We were back to South East Asia at the end of March to teach information graphics and data visualization workshops in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) and Jakarta (Indonesia). Both events were focused on interactive graphics, data visualization and the print-to-web challenge.

The workshops were organized by WAN-IFRA, the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers. WAN-IFRA is a global organization representing more than 18,000 publications, 15,000 online sites and over 3,000 companies in more than 120 countries.

In Malaysia, we were hosted by Media Prima group, a leading Malaysian publishing company. The participants were designers and editors from The New Straits Times, the group’s English-language newspaper and the oldest newspaper in Malaysia (1845); Berita Harian (BH), a mainstream newspaper in Malay; and Harian Metro, a popular human interest daily and the largest newspaper of Malaysia in any language.

In Jakarta, we worked with Kompas, the largest circulation newspaper in South East Asia, and surely one of the best. Kompas has excellent print design (it was redesigned by Mario Garcia). They have had a digital presence for some time, including nice tablet offerings, and they are now trying to enhance their infographics online. They do plenty of really nice print infographics, like this one about the pinisi, a traditional Indonesian two-masted sailing ship.