Cool Infographics Book Giveaway December 2017

During December 2017, I am giving away one signed copy of my book Cool Infographics! 

Register on the Giveaways Page by December 15, 2017 to be entered.

I posted this on the Giveaways page in November but forgot to mention it here, so I'm extending the registration deadline until December 15th.

You can always download a free chapter from the Book page to get a sample from the 1st chapter, The Science of Infographics.

A cool infographic tells a story visually —an engaging story built with your data. More than just using pictures or colorful charts, infographics create the type of visual information that your audience will quickly grasp and remember.  Inside, the fundamentals of infographics are clearly explained for both novices and experienced professionals.

Cool Infographics Book in Chinese!

I was finally able to get my own printed copy of the Chinese translated version of the Cool Infographics book! According to my publisher, Wiley, it has been translated into Simplified Chinese, and Orthodox Chinese, Korean and Russian versions are still in the works. The Chinese version is available in the US through Amazon.

Of course, the only way I can tell what the Chinese translation says is to translate it back into English with the Google Translate app. They translated the title "Cool Infographics" into 可视化沟通, which translates back to English as "Visual Communication". I know the app isn't perfect, but you can get the general meaning.

Just under 5% of the Cool Infographics web traffic comes from China, so I know there are a lot of fans there.

I had to work with the Wiley editors to get the chapter colors to show up along the page edges. My thoughts were that it's a visual communication book, and you should be able to find the chapters visually! The translated version got that right too:

 

The Process of Designing an Infographic

The Process of Designing an Infographic is an interactive design that outlines my own infographic design process. My data visualization and infographics design company, InfoNewt, uses this process when designing infographics for clients, and I teach this process in my workshops and classes. The team at Visme.co created an interactive infographic version of it using the Visme design platform. Visme.co is a fantastic online design platform for infographics, presentations, reports and more.

Most of my designs follow this 5-step process:

1. Data Research - Start with the data. What's the insight or story?
2. Wireframe - Wireframe your story before you start any design work 
3. Design Concepts - Experiment with design ideas by creating rough concepts that visualize your data in a handful of different ways
4. Iterate - Choose one design direction or combine a few different ideas from your concepts.
5. Finalize - The final step is to finalize your design with the appropriate Copyright or Creative Commons license, and export the final design to a few different file formats as necessary. 

One of the advantages of using Visme as the platform to design your infographic is that you can create interactive elements in your design. In this case, you can see the original interactive version on the Visme site, that includes additional information when you mouse over each process step. This is built in Javascript, and anyone can share the interactive version by using the embed code on their own website.

You can embed the interactive infographic on your own site by using this HTML code:

<script src='//my.visme.co/visme.js'></script> <div class='visme_d' data-url='the-process-of-designing-an-infographic-d25a0c' data-w='800' data-h='2982'></div>

Coolness Graphed

Coolness Graphed.com has a collection of bar graphs that describes when certain actions are deemed “cool” or “uncool”. The three shown here are just a few examples from the website.

Coolness Graphed.com brings normal events together with a humorous flare by rating them in a “cool”/”uncool” bar graph. The bar graph works well with the events as a visual ranking system. No real values are needed.  Data visualization used brilliantly!  It only takes seconds for the audience to understand each one, and they are highly sharable in social media.

The site has been running for more than two years now, and keeps getting funnier!  Thanks to Jones for sending in the link!

Now also available in a book!

Cool Infographics: Best Practices Group on LinkedIn

I am excited to announce the launch of a new LinkedIn Group, Cool Infographics: Best Practices. I have personally been a part of many great discussion groups over the years and believe that this group fills an unmet need.  Please accept this invitation to join the group to share your own experiences and wisdom.

There are many groups that share infographics, but I felt that a discussion group dedicated to the craft of infographics and data visualization was missing.  This group will feature questions and case studies about how companies are leveraging infographics and data visualization as a communication tool.  Any posts that are just links to infographics will be moderated to keep the focus on engaging discussions.  Topics and questions from the Cool Infographics book will also be discussed.

Join us in a professional dialogue surrounding case studies and strategies for designing infographics and using them as a part of an overall marketing strategy.  We welcome both beginning and established professionals to share valuable tactics and experiences as well as fans of infographics to learn more about this growing field.

-Randy

Cool Infographics 30% Off at Amazon This Weekend ONLY!

This weekend ONLY, Amazon is offering 30% Off any one print book, and you can use this deal to get Cool Infographics at the lowest price yet!  The deal ends December 1st at 11:59pm PST.  Use the promo code “BOOKDEAL“ at checkout under the “Gift cards & promotional codes” section.

You can read the details and Terms & Conditions here.

When I looked on Saturday, Amazon’s retail price was listed at $25.08 (it changes daily), and with this discount you could get Cool Infographics for only $17.56.  That’s the lowest price I’ve seen anywhere!

Update on Sunday, December 1, 2013 at 2:06PM by Randy

I’ve heard some feedback from readers that the 30% off deal only works in the U.S. Amazon.com site.  Apparently, it won’t work in the Amazon.co.uk site in the UK.  Anyone else have experiences trying the code in non-U.S. Amazon sites?  Please share.

The Cool Infographics Book is Now Available! #coolinfobook

The Cool Infographics book is now shipping!  I received my own printed copies on Friday for the first time, and they look fantastic!  It’s a special feeling to hold the physical result of 12 months of hard work in my hands.  The publisher, Wiley, did an awesome job printing them.

I know that people who pre-ordered the book have begun to receive their copies.  Everyone that pre-ordered copies should get their shipment shortly.  If you’re interested in an ebook version, I believe the Amazon Kindle version is now available, and other book sites will have an ebook version available in a couple weeks.

As I posted last week, I’ve made a free sample chapter excerpt available.  Use the online form to request the link to download the PDF sample chapter.

DON’T MISS OUT!  Time is running out to take advantage of the discount code “CINFO” to get 40% off list price on the Wiley publisher site.  The discount code is still good through the end of October (10/31/13).  Last time I checked all of the book retailer sites (yesterday), this was the best price online to get the book for only $23.99.

Download A Free Sample Chapter from the Cool Infographics Book #coolinfobook

The Cool Infographics book comes out next week!

I now have a sample chapter available for download as a PDF file for FREE.  Fill out the form on the request page, and you’ll get an automated email with the link to download the sample chapter.

The sample chapter excerpt includes 30 pages from the first chapter, and covers the following topics:

• Chapter 1: The Science of Infographics
  • Infographics vs. Data Visualizations
  • The Explosive Growth of Infographics
  • The Rise of the Informavore
  • The Rise of Big Data
  • Why Infographics Work
  • The Art of Storytelling

DON’T MISS OUT!  Time is running out to take advantage of the discount code “CINFO” to get 40% off list price on the Wiley publisher site.  The pre-order discount code is only good through the end of October (10/31/13).  Last time I checked all of the book retailer sites (yesterday), this was still the best deal online to get the book for only $23.99.

40% Discount on Cool Infographics Book Pre-Orders

As a special offer for readers of the Cool Infographics blog, Wiley is offering a 40% discount when you pre-order the print version of Cool Infographics directly from their site.  The list price for my book is $39.99 in the United States (CDN $47.99 in Canada, £26.99 or €32.00 in Europe), so the discount brings the price down in the U.S. to $23.99 for pre-orders.  This offer is available globally from the countries included on the Wiley site.

Discount: 40% off list price

Link: http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1118582306.html

Discount Code: CINFO

Expires: 10/31/13

The 40% off pre-order discount is available for the month of October, leading up to the official release on October 28, 2013.

This discount is only available for orders of the print version of the book from the Wiley site.  The prices from online book retailers Amazon or Barnes & Noble change daily (or more frequently) based on their pricing algorithms, so there’s no telling what their prices will be on any given day.  That’s why the discount is only available from Wiley.  Enter the discount code “CINFO” at checkout.

Please share this offer with any friends or co-workers that would enjoy the book!

Note: Contact me for additional discounts on bulk orders for 26 or more copies for your organization.

Gone To Press!

It’s out of my hands!

This week, my project editor at Wiley told me that Cool Infographics the book has officially “gone to press!”  That means that all of the electronic layout files have been sent to the printer, and the book is in the printing schedule.  The official release date is October 28th, from online book retailers and should even include your local bookstore!

Over the last 12 months I’ve been gathering all of the materials together into the binder you see above, but I’m super excited to see the complete printed book.  I can’t wait to see the printed copy and share it with everyone.  You’ll love the full-color infographics and data visualization examples included.  The final book will be close to 380 pages!

Intended for everyone, not just designers, the book explains how to utilize infographics effectively as part of a content marketing strategy.  Things like how to structure your information flow, how to choose a topic, how to be credible to your audience, and how to publish and promote your final infographic design.  Just like this site, the book includes visual examples from designers and companies all over the world.  I designed a bunch of custom data visualizations for the book, but most of the examples are some of the coolest infographics from the web.

You can find out more about the book on the dedicated landing page I setup here: coolinfographics.com/book

To receive the book as fast as possible, pre-order your copy today from Amazon, Barnes & Noble or directly from Wiley!