NEW Death and Taxes 2010 poster!!

First, Jess from WallStats.com has released the 2010 Death & Taxes poster.  This is one of the best infographic examples today.  It's extremely informative, and the topic has a very wide reach.  The Death & Taxes poster from 2007 was my initial post on Cool Infographics, so I'm very excited to see this update.   Now the 2010 version is available to purchase as a poster here. Great job Jess!

Second, I'm really impressed by the viewer code for the poster. It's from Zoomorama.com, and lets me embed the interactive viewer.  The built-in zoom is pretty nice, but the Quick Find index on the left side is the best part.

Disney: Inside the Matterhorn Infographic

From the OC Register, an infographic with an inside look at the Matterhorn at Disneyland in Anaheim, CA.  Celebrating its 50th anniversary, this is a rare inside look behind the scenes of a Disney ride.

Market Visual (BETA) knowledge maps

I came across Market Visual Knowledge Maps this morning.  It claims to still be in BETA, and it maps business relationships based on companies or people that you enter.  It seems to build these mind maps on the fly, and saves any maps that you have build so you can retrieve them later.

It's a service you have to pay for, but if you're looking through annual reports and SEC filings to find people and connections, this will save you a bunch of time.  There's a fully interactive sample map, as well as an introductory video.

Get Your Geek Chart!

Rtkrum's Geek Chart

Recently I found the Geek Charts BETA, which looks up your usernames on a few of the popular social sites, and charts out your usage. It's charting all activity within the last 30 days.

The embedded chart is also live, so it will change over time.

What is Wolfram|Alpha?

I'm not sure I understand what Wolfram|Alpha is yet, but so far it's pretty impressive.  Developed by Stephen Wolfram and his team, it claims to be a "computational knowledge engine".  The input box looks like a search engine, but it is definitely NOT a search engine.

When you type in a question, it attempts to show you all of the relevant data it can find.  It is actually calculating and charting this information real-time in order to present it to you.  Because its built on top of the Mathematica Engine, it can also handle math problems.

I think this will be an important tool for many designers of infographics, because you can get some of your raw data directly from Wolfram|Alpha.  As they add more data into the system over time, this will become one of your best resources for information.  They have a pretty extensive page of examples by category that is a great place to start.  Also watch the short video by Stephen Wolfram showing what the system can do.

Who is Coming to America?

From GOOD magazine.  If you look closely, this is essentially a bar chart dressed up, but it's the dressing up into the shape of the U.S. flag that catches your eye.  I love it!

Immigration may have taken a back seat during the financial crisis, but the issue still needs resolving. While illegal immigrants sneaking over the border is still a primary concern, it’s good to know who came to our country legally, and from where. Our latest Transparency is a look at the 20 countries from which the most people came to America in 2008, how many immigrants already had family here, and how many received asylum when they arrived on our shores.

Found on SimpleComplexity.net, thanks Nathan!

Bestselling Movies are Not the Most Pirated Ones Online

Posted by metrobest on Flickr, a cool infographic showing that the most pirated movies on the web are not the bestselling, blockbusters you might expect.  Not sure who the author is, but it may be "5W Infographics España"

Check out the other posted infographics while you're there.

How Long Will It Last?

Good infographic from the New Scientist showing how many years we have left of our key natural resources.  Essentially these are basic bar and pie charts, but dressed up to make the overall graphic more compelling.  The message is still clear though, and the author gets his point across very strongly.

This comes from a 2007 article in the New Scientist called "Earth's Natural Wealth: an Audit" that include two more infographics as well.  The first is a map of where in the world are these natural resources are.

The next is a bubble graphic showing the scale of how much of each resource an average American will consume during their lifetime.

The Source listed on the first infographic: Armin Reller, University of Augsburg, Tom Graedel, Yale University

Found on FlowingData.com and numerous Twitter references.  Thanks Nathan.

Where's The Beer? (U.S. Breweries per Capita)

Found on SloshSpot.com, a U.S. map showing breweries per capita by state.  Drink up!

GE: Plug into the Smart Grid

Great interactive infographic website from GE for their Plug Into The Smart Grid ad campaign.  Beautiful graphics, fast, clean interface and all-around good job.  The viewer can change the setting, and see the infographic results change in response.

My son loves the Augmented Reality part!  Not really infographic, but fun.