The Tendo View

Recently, my colleague Bill Golden wrote a blog post about infographics resources. It prompted some discussion at Tendo about best practices for online vs. print infographics. Many of the graphics featured in this link, for instance, are fairly complicated and would be difficult to access online. If an infographic’s purpose is to make information more accessible, how do you use a digital medium to achieve that goal?

My research led me to this post at Cyberjournalist.net that examines digital infographics used by various news sites to explain data about the B-52 bomber and other weapons. Take a look at the differences in these:

• The Minneapolis Startribune.com offers data on lots of different war weapons, including photos, specs, crew, and armament info (see screen shot at right).
• USA Today has a Flash-enabled infographic with specs, armament, photos, and inventory data.
• Elmundo.es features what look to be effective graphics, if only I could read Spanish.
• The New York Times applies digital movements to pretty detailed graphics to convey data, munitions, cockpit, and other airplane parts information.

My favorite from the list above is the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s. Here’s why I think they’re successful:

1. They break down and/or categorize the information into easily clickable weapons, tabs, and/or sections, which gives the audience control and invites interaction with the information.
2. The content isn’t overwhelmed by the graphic. You notice the information first, not the cool shadows, sounds, textures, and colors. I couldn’t say that about the USA Today example, for instance.
3. They feature a consistently applied hierarchy of information. Notice that all of them have headlines and decks, and then supplemental text that pops up as the graphic moves.
4. The graphics are simple and straightforward—they aren’t so complex as to require squinting and/or up-close viewing. I found the New York Times graphics a bit too complicated for use online, for instance.

What do you think? Which site’s graphics depicts information about wartime weapons most successfully online?