The Moscow Flower Show celebrated its sixth International Festival with the theme of ecology, for the enhancement of biodiversity. Here you can see Guest of Honor Claude Pasquer, representing the renowned French International Garden Festival of Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire, conduct a … Continue reading →

Tags: Illustrator, R

By Deirdre Fulton Common Dreams The epoch is thought to have begun in the 1950s, when human activity set global systems on a different trajectory   The Anthropocene Epoch has begun, according to a group of experts assembled at the … Continue reading →

By Nate Seltenrich Environmental Health Perspectives Human impacts on our planet have become so profound that many researchers now favor a new name for the current epoch: the Anthropocene.1 The underlying premise of this term is that essentially every Earth … Continue reading →

I really like this chart! It hits all of the data visualization design best practices for me. This was published by the NYTimes in the article: Here’s How Much Hotter Than Normal This June Has Been

Here’s what I like:

• It’s time series data, so it’s visualized as a line chart

• Year-over-year data is easy to compare as overlapping lines for the same Jan-Dec time period

• No chart legend! The lines are labeled directly within your field of view in the chart

• Using the pre attentive attribute of color, 2023 is highlighted in orange and the rest are gray lines

• The chosen orange color isn’t red or green so there isn’t any implication of good or bad

• The 2022 line is a darker shade of gray, so it’s also distinguishable, but not the focus

• The x-axis labels are only every other month to minimize the text on the page

• The is one example of when a non-zero baseline is appropriate so you can see the details

NOTE: This NYTimes article is behind their paywall, so you may not be able to see the original article without a subscription. I have a limited amount of “gift articles” I can share. You can CLICK THIS LINK if you don’t have a subscription and want to see the full article. It will let you see the article until I run out of shares!

Ten years ago today, the Cool Infographics book was released on October 28, 2013. I frequently lament that it’s nice to have written a book, but the actual process of writing a book was pretty difficult.

I never set out to write a book. Wiley publishing approached me in 2011, and convinced me to turn the talk I was presenting at conferences into the outline for a new book. I had started my infographics design company, InfoNewt, in 2010, and was giving almost monthly presentations about my process to design, publish and promote infographics. Turns out that the talk outline did lend itself nicely to the structure of what became the Cool Infographics chapters.

Looking back, there were a number of unique challenges that I had to solve while putting together the book, and some were also new issues for Wiley.

Permissions to include infographics

I didn’t design most of the infographics I included in the book, because this wasn’t a book of self promotion. My goal was to share the best designs from the world of infographics as examples, and that meant including designs from some of the best designers in the world.

Here was my challenge. Most infographics are meant to be shared and reposted as much as possible online. “Going viral” was the ultimate achievement of an infographic. However, legally reprinting an infographic in a book required the explicit, signed permission of each infographic’s copyright holder. I ended up including over 100 infographic examples in the book, which was a lot of negotiation and legwork.

For every design I included, I had to track down the designer or publishing company, and get them to sign an official permission form that allowed me to include their design. I wasn’t able to include many of the designs I wanted to share because either I couldn’t track down the original designer, or they refused to sign the permission form.

Infographics are large

The online infographics that I was writing about were much larger that what could effectively be shown on the 7.3 x 9.2 inch pages of the book. They had to be reduced to fit on the pages, which made the text in many of them unreadable when sized to the book’s pages. Wiley didn’t want to publish a larger format book, so I had to come up with another idea.

My solution was that every design I included, also included a link to view the original infographic online. The downside was that readers can’t click a link in a printed book. That meant they would have to manually type in the URL, and many of the links were really long and complicated addresses. So, I created over 100 shortened links for the book, using my hosting platform from the coolinfographics.com website.

For example:

Link in the book: Coolinfographics.com/Figure-5-19

Forwards to the long original URL: http://create.mcgraw-hill.com/wordpress-mu/connectblog/files/2012/03/McGraw-Hill-Connect-Handout-WHITE-Small.jpg

See what I mean? No one was ever going to try to type in that long URL.

I also created an index web page for all of the Figures that had clickable links for every design in the book that is available to see online: coolinfographics.com/figures

Making the book navigation visual

Infographics is a very visual topic. Not only do readers want to see the visual examples of every concept I discuss in the book, but I wanted the book itself to be visual too. This took some negotiating with Wiley to make happen. Every chapter has its own color, and I included that color on every page in a small tab that prints all the way to what is called the “fore edge” of the page. This makes the color visible at the edges of the pages even when the book is closed. These tabs are staggered down the page to provide an easy navigation to find the color you see in the Table of Contents.

Marketing was my job

It turns out that most book publishing companies are very focused on publishing, printing and distributing a book, but not so much on marketing them once they get printed. Once a book is published they move on to publishing the next book, and the majority of promoting my book fell to me. This was something I didn’t expect. I am constantly teaching people that designing and publishing an infographic isn’t enough, and you have to promote it too. I wrote a whole chapter about in the Cool Infographics book! Similarly, I expected a big book publisher to be good at the promotion process for books. I was wrong. They printed a beautiful color book and got it into Amazon and onto the shelves at bookstores like Barnes & Noble, but that’s where their effort mostly ended.

Most of the promotion for the book has come from me. Whether it was one of my talks, a guest appearance on a podcast, an article that mentioned the book (like this one) or someone using Google to search for infographics and finding the Cool Infographics website.

Where to go from here?

The book has done really well for 10 years, and sales continue. The concepts I wrote about in the book are all just as relevant now, as they were 10 years ago. However, some of the example designs are out-of-date, and some of the design tools aren’t around anymore.

Where do you think we should from here? As readers of the Cool Infographics website and book, what would you like to see as ongoing content exploring the design, publishing and promotion of infographics? Videos, workshops, articles, tutorials, online courses, etc. Post a question, comment, or idea and let me know how Cool Infographics can be relevant to you in the future.

I’d love to hear from you. Either post a comment below or send me a note through the CONTACT page.

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Most people may be familiar with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and other common types of psychotherapy, but art therapy remains somewhat of a mystery to the general public. Not incorporating it into a treatment plan could be a huge missed opportunity for veterans who’ve experienced trauma and other patients in need of mental health support. “Art is a means of therapy and a way to heal,” says Marine Corps veteran Jerry Rael. “It helps me escape some of the things that I went through during my time in service.”  Art can also be therapeutic for families who have lost a loved one in battle, as seen in Make Peace or Die: Honor the Fallen. In the film, Marine Anthony Marquez carves battlefield crosses out of wood for each lost service member and then hand-delivers them to Gold Star families, including a grieving mother who had attempted suicide.

BOSTON (October 8, 2024) -- The Free Software Foundation (FSF) has announced that it is taking part in the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)'s consortium on the safety of (so-called) artificial intelligence, particularly with reference to "generative" AI systems. The FSF will ensure the free software perspective is adequately represented in these discussions.

What did NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft on the asteroid moon, Dimorphos, teach astronomers about altering the trajectory o

Are we alone in the universe, and could we find intelligent life beyond the confines of our Milky Way Galaxy? This is what a first-of-its-kind study conduc

How can the metal content of stars influence the formation of Earth-like exoplanets? This is what a recent study published in The Astronomical Journal hope

Are we alone in the universe, and could we find intelligent life beyond the confines of our Milky Way Galaxy? This is what a first-of-its-kind study conduc

How can the metal content of stars influence the formation of Earth-like exoplanets? This is what a recent study published in The Astronomical Journal hope

Genentech, a leading biotechnology company, recently announced the permanent closing of their Cancer Immunology Department. This announcement comes as a ma

Scientists have used computational tools, including machine learning, to differentiate between subtypes of rheumatoid arthritis.

A team of researchers at the California Institute of Technology have released a prototype for a new type of advanced, smart mask that could be used to dete

Using weekends to catch up on lost sleep may lower your risk of developing heart disease by about 20%.

If people can get advanced warnings that they are at high risk for certain diseases, they might be able to implement lifestyle changes that can reduce ...

Eating an unhealthy diet when young could accelerate the risk of developing artery disease.

Scientists have used computational tools, including machine learning, to differentiate between subtypes of rheumatoid arthritis.

How can the metal content of stars influence the formation of Earth-like exoplanets? This is what a recent study published in The Astronomical Journal hope

Scientists have used computational tools, including machine learning, to differentiate between subtypes of rheumatoid arthritis.

Organizer: Community Energy Association
Location: Online

Organizer: Community Energy Association
Location: Online

Feb 14, 2025, 12pm EST

Please join us at the SMFA for a talk and Q&A by visiting artist Kianja Strobert!

Kianja is known for dynamic explorations of acrylic, ink, and other materials that have established her as an innovative voice in contemporary abstraction. Her mixed-media sculptures and works on paper share a coarseness of texture and an expressive line. Strobert’s work translates the world into energetic planes of color, rendered in thick but refined brushstrokes that keep the eye in constant motion. The suggestion of movement or fluctuation results from the reactions of her various materials to their structural supports.

Open to Tufts university students, faculty, and staff.

Building: Anderson Auditorium
Campus Location: Boston Fenway campus
City: Boston, MA 02111
Campus: Boston Fenway campus
Location Details: 230 Fenway, Boston, MA 02115 (Anderson Auditorium)
Open to Public: Yes
Event Type: Lecture/Presentation/Seminar/Talk
Event Sponsor Details: Thanks to Robert Nagel, Tufts University Art Galleries, and the MFA Graduate Program for their continued support of the visiting artist series.
Event Contact Name: Sophie Cloherty
Event Contact Email: sophie.cloherty@tufts.edu
Event Admission: Free

Feb 7, 2025, 12pm EST

Please join us at the SMFA for a talk and Q&A by visiting artist Chitra Ganesh!

Across a twenty-year practice, Chitra Ganesh has developed an expansive body of work rooted in drawing and painting, which has evolved to encompass animations, wall drawings, collages, computer generated imagery, video, and sculpture. Through studies in literature, semiotics, social theory, science fiction, and historical and mythic texts, Ganesh attempts to reconcile representations of femininity, sexuality, and power absent from the artistic and literary canons. She often draws on Hindu and Buddhist iconography and South Asian forms such as Kalighat and Madhubani, and is currently negotiating her relationship to these images with the rise of right wing fundamentalism in India.

Open to Tufts university students, faculty, and staff.

Building: Anderson Auditorium
Campus Location: Boston Fenway campus
City: Boston, MA 02111
Campus: Boston Fenway campus
Location Details: 230 Fenway, Boston, MA 02115 (Anderson Auditorium)
Open to Public: Yes
Event Type: Lecture/Presentation/Seminar/Talk
Event Sponsor Details: Thanks to Robert Nagel, Tufts University Art Galleries, the MFA Graduate Program, and the Department of Graphic Arts for their continued support of the visiting artist series.
Event Contact Name: Sophie Cloherty
Event Contact Email: sophie.cloherty@tufts.edu
Event Admission: Free

Dec 6, 2024, 12pm EST

Please join us at the SMFA for a talk and Q&A by visiting artist Tillie Walden!

Tillie is a cartoonist and illustrator living in Vermont and teaches at the Center for Cartoon Studies in Hartford, Vermont. Tillie is visiting as part of the Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo (MICE) from December 7–8, 2024.

Open to Tufts university students, faculty, and staff.

Building: Anderson Auditorium
Campus Location: Boston Fenway campus
City: Boston, MA 02111
Campus: Boston Fenway campus
Location Details: 230 Fenway, Boston, MA 02115 (Anderson Auditorium)
Open to Public: Yes
Event Type: Lecture/Presentation/Seminar/Talk
Event Sponsor Details: Thanks to Robert Nagel, Tufts University Art Galleries, the MFA Graduate Program, and the Department of Graphic Arts for their continued support of the visiting artist series.
Event Contact Name: Sophie Cloherty
Event Contact Email: sophie.cloherty@tufts.edu
Event Admission: Free

Nov 24, 2024

This day commemorates the martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji (1621-1675), the ninth of the Ten Sikh Gurus. He is remembered not only for his defense of the Sikh faith, but also of Hinduism and of religious liberty.

Open to Public: Yes
Event Type: Multifaith Observance
Event Sponsor: University Chaplaincy

Nov 18, 2024, 3pm EST

Join us for a fireside chat and book signing event with renowned entrepreneur and philanthropist Bill Cummings, founder of Cummings Properties and co-founder of Cummings Foundation.

Building: Joyce Cummings Center
Campus Location: Medford/Somerville campus
City: Medford, MA 02155
Campus: Medford/Somerville campus
Location Details: 177 College Ave, Medford
Wheelchair Accessible (for in-person events): Yes
Open to Public: No
Primary Audience(s): Alumni and Friends, Faculty, Staff, Students (Graduate), Students (Postdoctoral), Students (Undergraduate)
Event Type: Lecture/Presentation/Seminar/Talk
Subject: Business, Innovation
Event Sponsor: Gordon Institute
Event Sponsor Details: Derby Entrepreneurship Center
Event Contact Name: Carol Denning
Event Contact Email: carol.denning@tufts.edu
RSVP Information: derbyecenter.tufts.edu…
Event Admission: Free
More info: derbyecenter.tufts.edu…

Nov 13, 2024, 6pm EST

Learn the ins and outs of starting a hardware startup and explore similarities and differences with other types of new venture creation.

Building: Joyce Cummings Center
Campus Location: Medford/Somerville campus
City: Medford, MA 02155
Campus: Medford/Somerville campus
Location Details: 177 College Ave, Medford
Wheelchair Accessible (for in-person events): Yes
Open to Public: No
Primary Audience(s): Alumni and Friends, Faculty, Staff, Students (Graduate), Students (Postdoctoral), Students (Undergraduate)
Event Type: Lecture/Presentation/Seminar/Talk
Subject: Business, Innovation
Event Sponsor: Gordon Institute
Event Sponsor Details: Derby Entrepreneurship Center
Event Contact Name: Carol Denning
Event Contact Email: carol.denning@tufts.edu
RSVP Information: go.tufts.edu…
Event Admission: Free
More info: go.tufts.edu…

A UKOLN Open Forum will be held on Wednesday 14 June from 10.00-12.00, prior to the official opening of the Institutional Web Management Workshop. The Open Forum will provide an opportunity to hear about some of the wider activities UKOLN is involved in. IWMW participants are invited to join the Open Forum. [2006-05-16]

Nov 15, 2024, 1:30pm EST

Robert M. G. Reinhart is an associate professor and the director of Reinhart Laboratory at Boston University. Research in his laboratory seeks to understand the nature of visual perception and cognition (e.g., attention, working memory, executive control, learning) in the healthy adult brain; how these processes break down in normal aging and neuropsychiatric illnesses, such as schizophrenia; and how we can leverage insights from basic and clinical science to develop novel interventions for optimizing cognition in healthy people and restoring abilities in aging and clinical populations.

Building: Joyce Cummings Center
Campus Location: Medford/Somerville campus
City: Medford, MA 02155
Campus: Medford/Somerville campus
Location Details: JCC 270
Open to Public: No
More info: tufts.app.box.com…

Martin Belcher is Project Manager for the Internet Development Group, Institute for Learning and Research Technology at the University of Bristol. Martin is responsible for the consultancy activities of the ILRT. These mainly take a Web-based focus and include Web site design, implementation, service specification development, usability and accessibility audits, online strategy development and various forms of Web-focused training. Recent clients include; JISC, ESRC, University of Bristol, Bank of England, the Institute of Fiscal Studies, National Maritime Museum, BMW. Martin has been working for the University of Bristol in Internet related projects since 1994. Previous to that he studied, and sometimes practiced, in the fields of archaeology and geology.

Greg Smart is the Development Manager at the University of Bath, and worked on implementing and supporting the University's Finance System, Lawson. Greg has helped to ensure that the University plays a leading role in utilising is responsible for the University's Management Information Systems, having previously Lawson's tools for web deployment. He has worked in IT for over ten years and in HE for four, and has particular interests in the way people use computers and how their jobs are affected by changing technology.

An Ariadne "At The Event" article entitled "IWMW 2005: Whose Web Is It Anyway?" by Miles Banbery is now available. [2005-08-01]

The University of Bradford Web CMS project began in October 2005 and by the time IWMW 2008 happens we will have purchased our Web CMS and have a new University Web Team in place (just!). "Crumbs - that's taken a long time," you may say! Well, yes - but we know that by the end of the project we will have a Web CMS that suits our organisational needs and is welcomed and accepted by the users, as well as a new resource to assist the University of Bradford in taking its Web presence forward - the University Web Team. So how did we do it? Following on from last year's IWMW 2007 session (People, Processes and Projects - How the Culture of an Organisation can Impact on Technical System Implementation) we will give some insight into why we think our project has continued to be successful - detailing the hurdles we met along the way and how we overcame them - and imparting the knowledge that we have learnt during the project which can help you take your organisation with you and enable you to implement a huge change management project successfully. Hint - it's all about the people! The session was facilitated by Claire Gibbons and Russell Allen, University of Bradford.

Dave Hartland is the manager of Netskills, a national training and staff development service based at Newcastle University and partly funded by the JISC. Netskills provides approximately 400 workshops per year primarily to the Higher and Further education and public library sectors in Internet technologies, Web service management, e-learning and information skills. The training materials developed for these workshops are made available via a licence system to universities and colleges. Netskills also runs accredited Professional Development Certificates in conjunction with the workshop programme. David is a member of the UCISA Staff development Group and the BIOME (Health and Life Sciences Information Gateway) Steering Group. He has run workshops and training courses for the Internet Society's developing countries programme and was for 5 years the chair of the Information Systems and User Services Working Group for TERENA (Trans-European Research and Education Network Association) Dave gave a plenary talk on Strategic Staff Development for the Web-enabled Organisation.

Paul Boag has written a guest blog post for "Brian Kelly's UK Web Focus: Reflections On The Web" blog [2007-06-04]

Paul Boag, from Headscape, considers how social participation is the cornerstone of the web 2.0 movement and has been spearheaded by sites such as digg.com. One of the underlying principles of these sites is that peer to peer recommendations carry more weight than those from either a search engine or from corporate advertising. The commercial sector has been quick to adopt this peer review mechanism with customer reviews and ratings. This talk proposes to explore how social participation can be applied to the process of recruiting new students and what lessons can be learnt from the approach adopted by the commercial sector. We will also look at what institutional barriers exist that prevent this approach and how these can be overcome.