I've been thinking a lot, ever since a recent post by Scott Adams on his blog. Scott Adams, the author of Dilbert expressed a desire for a website that's been bouncing around my head for a while.
"I'd love to see a newspaper or web site that is nothing but graphs putting the issues of the day in context. For ever major issue, there's generally one chart that captures the essence of the argument. I think charts would help put everyone on the same page whereas the continuous blah, blah, blah of talking heads makes you want to take sides."
I was originally drawn towards the idea because I found that I had a desire to practice making infographics in Illustrator, but I had a... data block. That is, I wasn't sure exactly what information I wanted to display. I am drawn to this idea of a consistent flow of information. I am drawn to the idea of allowing users to help pick the most important issues they want to be illustrated and visualized.
Personally, if there were a well-designed website, with consistent, timely, well-designed infographics on current news, I would make it a part of my daily routine to check it. The New York Times currently holds this place for me. Despite the well-regarded and indisputable skill of the Times' graphics department, I find the infographics are still too few and far between. I would love seeing the news displayed in innovative, interesting, and easy-to-understand illustrations. From humble, well-chosen pie charts, to complex depictions of misunderstood or ignored processes.
Currently I do freelance infographic design which takes up a lot of my time, and I know that other designers are just as busy. The website would have to be financially sustainable to be practical. Whether it is sustained through simple ads, sponsors, paid premium subscriptions, or through reprinting fees, ideally the website would be able to draw premium talent from the large infodesign community on the web.
If any of this rings true to you, please, send me an email and we can talk about it. If you are excited and would like to help, contribute, or you have similar ideas, let me know. I would very much like to make something like this happen. I have the excitement, the time, and the drive to get a project like this off the ground with some help from some talented like-minded people. If you have criticism, slight or severe, I appreciate any and all reality checks. I'd love to talk.
Thank you for your time,
EJ Fox
ejfox@ejfox.com
