Vancouver, BC – with a hot spell just around the corner, now's the time to schedule air conditioning repair and maintenance in Vancouver.

To provide one-stop evaporative cooling solutions for industry and commerce all over the world.

Clay Cooley Auto Group is excited to announce its acquisition of Don Davis Nissan in Arlington, Texas.

“The rent is too damn high,” famously proclaimed New York City perennial candidate Jimmy McMillan. The latest analysis from Harvard University’s State of the Nation’s Housing 2024 report suggests those who share McMillan’s views are unlikely to change their tune.  The report, tracking data up to Q2 2024, includes three major takeaways when it comes…

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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.

Event Begins: Wednesday, November 13, 2024 1:00pm
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Interested in gaining a first hand account of a career in aerospace engineering? Join Handshake and Pratt & Whitney Production Test Engineer, Anthony Bartolotta, for answers to questions on topics like:
An average day in the life of an aerospace engineer 
Important hard and soft skills for aspiring engineers to know
Tips for launching a career in engineering
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Elite Heating, Cooling and Plumbing recently announced the launch of its redesigned and upgraded website. The new site has been upgraded to HTTPS offering valued clients and future clients with better online protection. Along with added protection, it provides clients with a new more efficient server, ensuring a positive user experience along with the addition of a faster appointment setting feature. 

Mastercool’s new A/C System Analyzer is an all-in-one tool that not only calculates critical information for the air conditioning system but also diagnosis basic system problems. The LCD display leads the technician through basic tests, making service quicker and less complicated.

Mastercool’s new A/C System Analyzer is an all in one tool that not only calculates critical information for the air conditioning system but also diagnosis basic system problems. The LCD display leads the technician through basic test making service quicker and less complicated.

The decarbonization trend has spurred the development of new cooling equipment technologies that often use humidity control to increase efficiency and reduce emissions.

The U.S. DOE will soon begin enforcing its 2017 rule that mandates minimum energy efficiency requirements for walk-in coolers and freezers.

New HVACR cooling innovations promise to enhance sustainability and improve energy efficiency. 

New cooling technologies that promise to revolutionize the way climate control is approached are emerging in the HVACR industry.

This unit is a semi-custom fabricated air handler that can utilize direct or indirect evaporative cooling or a combination of both to meet specific usage and dimensional requirements.

This product has a new modular construction scheme with the thermal performance of the company’s patented nuCore Heat Exchanger.

Selecting the correct air-cooled condenser for an installation is a vital part of ensuring the system operates properly and at peak efficiency.

Occasionally while servicing refrigeration equipment, technicians may come across a system utilizing a water-cooled condenser instead of an air-cooled condenser.

This year’s Dealer Design Awards gold winning product in the Refrigeration and Ice Machine category is the Quantum Air™ Remote Air Cooled Condenser from Heat Transfer Products Group Inc.

Refrigeration contractors who have not yet attended the annual National Restaurant Association (NRA) show really need to put it on their bucket lists. For four days each year, McCormick Place convention center is filled to the rafters with vendors exhibiting everything from gluten-free pasta to pizza ovens to high-tech ice machines.

Don’t assume equipment capacity or conditions. Instead, do some digging and find the tables for the equipment you install and service.

Poughkeepsie, New York - Dandelion, a geothermal company that started at “X” at Google’s parent company Alphabet, announced its newest installation partner: American Heating and Cooling.

The new comfort solution reduces energy use by 50 percent by using water more efficiently than the legacy system.

Wendy Abbagliato of Chester, New York, was promoted to office manager at Nebrasky Plumbing, Heating & Cooling, an award-winning Hudson Valley business. Abbagliato will be responsible for planning, directing, and overseeing the office operations for the company.

Meet a few of the podcasters who have taken the HVAC world by storm. 

Manufacturers are rolling out a wide array of new equipment that utilizes all types of refrigerants, providing end users with a number of new options to consider.

At the AHR Expo, manufacturers displayed their latest commercial refrigeration equipment, which included condensing units, components, controls, and other solutions.

The NEWS introduces the latest cooling equipment available for summer 2022.

The ACHR NEWS is featuring the industry’s latest commercial cooling products for 2022.

In the realm of residential cooling, two trends popped out at the 2023 AHR Expo: the new federal tax credits and heat pumps.

In this showcase, The ACHR NEWS will introduce the newest cooling products that will help meet customer needs.

Renters who can’t turn on the a/c want to change mandates that don’t require cooling until May 15.

The annual Commercial Cooling Showcase highlights state-of-the-art equipment that often incorporates service-friendly features for contractors, as well as energy efficiency and comfort for end users.

Portable cooling systems work well as temporary solutions and can also serve as long-term options for unconditioned spaces like factories and warehouses.

Commercial cooling equipment manufacturers are introducing HVAC systems that are energy efficient, as well as service friendly for contractors.

Increased cooling capacities, remote monitoring technology, and the need for backup units are all part of the mix in the portable a/c market, experts say.

Cooling towers offer a proven and cost-effective solution for rejecting heat from condenser water and industrial processes. To maximize the operating cost savings, the fill media must be properly designed and in good condition.

Evaporative cooling is growing in demand as cooling needs are expanding.

Renewable energy enthusiasts now have reason to celebrate: EVAPCO offers a solar-powered evaporative cooling tower. The SUN cooling tower is paired with PV panels to dramatically reduce energy consumption.  

Although evaporative cooling is great at saving energy, it does consume some water, but the benefits on energy savings outweigh the water usage, which in some places is a scarce resource.

The city of Phoenix sought an energy-efficient HVAC solution that would restore Phoenix Art Museum’s lost efficiency and improve the indoor climate for the museum’s specialized environment while also contributing to the city’s energy conservation goals.

Chillers use the principles of thermodynamics to remove heat from a conditioned space. But “chiller” is a broad term that encompasses system configurations, refrigeration technologies, and methods of rejecting captured heat. Experts take a closer look.

Despite their similar exterior appearance, cooling towers and closed-circuit coolers are very different pieces of equipment with distinct advantages and limitations. This is especially true when determining which option is best suited for a specific cooling application.

A North Carolina-based community college replaces an aging metal-clad cooling tower with a modern HDPE unit, reducing maintenance spending while increasing efficiency.

With a double brood of cicadas forecasted to awaken, now is the time to prepare for how to deal with the mess they will leave behind and the potential damage they can do to equipment.

Thermostat manufacturers say they have the studies to show that the use of their smart, connected thermostats can help homeowners save on their HVAC-related energy costs.