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.

The Evolution of the Modern Skateboard

From The Odeus Skate Blog comes this timeline infographic showing the history of skateboard design.  I got my first skateboard in the 70's, so it already had the kicktail, but it was still really narrow.

 

The AlloSphere: Step inside your visual data!

Awesome sphere that you step into and become completely immersed in visual data!  I can't wait for one of these to be available for the public to experience.  Great TEDTalks video.

JoAnn Kuchera-Morin demos the AlloSphere, a new way to see, hear and interpret scientific data. Dive into the brain, feel electron spin, hear the music of the elements ... and detect previously unseen patterns that could lead to new discoveries.

Circles: Visualisation Volume 2

From Chris Watson (visualthinkmap.ning.com), comes Volume 2 of the online magazine "Visualisation" featuring many different infographics from around the world.  They all use circles as the focus of their images, and Chris has done a fantastic job putting these together.  Included are some interviews with the infographic authors and high-res version of the images.

Open publication - Free publishing - More aesthetic

Great work Chris!

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.

A Century of Driving in America

From Good Magazine,  an infographic resembling a board game but in reality is a timeline.  Credits list Coleen Corcoran and Joe Prichard.

Thanks Alwyn for sending in the link!

Did You Know? Version 3.0

Version 3.0 of this great infographic video by Karl Fisch (modified by Scott McLeod).  If you like this one, you can still see the prior versions 1.0 and 2.0.

Infographic Little Red Riding Hood video

Slagsmålsklubben - Sponsored by destiny from Tomas Nilsson on Vimeo.

I loved this!  Inspired by the Royksopp music video “Remind Me”, Thomas Nilsson has created a fantastic infographic video retelling of the Little Red Riding Hood fairy Tale.

Great job Thomas!

What's In Your Mail?

From Deliver Magazine (Issue 24, Page 7), has a simple infographic that clearly breaks out what’s in your average mail delivery in the U.S.  The illustration is by Jude Buffum.  Its available here as a PDF.

Source: USPS® Household Diary Study: Mail Use and Attitudes, FY 2007

Microsoft's Vision 2019

Apparently by 2019, we will all live in an infographic world, and that's good news for us.  Microsoft had the first public showing of the video at the Wharton Business Technology Conference.  Some found Microsoft's video inspiring, and some were not impressed.

I love some of the ideas shown in the video, but much of it also felt like the magic of Hollywood.  Because this blog is focused on infographics, I understand how much thought and effort from the designer goes into making just one infographic image useful and easy to understand.