The first Infographic Congress will take place this March 4th in Zeist, Netherlands. Two names of the speakers: Gert Nielsen and John Grimwade. And many others...
If you won't be able to go to Malofiej, sounds like a good opportunity...
24/01/2011
Infographics Congress IC11 in Netherlands
Share
The first Infographic Congress will take place this March 4th in Zeist, Netherlands. Two names of the speakers: Gert Nielsen and John Grimwade. And many others...
If you won't be able to go to Malofiej, sounds like a good opportunity...
The first Infographic Congress will take place this March 4th in Zeist, Netherlands. Two names of the speakers: Gert Nielsen and John Grimwade. And many others...
If you won't be able to go to Malofiej, sounds like a good opportunity...
The Times hires Mario Cameira (Publico, Portugal)
Tweet Share
The Times has a new professional for its infographics department: Mario Cameira, who works for the portuguese newspaper Publico. Mario won't start at The Times until the first of March, but the deal is done.
Mario is author of the blog Infografando, and has been hired as senior infographic journalist at the english daily. One thing we have to notice is that this hiring comes months after Rafa Höhr signed with The Sunday Times, so we can figure out the idea of the businness: more online graphics.
Both hirings has similar profiles: experience in print before becoming online nfographic journalists, with clear, clean and smart online graphics.
Congratulations to Mario Cameira and The Times.
Source: Publico.
The Times has a new professional for its infographics department: Mario Cameira, who works for the portuguese newspaper Publico. Mario won't start at The Times until the first of March, but the deal is done.
Mario is author of the blog Infografando, and has been hired as senior infographic journalist at the english daily. One thing we have to notice is that this hiring comes months after Rafa Höhr signed with The Sunday Times, so we can figure out the idea of the businness: more online graphics.
Both hirings has similar profiles: experience in print before becoming online nfographic journalists, with clear, clean and smart online graphics.
Congratulations to Mario Cameira and The Times.
Source: Publico.
23/01/2011
A spaniard making infographics in China
Tweet Share
Xan Sabarís was until last year the head (and only member) at the infographics department of Diario de Pontevedra, a local newspaper in the northwest of Spain. He had worked previously for another newspapers of the Vocento group (which owns ABC, El Correo and others) and La Voz de Galicia. He was publishing really good stuff in Pontevedra. But in 2010 he was hired by a chinese neswspaper, China Daily , based in Beijing and where Bill Gaspard, former SND president, was the Art Director. These are some of his works there.
"Apart from me, there are three chinese guys in the department. Thay make graphics, but also layouts pf the pages.
Maybe the best word to explain how is working here is 'rough'.
I don't speak or read chinese (but in the newspaper people speak english), and the rythm of work here is very different form the spanish one, at least where I've worked before. We can say China is quiet..."
Xan Sabarís was until last year the head (and only member) at the infographics department of Diario de Pontevedra, a local newspaper in the northwest of Spain. He had worked previously for another newspapers of the Vocento group (which owns ABC, El Correo and others) and La Voz de Galicia. He was publishing really good stuff in Pontevedra. But in 2010 he was hired by a chinese neswspaper, China Daily , based in Beijing and where Bill Gaspard, former SND president, was the Art Director. These are some of his works there.
I asked him a little text explaining is work in a chinese newspaper, how is working in such a different culture and way of working. And these are his words:
"Apart from me, there are three chinese guys in the department. Thay make graphics, but also layouts pf the pages.
Maybe the best word to explain how is working here is 'rough'.
I don't speak or read chinese (but in the newspaper people speak english), and the rythm of work here is very different form the spanish one, at least where I've worked before. We can say China is quiet..."
"The biggest problem is the lack of information. When you need to go further you need speak, most times, with sources abroad.
An advantage is that people is open to new ideas and they take risks. Few newspapers in Spain (maybe none) would risk, not being a special event, to use one of the firsts pages of the newspaper for a big infographic (the one about the skyscrapers)."
An advantage is that people is open to new ideas and they take risks. Few newspapers in Spain (maybe none) would risk, not being a special event, to use one of the firsts pages of the newspaper for a big infographic (the one about the skyscrapers)."
"Following the sentences you published some posts ago, here's a chinese one:
I don't remember what was the information about. It was an evolution, year by year, of something. But in all years the values were around 50, and then, one year, it grows to 100, and then the next year comes back to 50.
Me: "What happened here?"
Writer: "Ummm… Dont' know. Doesn't matter, that's not the story".
Here you have some works by Xan and his team. Congratulations to him and all his team.
16/01/2011
3D in the age of 2D
Tweet Share
Veteran infographic journalist will tell you how documentation was when there was no internet in newsrooms. I consider myself young, but in my first years we also had a computer in the department, the one with internet, but most of the documentation came from maps, books and other stuff whe had there.
But there were more differences. Today, the big graphics with cuts for watching inside are done with 3D software. The they were done just with Illustrator or drawn by hand. Today many people still use Illustrator, and people that used to draw by hand are still doing so.
You can understand why seeing this example by Juan Colombato, head of infographics at the argentinian newspaper La Voz del Interior.
A 45º axonometric view, done 10 years ago. Take a look and remember 'the good old days'
Veteran infographic journalist will tell you how documentation was when there was no internet in newsrooms. I consider myself young, but in my first years we also had a computer in the department, the one with internet, but most of the documentation came from maps, books and other stuff whe had there.
But there were more differences. Today, the big graphics with cuts for watching inside are done with 3D software. The they were done just with Illustrator or drawn by hand. Today many people still use Illustrator, and people that used to draw by hand are still doing so.
You can understand why seeing this example by Juan Colombato, head of infographics at the argentinian newspaper La Voz del Interior.
A 45º axonometric view, done 10 years ago. Take a look and remember 'the good old days'
But there's more. We're talking about someone who draws at the higher level. Watch his works, which I discovered ath Nicolás Ramallo's blog.
12/01/2011
How NOT to use an infographic
Tweet Share
Quick answer: as decoration. And of course never as a false trick to attract readers.
I'll just tell you something that happened to me today. I open the homepage of El País. Surprise! An image selling a graphic. Nice news, lately is not usual to see infographics at elpais.com.
Click on the article. The image is a blog about ecology, inside El País.
Ok, I need one more click to get into the post. I hope I can see the graphic in good resolution now. It's about why men contaminate more than women. Look interesting. I want to see the data.
Oops. The graphic is just a thumbnail, I have to click to see it bigger. I don't think that's a good idea, but I click.
Oh my god The graphic can't be zoomed! And it's in french! Anyway, you can't read the data. It's used just as a 'beautiful illustration'.... It promises information, but does ot give yu any data.
MI read the post, looking for an explanation. No reference to the data that should be displayed oin the graphic... Oh! yes. A reference. A link to other web. The blogger shows that he is not really interested in the graphic: "See illustration at the beginning of the post" writes. I'm getting mad...
Well, I click on the link, at least I hope I can see the data somewhere. The same size. I know now where the find the graphic... Anyway, I try to get into the article to see the data. But no. It's just for suscribers.
So, my idea is: the blogger doen't know what does the graphic show. Whic are the data. He just liked the image and took it. The frontpage editor also liked the image. He used it for the frontpage, no matter what it says.
I may say this is not usual at El País That's maybe the first time I see something like this on its web. I clciked three times, see for pages on its web. And now I'm mad at El País. Doesn't seem like a good idea...
Quick answer: as decoration. And of course never as a false trick to attract readers.
I'll just tell you something that happened to me today. I open the homepage of El País. Surprise! An image selling a graphic. Nice news, lately is not usual to see infographics at elpais.com.
Click on the article. The image is a blog about ecology, inside El País.
Ok, I need one more click to get into the post. I hope I can see the graphic in good resolution now. It's about why men contaminate more than women. Look interesting. I want to see the data.
Oops. The graphic is just a thumbnail, I have to click to see it bigger. I don't think that's a good idea, but I click.
Oh my god The graphic can't be zoomed! And it's in french! Anyway, you can't read the data. It's used just as a 'beautiful illustration'.... It promises information, but does ot give yu any data.
MI read the post, looking for an explanation. No reference to the data that should be displayed oin the graphic... Oh! yes. A reference. A link to other web. The blogger shows that he is not really interested in the graphic: "See illustration at the beginning of the post" writes. I'm getting mad...
Well, I click on the link, at least I hope I can see the data somewhere. The same size. I know now where the find the graphic... Anyway, I try to get into the article to see the data. But no. It's just for suscribers.
So, my idea is: the blogger doen't know what does the graphic show. Whic are the data. He just liked the image and took it. The frontpage editor also liked the image. He used it for the frontpage, no matter what it says.
I may say this is not usual at El País That's maybe the first time I see something like this on its web. I clciked three times, see for pages on its web. And now I'm mad at El País. Doesn't seem like a good idea...
Nine sentences I've heard being working in newspapers
Tweet Share
Some days ago Clases de Periodismo interviewed me and used one of my sentences for the headline:
“Infographics journalist are often more rigorous than writers".
Some of my writers colleagues have shared with me their disapproval, something I, sincerely, knew that would happen. Of course, this is said ina certain context and is not always true, it's just a generalization. What I wanted to explain is that most of infographics is not treated like information bu writers in many newspapers, meanwhile infographics journalists try to do a journalistic job.
To 'justify' someway this sentence, here you are some examples of sentences I've herad in my short career (here are the sins, but not the sinners):
- "If we would have to check the data there would be no newspapers"
- We have to explain how the bathyscaphe is
- And how it is?
- I don't know, just draw a bathyscaphe
- Infographics journalist: "I need one more year of data"
- Writer: "Just put a little more than the previous year"
- We've got to do a graphic about "...", but we have no data at all.
- Writer (after a detailed explanation): "And that is the way the attack happened"
- Infografista: "¿And who is the source"
- Redactor: "Don´t put a source, I'm guessing, but don't worry, I'm pretty sure it was that way"
- "I know that's the real data, but it's not very spectacular... Can't we exaggerate a little?"
- Writer: "If we use the actual data... it's very far from ..."
- Infographics journalist: "But they are very far, that's the information indeed"
- Redactor: "I know, but I think it's better if they're closer"
Some days ago Clases de Periodismo interviewed me and used one of my sentences for the headline:
“Infographics journalist are often more rigorous than writers".
Some of my writers colleagues have shared with me their disapproval, something I, sincerely, knew that would happen. Of course, this is said ina certain context and is not always true, it's just a generalization. What I wanted to explain is that most of infographics is not treated like information bu writers in many newspapers, meanwhile infographics journalists try to do a journalistic job.
To 'justify' someway this sentence, here you are some examples of sentences I've herad in my short career (here are the sins, but not the sinners):
- "If we would have to check the data there would be no newspapers"
- We have to explain how the bathyscaphe is
- And how it is?
- I don't know, just draw a bathyscaphe
- Infographics journalist: "I need one more year of data"
- Writer: "Just put a little more than the previous year"
- We've got to do a graphic about "...", but we have no data at all.
- Infographics journalist: "So, in order to explain the accident, I need to know where was the car, where the truck, how they crashed..."
- Writrer: "Do we need to know all that? No, no, just draw a crash"
- Writer (after a detailed explanation): "And that is the way the attack happened"
- Infografista: "¿And who is the source"
- Redactor: "Don´t put a source, I'm guessing, but don't worry, I'm pretty sure it was that way"
- "I know that's the real data, but it's not very spectacular... Can't we exaggerate a little?"
- Writer: "If we use the actual data... it's very far from ..."
- Infographics journalist: "But they are very far, that's the information indeed"
- Redactor: "I know, but I think it's better if they're closer"
And the best one...
- "I don't mind the data, but I said just the opposite in my article, so change the graphic or jus delete that data"
Don't worry, all of this problems were solved (not without big fights).
All of these are things are own experiences or I've been hearing by myself.
UPDATE
Some suggestions:
@albertocairo: "Our reader is idiot"
@ikimartinez: "Do the graphic with balls. It's the fashion now"
UPDATE
Some suggestions:
@albertocairo: "Our reader is idiot"
@ikimartinez: "Do the graphic with balls. It's the fashion now"
11/01/2011
Marca hires Matías Cortina: a commitment to online graphics
Tweet Share
This is not something new, it happened some weeks ago, but it's something I would highlight. Marca, the most read newspaper in Spain (a sports newspaper) has hired Matías Cortina, (El Mundo, Terra y ELPAIS.com), to strengthen its online graphics production.
He meets ageain Germán Pizarro, former colleague at Terra, where they were one of the pioneers couples of the spanish online grpahics, and now Graphics Director at Marca. This movement shows the commitment of Marca to online graphics, a newspaper with an integrated department of infographics and one of the most awarded spanish media in online infographics.
Good luck!
He meets ageain Germán Pizarro, former colleague at Terra, where they were one of the pioneers couples of the spanish online grpahics, and now Graphics Director at Marca. This movement shows the commitment of Marca to online graphics, a newspaper with an integrated department of infographics and one of the most awarded spanish media in online infographics.
Good luck!
01/01/2011
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)