de Ideas)"



3. The war of the Malvines
"One of the lasts grahics I made for La Industria de Trujillo. Puer nostalgy. It was the anniversary of the war."

Animations can be done anywhere

It's not a problem if you don't have a computer or a cell phone



And even print media could have them!



Another example here

The New York Times bets and wins

The New York Times has done a big bet for interactivity. That's is well known. The Grey Lady is the media company wich is making the biggest and best efforts in interactive graphics. Creating a new style, giving space to new visual lenguages. And you can see this bet on some shots of its home these last days:







Maked with yellow are the links to interactive graphics, but there are also photogalleries, videos, audios... any kind of multimedia content.

The infographics department, working on both print and online editions, has continued hiring while the rest of the newspaper was talking about firing people.

The results are clear. Nobody discusses today that they have no rival. They are well known, also beyond the infographics departments. New York Magazine dedicated a choral interview to some of the brains of the gang.
They are also answering questions on the section Talk to the Newsroom. Make your own questions before it's too late!

Best of 2008: Xan Sabaris picks

Xan Sabarís works for Diario de Pontevedra, although he is a nomad of the spanish infographics. And he sends his picks as the bests of 2008:

1. Passes of the Spain-Russia soccer match. Público (Spain)
Chiqui Esteban



"Is one of those graphics that always come once and again to your head once you've seen it. I choose it because of the information it shows, because it show a message (Xavi is the key) and allow to have a clear view at a glance but you can also stay watching for 30 minutes"

2. Can a President tame the bussiness cycle?. NYTimes.com
Kevin Quealy, Guilbert Gates



"Despite the big amount of information it offers, it's clear and easy to understand."

3. Slavery and vote for Obama. Allen Gathman



"Idea and information. It's brilliant. It' one of those that make you say: Holy Shit!"

And a little special mention...

The most expensive liquids in the world. Público (Spain)



"Not for the graphic, but for the information."


And his own favorites:

1. Bullfighting



2. Wine



3. Volvo Ocean Race

A plane, a river and many graphics

A plane 'landed' yesterday on the Hudson river. Yesterday, at 23.30 more or less (spanish time, 17.30 NY time) I knew about the crash. It was my free day and I was disconnected from reality. When I went to bed, 30 minutes later, I didn't see any locator or graphic explaining the facts (I did no big research, anyway). The nearest I found from graphic was a post by Charles Blow, without graphic, but some different data.

I did a research this morning, 10 AM spanish time, 4 AM US east coast time.

NYTIMES.COM
A simple but almost perfect graphic. Just with the information I wanted to know in a very clear way. I could be not very espectacular, but it says exactly what they want to say. They had to be the best because they are the reference and it happened in their city. Clic on images to access the graphic (notice that graphics may have change since I wrote that, that's the good thing of online graphics, they're on a constant update)



They also include little static locators in the news page.

CNN
Animation with Google Earth to explain the accident. Something useful for both web and tv channel.



LOS ANGELES TIMES
Google Maps with reference points and time. Maybe too little for such big web and with the whole day to react.



CHICAGO TRIBUNE
Another Google Maps with reference points (maybe not on the exact places, because it could be difficult to to turn 90 degrees a plane after crashing with the birds) and includes a tool to calculate the distance you are from the crash place. It's a curiosity, but maybe not very useful if you don't live in NY.



BOSTON GLOBE
Online graphic that I didn't found on my first research, but very complete, simiar style of the NY Times, and without the same resources, which is very important.



And it's not the first breaking news they have to cover these last days.

Best of 2008: Óscar Corvera picks

Óscar Corvera (La Prensa Gráfica, El Salvador) has been named on this blog already, and more than once. Now, he's back to pick the bests graphics of the last year.

"There are many impressing works by the way the graphic designers made them. An example are thee three graphics that fascintnated me when I saw them, because they show something different and encourage me being different."


1. Magallanes Penguin (Clarín)


2. Beijing 2008 medals analysis (Público, Spain)
Chiqui Esteban




3. 50 years of spacial exploration. (5W, National Geographic)



And the best graphics made by OScar and the rest of the team (Jorge Contreras, René Rivas and Douglas Jarquín).

1. Oil crisis
"The oil crisis punished all sectors during 2008. The graphic shows the chain of impacts on citizens and how the rise of oil affects his economy and stability."



2. Electoral power
"Some months before the elections at El Salvador, the journal wanted to show a statistical summary with the presidential results over the last 20 years. We compared the amount of votes obtained by the main political parties."




3. LPG presses
"The aniversary of La Prensa Gráfica was the perfect excuse to make a complete infographic with the presses."

A village of 100 people

I'm a big fan of graphics that try to convert macrostatistics in something more affordable.

And a good example of that is the web A Village of 100 people, which takes world statistics and shrink them to the hypothesis that the whole world is a little village of 100 people. How many gays would be? And how many children will go to school? How many people would die per year?
The web has very good things and some not-so-good (some data is told but not drawn, there's no a general example on how the village would be with the 100 people,, some examples play with percentages instead of keeping the metaphor...), but anyway it keeps being a great way of funny pedagogy

Seen on infosthetics

Best of 2008: Kabitis Dimitris picks

Kabitis studies Communication and Mass Media in the University of Athens (Greece). But also works at the Eleftheros Tipos’ infographics department since 2007.

These are criteria he followed in his own words:

"First of all, the information that is the main subject of the infographic has to be interesting and exciting. So as you can tell, my fisrt criteria is subjective.

Then, I think is basic the information to be visualized in a clear way for the readers to understand it or not. Also I would like to point out that usually this means that I prefer infographics that are of minimal aesthetic and not heavy.

The last of my criteria is that the infographic has to be innovative. Although if the infographic doesn’t fit the criteria above, innovation alone is not enough."

And here they are:

1. USA and Iraq. The New York Times



Kabitis says: "Using only two flags in three rows the graphic manages to tell the story of a war"

I must say that in my opinion this is an illustration and not an infographic, but if someones consider it a graphic, it enters in the show.


2. The first walk on the Moon . NASA



There's also another version on an baseball diamond


3. Costanera Center . El Mercurio (Chile)
Juan Pablo Bravo



And also, his three own best graphics of the year.

1.Four ways to deal with the overwarming of Earth
made with Kali Labrou and Achilleas Galatsidas

"This infographic includes four futuristic ways proposed by novelists against climate change. This project was an idea of our infographics department, all the information was gathered by our team."



2.Taipei 101
Made with Kali Labrou

"The triumph of man on nature. Tower’s mechanics enable it to stand in an environment with typhoons and many earthquakes. (I like mega structures)"



3.Kovalainen’s accident and new measures of security
Made with Spiros Kanakaris

Best of 2008: Max Gadney picks

Max Gadney is a classic of the BBC online graphics department, althought he's now working on the TV area.

Although he offers a larger explanation on his blog, these are his picks as the best grahics of the last year:

1. TV US elections (BBC)



Click on the image to watch the video

2. Stamen data visualization



Click on image to access MySociety.

3. Spanish 2008 budget (Público, Spain)



It was published in 2007, but we have done exceptions before, and being one graphic published on the newspapers where I work... I can do another.

And these are his own favourites, all of them published at Historynet.com:

1. Nordern Bombsight



2. Fighter Planes



3. Kamikaze

Malofiej 17 is here

The Spanish Chapter of the SND has uploaded the rules for this edition, you can take a look here.

The deadline for entries is 14th of february (not 12, as a said on the other post)

Internet history with icons

History of the Internet from PICOL on Vimeo.

Via Microsiervos

Best of 2008: Johan Romero picks

Johan Romero, infographics journalist at El Heraldo de Barranquilla picks the three best graphics published on his newspaper in the last year.

1. Wright Brothers plane


2. Melting ice


3. Popularity of south american presidents

Malofiej dates

Xan Sabarís, from Diario de Pontevedra, tells me that he had received the letter with the Malofiej Sumit dates. They are not still published on the web of the spanish chapter of the SND but they're official.

The Summit will take place in March 25, 26 and 27th.

The deadline for entries is February 12.

Good luck to everybody and hope to see you there.

UPDATE
When I arrived Publico I also had the letter from Malofiej.
Some new things: much more categories than the previous year, some as Science or Travel and transportation are back, as the Continued-Use formats also (Weather, Stock Market...). On the online graphics category, there are some new criteria, as the speed or the preload screen.

Best of 2008: Juan Miguel Tomalá picks

Juan Miguel Tomalá, from the ecuatorian daily El Telégrafo picks the best graphics of 2008, as before did his colleague of department Freddy Fiallos Calderón.
They agree on their first pick:


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

Access the online graphic



2. South of here
Chapel Hill students

Access the online graphic




3. Magallanes penguin (Clarín)


And his favorites among his own works...

1. Cyborg 2.0


2. Anatomy of the new buses


3. Guayaquil Municipal Museum

Access the online graphic