The use of data visualisation has exploded in recent years as evidenced by books such as Data Flow which have become increasingly popular. The reason for this explosion is fairly simple, we now have more data flying around than we know what to do with and the general public is so incredibly bored with being told that 5% of this and 80% of that should make them think again about how they live their lives. This constant barrage of data has made people switch off whenever statistics are brought up at all and so data graphics are employed more and more frequently to catch their attention.
 
This Infographic from Phil Gyford’s flickr page shows us what happens when everyone and their cousin with a pirate copy of photoshop tries to produce data visualisations. There is a skill to creating effective data visualisations that many ignore, choosing to make something pretty over something that actually adds value to the raw data represented.
 
Lee Byron’s Last.FM data graphic for instance, reveals patterns about users listening habits that are unlikely to come across simply through raw figures. I was lucky enough to talk to Lee whilst working at Teague and his data lead approach to design is a fascinating new direction for designers to explore. We must all remember when employing these techniques that the information is the most important part, much like the message is the most important part when designing typography. Simply adding a flashy layer to otherwise useless data won’t get us anywhere.