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Map O' The Day #50 - How China Sees The World

The fiftieth installment of MOTD hails from the cover of my favorite periodical, The Economist, March 21-27, 2009 edition, and is illustrated by artist Jon Berkeley.

In light of instability in the global market, the information presented within the graphics is both topical and foreboding. And while the central theme of the graphic is, as the title aptly states, a Chinese perspective towards the world, this issue is not the driving cause for anointing this image as the 50th MOTD.

Rather, what struck me about this graphic, was that it is basically constructed of a basic landscape architecture and a few well placed labels, and yet, it’s chockfull of information pertaining to foreign policy, international conflicts, and economic woes. What the artist has accomplished with this work is a fairly comprehensive high level snapshot of China’s decision-making environment, through a masterful use of four central tenets of information mapping: Representation, Sizing, Placement and Selection.

With those four lenses, take the time to re-examine the image, and you’ll quickly realize the sheer breadth of information a information graphic conveys when attention to principle is upheld.
























1976 New Yorker graphic

Map O’ The Day #49 – Anatomy for Kids

Today's MOTD is an award winning campaign from the Dubai branch of ad agency PF7 on behalf of Brainobrain Jumeira Child Development Program. Illustrated by artist Jason Freeny of Moist Production, the anatomy schematics for kids took top honors at the 2009 Dubai Lynx International Advertising Festival presented by Cannes Lions, earning the Gold Medal in Print and the highest award of Grand Prix in the Outdoor category. As a result, $20,000 in scholarship money was given to the Brainobrain Jumeira Child Development Program in honor of this award.

The ads are playful, elegant and detailed - with multiple layers of information, packaged in kid-centric visual metaphors. Science IS fun when you use balloon animals, legos and gummy bears - and use map real estate to build on the metaphor, as seen on the balloon animal poster with instructions for making the balloon dog.

The ads utilize an important principle of mapping: map as platform to expand your brand. The map employs the Brainobrain Jumeira program signature approach of whole brain development-based education for children by "activating left and right hemispheres of the brain," through the use of both logical and creative elements (i.e. visual information). Truly an excellent example of how proper execution of information design can reinforce the connection between your brand and your audience.

Ads that make you smarter - go figure!

Map O’ The Day #48 – Life: Start Here...

Today’s MOTD comes from a superstar in the infographic world, Megan Jaegerman. Recognized for her work in the news industry by Edward Tufte, Jaegerman, “produced some of the best news graphics ever while working at The New York Times from 1990 to 1998. Her work has been described as smart, finely detailed, elegant, witty, inventive, informative.”

This specific graphic revolves around an average lifecycle for a woman, and is laid out in a game board format. Notice how the use of varied element styles, from dolls and figurines to silhouettes and cartoon illustration gives significant vibrancy to a normally ominous message, specifically, health risks associated with aging.

Be sure to read through this one...there are some quite comical messages.

Map O’ The Day #47 – Taking The Train

Today’s image was found off of the Subway Systems websites, @ world.nycsubway.org, and displays daily subway ride statistics.

Other than enjoying the layout, which allows for easy conclusions to be drawn about the data, I thought that the conceptual route maps of each city was a nice second substrata of information.

Moreover, the bright yellow column along the right hand side of the image is chokful of information about each city, from founding date of the route, to the average single ride fare.

Map O’ The Day #46 – The History of Film & Gaming

Created by TrendONE / BVDW Virtual Think in Germany, this infographic shows a the history, current state, and future projections for the increasingly merged worlds of gaming and film. Worth a read through for those of you who are into either!

Map O’ The Day #45 – Burning Fuel

This MOTD was created by the NY Times as a part of a campaign to raise awareness around the fight against global warming. Aside from being visually appealing, the graphic shows the interesting comparison of energy usage between automobiles and human beings. Moreover, the image reveals horrifying figures around caloric value in some of our favorite foods, which may prompt a few of us to go for the banana over a bloomin’ onion the next time were “fueling up.”

On a side note, this graphic makes an excellent case for a principle of mapping: Selection. When crafting a map, info graphic, or image, strict adherence ought be paid to the categories and specific items that should be displayed, both in terms of their individual and relative values.

Imagine if this New York times example had shown a car’s fuel requirements against that of almost ANY other animal. The narrative and emotive value of the comparison instantly declines, in effect, scuttling the intended messaging of the artifact.

The consequences from choosing either incorrect, or inferior, information types and mediums, can be range from a substandard story to an unintentional skewing of information away from the desired communication.

Map O’ The Day #44 – West Virginia Slaw Map

Hot dogs are no light issue, and conflicts have been known to arise regarding what constitutes a ‘real’ hot dog.

The essential parts of the hot dog are not in dispute - a frankfurter sausage and a sliced bun to place it in. It’s what goes on the dog that causes all the trouble and discord. The garnishing and condiments that top up hot dogs vary greatly according to personal style and regional tradition.

This map, hailing from West Virginia Hot Dog Association’s website, displays that While the vast majority of West Virginians prefer hot dogs topped with coleslaw, it is not a standard topping at hot dog joints everywhere in West Virginia. The food culture of our state is diverse and influenced by many factors such as predominate ethnicities and a melding with cultures of surrounding states.This mapping project attempts to document this diversity.

All of the counties shaded in light green have been verified to have HDJs that include slaw as a topping on a hot dog with "everything". Light beige indicate counties where HDJs usually offer slaw, but usually by request only. In dark beige counties you can usually get slaw, but some HDJs may not offer it. Orange indicates counties where slaw is almost never available in mainstream HDJs. Finally, in those counties shaded red, slaw is unheard of. The data from several counties is unconfirmed and we welcome your input if you have specific knowledge that is in conflict with what is presented here. Please email us at

A few preferred styles elsewhere in the country are:
New York: hot dogs topped with steamed onions and a pale, deli-style mustard
Chicago: smothered in yellow mustard, dark green relish, chopped raw onion and tomato slices, sprinkled with celery salt
Kansas City: topped with sauerkraut and melted cheese

Map O' The Day #43 - Donald Duck Family Tree

In the spirit of Friday fun, here is a more lighthearted MOTD, focused around the loveable Donald Duck. One of the most popular of the Disney cartoon characters, Donald Duck made his debut in the Silly Symphony cartoon "The Wise Little Hen" on June 9, 1934. His fiery temper endeared him to audiences, and in the 1940s he surpassed Mickey Mouse in the number of cartoons reaching the theaters. Eventually, there were 128 Donald Duck cartoons, but he also appeared in a number of others with Mickey Mouse, Goofy, and Pluto. His middle name, shown in a wartime cartoon, is Fauntleroy.

This map was created by Gilles Maurice for a group of Disney researchers, Calisota Online. You can find more character family trees or check out maps of their universe and environment at, http://goofy313g.free.fr/calisota_online/

Map O' The Day #42 - User Experience, A System Simplified

This great chart by Dan Saffer that identifies and describes the relationships between various design disciplines.

Decently self explanatory!

Map O’ the Day #41 – A Year In Iraq

Think what you will of the New York Times, but the paper is without a doubt known for putting together compelling Info graphics which display data sets in a visually stimulating manner. Authored by Adriana Lins De Albuquerque & Alicia Chen, this image is no exception for the publication, as their portrayal of casualties during 2007 in all of Iraq masterfully shows the gruesome realities of war. The Times utilizes both color, figure type, and figure quantity to display the known data sets.

One should be somewhat leery when drawing insights from a map such as this, as often times authors of both info graphics and maps will choose to use scale, selection and representation in an effort to aim the viewer towards a specific conclusion or view. I’m not sure that I see a blatant statistical misrepresentation in this case, but without cross referencing the original data with the Times representation, it’s quite difficult to be sure of it’s objectivity.

In any event, this graphic is worth scanning for some undeniable trends in the reported data, such as the large amount of Iraqi police officers killed by hostile forces, namely, other Iraqis and foreign terrorists.

[I apologize for the resolution when viewing the comprehensive graphic, but zooming in provides an enhancement]

Map O' The Day #40 - The Land of Greendale

Today’s MOTD is a personal favorite – a map of the fictitious land of Greendale from the album cover art for Neil Young’s Greendale. Illustrated by James Mazzeo, who also illustrated the cover of Young’s Zuma, the map illustrates the backdrop for the rock opera album, centered on the adventures and trials of the Green family.

Just as web 2.0 has morphed the liner notes of yesterday’s record into downloadable songbooks and bonus features that accompany the digital album, the Greendale map takes interactivity to a whole new level. The album has its very own website where you can scroll over the map to enlarge certain details relevant to the songs.

It is becoming increasingly popular to make use of technology to enhance the depth of information and degree of interactivity on once static visual information maps.

Map O’ The Day #39 – Inside The Muppets!

This version of MOTD, was created by Lawson Parker, another student @ UNC Chapel Hill, under the teachings of world famous Info graphic creator, Alberto Cairo. He has listed her sources at the bottom left of the map.

Muppets: Who Are They. What Are They. How They Work.

Map O' The Day #38 - Where Is Your Vino Coming From?

This installation of MOTD, was created by Shayna Ayers, a student @ UNC Chapel Hill, under the teachings of world famous Info graphic creator, Alberto Cairo. She has listed her sources at the bottom left of the map.

The map, which captures a wide array of elements pertaining to vino, takes the user through a tour of the Italian wine producing regions. She presents information regarding pure production quantity by region, production by region in regards to quality, (see the map for meaning), recommendations, food pairings, and general facts about vino.

I thought the colors in this were fantastic, with a solid balance of photography, text, and charts/maps. One principle that I think she’s applied with great force is selection. By that I mean, it’s apparent she spent quite a bit of time on the categories or types of information that would assist a user in gaining a fuller understanding of Italian wines. The only thing that might have added further perspective would be displaying global consumption per region, to gain an understanding of $$$’s and notoriety for each region among the consuming global masses.

Map O' The Day #37 - The Genealogy of Pop/Rock Music

Some of you may have seen this map already, but its’ a favorite of mine. Authored by Reebee Garofalo, The Genealogy of Pop/Rock Music chart has been praised by many scholars and music fans alike.

Covering the time period from 1955 to 1978, more than 700 artists and 30 styles of music are mapped in currents flowing from left-to-right. For each performer, the length of time that he/she remained a major hit maker is provided. The overlapping streams allow you to compare the longevity and influence of multiple artists for the same time period. The birth and genealogy of each stylistic category is presented, along with an estimation of its share of total record sales.

Genealogy of Pop/Rock Music is referenced in Edward Tufte's, Visual Explanations: Images and Quantities, Evidence and Narrative (Graphics Press): "With intense richness of detail, this nostalgic and engaging chart fascinates many viewers (...) Also the illustration presents a somewhat divergent perspective on popular music: songs are not merely singles - unique, one-time, de novo happenings - rather, music and music-makers share a pattern, a context, a history."

Map O’ The Day #36 – Literary Organism

Today’s MOTD is a truly unique representation of Jack Kerouac’s, On The Road, by Stefanie Posavec, which is entitled “Literary Organism”. A quick glance at the map, and you’ll understand that Posavec’s title is appropriate. She has executed a brilliant deconstruction of Kerouac’s famous novel, by breaking down the entire book into it’s literary elements, such as, basic structure, word count, character presence, and, my favorite, the type of event/behavior engaged in by the main characters.

As the theme for this week is multivariate analysis, this map remains a perfect example of a wide range of the subject’s elements being built into the structure and display of the information.

A quick note on something that I found interesting about this graphic was how closely the representation mirrors a structure and form that you might expect to find in nature. I couldn’t stop coming back to the idea that a beautiful novel, even when broken apart to it’s barest forms, still retains a form that’s compelling and appealing.

Map O' The Day #35 - Foreclosures

This infographic was published in the New York Times, who created it from sources at First American CoreLogic, LoanPerformance, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the Census Bureau, and provides an excellent look at a poor situation, namely, the foreclosure situation in America.

Much like yesterday’s MOTD, this graphic utilizes multivariate analysis, using both height, color and location in order to show the %’s of subprime mortgage foreclosures in metropolitan areas, as well as the subprime mortgage foreclosures overall.

A key difference in this infographic from yesterday’s is that simple multivariate analysis in a central map wasn’t enough. Rather, the NYT employed a systems of maps to further contextualize the data. If you draw your attention to the bottom right, there are two additional maps depicting the construction boom as well as job loss, which allows a user to draw correlations among data sets.

This is a great example of what Maga Design refers to when discussing a “system of maps” that helps create insights while driving towards outcomes.

Map O' The Day #34 - The World of Science Fiction

The first Map O’ The Day in the new year is #34 – The World of Science Fiction.

This graphic, from Stephanie Fox, via i09.com, lays out a portion of the science fiction community. She uses a coloring system to show which medium the character(s) originated from, (TV, Book, Comics, and Video Games.)

She furthers the impact by using color to determine it’s creative origin: Marvel, DC, Image or Other. But she wasn’t finished with two variables describing creator and medium, because as she draws connections in the science fiction world, she uses different lines styles to show the frequency and type of encounter between connected parties.

This map, while not that visually appealing, demonstrates a principle that Maga Design firmly employs, that of multivariate analysis, meaning, a collection of procedures which involve observation and analysis of more than one statistical variable at a time. It’s apparent that Fox understands that presenting multiple informative elements about a subject can contribute towards creating insights.