Menu

Infographics

High Society

If Drugs Were Legalized...How much money would we make? Information Is Beautiful
Unique times require unique thinking, right? We’re under the cosh here in the UK with unprecendented public cuts and austerity measures. Is there a potential revenue stream we’re missing? One right under our noses? One that could solve the university tuition fees crisis? And leave around £75M left for a very, very good party. My latest graphic for The Guardian Datablog puts the case.

Data: http://bit.ly/drug_deal

High Society

While on the subject, I wanted to mention a great exhibition in London. It’s called High Society. Curated by writer Mike Jay and the Wellcome Trust, it’s about the influence of (illegal) drugs on society and culture. It’s free. And features a couple of commissioned wall-sized graphics from me, including Drugs World and this Billion Drug-o-Gram.

The Billion Drug O Gram - Information Is Beautiful

(If this image looks furtive, it is. You’re not allowed to take photos at the exhibit. Shortly after this was snapped, I was asked to leave the building! A real moment. For once in my life, I was able to say, with authentic indignation, “Do you know WHO I am???”)

Drug Data

In the course of preparing and researching the images, we came across a ton of interesting facts and figures about the drugs world. They’re all in this spreadsheet.

Did you know…

  • the average purity of street cocaine is now just 27% – link
  • most coke in the Western world is now cut with levamisole, a toxic de-worming agent not detected by most street tests for purity (story).
  • the US government has spent nearly $2,500 billion dollars on the War On Drugs over the last 40 years (story)

More here: http://bit.ly/drug_deal

Consumer Index

Particularly liked the data on which countries like which drugs.

8-Ball - Information Is Beautiful

DESIGN & RESEARCH: Joe Swainson, David McCandless




Data, Information, Knowledge, Wisdom?

Data, Information, Knowledge, Wisdom - InformationIsBeautiful.net
Just a think-piece really.

(I was recently visiting the office of the awesome design website Swiss Miss. Over snacks, they asked me to christen their “lunch guest wall” with a scribble. Caught in the headlights and feeling the pressure to be clever and impressive, my mind, of course, went blank. Spotless white. All I had was a noodle in my notepad about the increasing organisational structure of information and how it might relate to visualization. It had been a *long* flight to NY.)

I got kinda stuck with it. So I wanted to open it up and see what you thought.

This is by no means original thought. This structure has been around for a while. (In fact does anyone knows who first came up with it?). The only new thing is relating it to visuals. And giving it a nice font.

One interesting thing. If you visualise information without designing it, you often end up with a mush or a meaningless thicket. So if you can only really ‘design’ information, rather than visualize it, then maybe the term ‘information visualization’ is a bit of a misnomer?

Anyway, how does it look to you? Does it seem logical? Truthful? Do the definitions ring true? What could be the word for the visual depiction of wisdom? Does greater verticality imply greater meaning? Or can errors creep in?

Look forward to your ideas, feedback and corrections!