Information Design

We often think of design in terms of the shoes we wear, the vehicles we drive, and the chairs in which we sit. On a daily basis we're reminded of the (good and bad) design of objects, but what about the design of information? Designers of information, otherwise known as information architects or visual journalists, have the complex task of conveying huge amounts of data in an easy-to-understand, visual way.
The unsung graphic design heroes of the New York Times Communications department are to thank for the captivating visuals above. Instead of reading a boring article that breaks down the results of the last presidential election county-by-county, you can study one of their stunning visuals. I’m a sucker for these maps, charts and diagrams because I can very quickly get a big picture sense of a topic in one quick look. To me, these images are as creative and aesthetically pleasing as any painting or drawing in a museum.