i from infographics

Some weeks ago was released in Portugal a new print newspaper (yes, print!), called just i. It's a new InnovAtion project with Sojormedia, where I had a little participation.
But let take a glance to some infographics...





There are two visual journalists in the department: Carlos Monteiro and Ricardo Santos, both form the portuguese newspaper '24 Horas'. The style of infographics follow the general design created by Javier Errea: no fireworks, modern, compact, with cromatic impact but smart. And the Innovation spirit: "newspapers must be daily magazines", as Juan Antonio Giner says.

El Correo: keeping its identity

Not any infographics department could stand on its feet after losing two stars as Baptista and Zarracina. Many could think that Josemi Benitez (now head of infographics) would have to make big changes.
But the readers of El Correo should be glad. I would, you just have to take a glance to the graphics they make for the last big sport event of the city uploaded by La Buena Prensa.



They keep the illustrated style that placed El Correo among the best newspapers of the world (if we talk about infographics). I think that the style of the graphics of a newspaper should be defined by the newspaper style. So my appaluse to Josemi Benítez and his team!

National Geographic draws in spanish

I wrote yesterday my first article for 233 grados,the communication blog of Diximedia, editor of lainformacion.com, where I work now. I write about the spanish spekaers of the National Geographic infographics department, that are 4 out of 6 (Juan Velasco, Alejandro Tumas, Fernando G. Baptista and Hiram Enríquez).

The article is wrote in spanish, but here you are some words translated. Anyway, you always can read the complete article

"(The infographic boom of the 90s) created (in Spain) a legion of infographics artists, some of them really good. That was unusual in other places, Spain took advantage of that situation created in the newspapers and got an accumulated empiric knowledge before than the rest of the world"
Alejandro Tumas

About the process to create a graphic for the magazine:
"We have continuous meetings all along the process, with opinions of a lot of people. At the end, we make color tests and refine the design to the most imperceptible detail".
Fernando G. Baptista

You furnish the graphic, I'll furnish the data

When you make a graphic, as for any kind of information, is dangerous to have a previous idea and not to investigate but to prove it, not to find the truth. Other danger is to, just, not to investigate seriously. The graphic that Matías Cortina sends me looks to be of this kind.


Click on image to see more details)


This graphics has been published in a lot of blogs, to show how the communication is changing. Yes, communication is changing. So we don't need unaccurate graphics to show it. There is a clear data: according to this graphic, nowadays there are more people on social networks that watching TV. Sorry, but I don't think so. There are much more people with TV than with internet. And not everybody on internet access the social networks, so the equation is easy.



Anyway, as Matías Cortina says, the graphic has no sources, and doesn't say whic are the magnitudes (population?)el gráfico no tienen fuente ni indica a qué magnitudes se refiere (¿población?). Matías investigated about it. This is what the author said:

"The graph was based on combination of a lot of things, a number of interviews, general study, general trend movements, my experience etc. I cannot give you a specific source though, because I used none specifically. The graphs before 1990 are all based on interviews, and a large number of Google searches to learn about the history of Newspaper, TV and Radio - and more specifically, what people uses in the past. The graphs from 1998 and up to today, is based on all the things that have happened in the past 11 years, of which I have probably seen 1000 surveys ( it is what I do for a living). And the graph from 2009 and forward is based on what I, and many other people predict will happen in the years to come.
One very important thing though, this is not a reflection of my opinion. This is the result a careful analysis. There are always variations, and different types of people. But I believe that this graph accurately reflects consumer focus."


I agree with Matias: this menas, more or less: "I guessed". Or its look so. But Cortina also asked about the scale:

"I fail to see how the scale of the graph can be seen as a lie. You can clearly see each year. The scale changes because it would be impractical (due to size) to create a graph with one year increments over a span of 220 years - and impossible to dig into if it was in 50 year increments. This way, the graph scale expand or contracts based on the important changes over time - giving you a clearer image of what is happening."

Judge by yourselves. But I may say I don't like it.

Going... coming... staying

Not even in the middle of this crisis stops the movement of infographics journalists.

By Xocas' twitter (@xocasgv) I knew that Geoff McGhee, former The New York Times and now working as Multimedia Editor at Le Monde (Paris), leaves Europe to go back to USA. He has been awarded a John S. Knight Fellowship at the Stanford University. He will study data visualization tools for online jorunalists.
Other of the 12 awarded has been my colleague at InnovAtion Gabriel Sama, who will study about multiplatform publishing systems.

But there also movements here. We have made a new hiring atlainformacion.com. He has said something on his blog already. Carlos Gámez, who was working as head of infographics at ELPAIS.com joins the department of New Narratives, where I am Director.

And, although this is not a hiring, I may tell who happy I feel for The Boston Globe being saved, despite all the job cuts they will have to do. I've never read the paper, but just knowing how Javier Zarracina and hsi team works, is enough.

Why I haven't updated the blog lately

I'm sorry because I haven't udated the blog as much as I would like lately. These have been the firsts weeks of lainformacion.com (it was released April 23rd) and the launching has teken most of my time. Ans these are my firsts steps online... So I'm going to seize this oportunity to share my firsts works with you, so you can critiquize them with you fiercests words, that0s teh best way to learn... You can access all the graphics done at graficos.lainformacion.com. Or access the RSS here.
Here you are some examples. Click on images to see the graphics.


The newsroom's library
As our first day was the day of the book, we shared with the audiencia our most loved books...



EPA results
The EPA publish the number of unemployed people in Spain, now more than 4 million people. It was our first breaking-news graphic... With the launching we have nothing prepared. So I prepared something the day before, so when the data were released the morning after, we just had to update the new data...



Cleaning the highest building of Spain
Just another way for offering a photogallery...



The way Madrid sounds
UA collaboration with our great video team for the day against the noise.



A map of the Spanish saving banks
Situation of the spanish saving banks, by size and reliability.



So I wait your for your critiques of these graphics or any of all the graphics done at the graphics page.

Good and bad things about collaborative maps

Google Maps is a great tool, very easy to use. A perfect example of a 2.0 tool, where the user can be also a content creator. That's good. But it has problems, also.

It happened with the swineflu world map. Any citizen of the world could add cases at the beginning. Anyone who saw his neighbour coughin ran to place a pin. Alarming, and not helping as an informative map. Many placed suspicios cases, not so many erased them when they were discarded. In a few days the map was a mees. Now, most of the things are fixed. But it is no more a proper collaborative map. I tried to fix things and it was impossible.


View 2009 H1N1 Flu Outbreak Map in a larger map


But sometimes, having a helping hand from the readers is something wonderful. More if we have someone as filter. A media, as an example. That was what La Voz de Galicia (spain) did with this illegal landfills.



The map absolutely open has more problems. A good example is the infographic journalist map you have on the upper right corner of this blog. Is empty. It has data creted by me and yourselves... but someone entered once ... and erased all the content. I don't think that he/she meant it, but it happened...

I really think that the participation of the readers/users is a great help. Really important for media that want to connect with their audiences. But we are prfoessionals, and we have to offer professional content. We have to check that all the information given by the citizens is true, rigorous.
I say Yes to citizen journalism. Yes to collaboration. But I say No to wait for others to do what we should do.

Bye Bye Portfolio... :(

Condé Nast edits magazines as Vogue, GQ, Wired, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker... But many of us had the name on our heads thanks to Condé Nast Traveler, where John Grimwade has done an incredible work as infographics director for so many years. John was also working on the launching of other magazine of the group, Portfolio, which is closing now.

This is, obviously no good news. Not just because of the people fired, I really liked the style of the online graphics (I didn't have the opportunity of taking a look to any print issue). They were easy to read, clear, with a good use of the visual impact...

This is not the first time I show this graphic on this blog...



And I've always loved the weekly Quiz...



Not eeverything was, in my opinion, high quality. There were some graphics that dind't have the 'class' that this magazine derserved. But there were not many...



I hope they don't quit the web, so I can still take an occasional glance to its great multimedia section.

They're coming...

They're still stdying but they've been awarded at professional contests and even recognized by Time Magazine.
The new group of Chapel Hill students ar e also high-quality products, as you can see atAlberto Cairo's twitter (@albertocaio).

Ellen Mignoni is an advanced case. She's a postgrade student on her thesis. But this multimedia piece where ALL has been produced by herself is a jewel from the campus.


Monica Ulmanu developed this project. It's not finished, and still need things as a preloader. But as Cairo wonder... What grade does a student project like this deserve?


I'll upload more, but if you're eager to take a look to some more just visit some old examples. And be prepared. Young ones come to stay.