Category Archives: Consulting

Workshops and speaking in Beijing, Shanghai and Singapore

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Last month I had a great long trip to Asia with some speaking engagements and workshops.

The first destination was Beijing. My friend Ying Wu, Visual Director at People’s Daily Media Innovation (PDMI) and an internationally recognized designer (formerly of the Boston Globe) invited me to speak about infographics and data visualization at People’s Daily headquarters. People’s Daily is the largest newspaper of China, and the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, providing direct information on government policies and viewpoints.

I was struck at how technologically advanced People’s Daily and PDMI are. The new headquarters of People’s Daily in Beijing’s Chaoyang District are one of the most modern newsrooms I’ve had the pleasure to visit. I had a video interview and then a nice talk and conversation with staffers discussing infographics, data, the challenges of their work and where they are headed.

The following day I visited the Communication University of China (CUC), the top journalism school in China. Students there had great interest in news infographics and data journalism, and they asked really good questions.

After Beijing, I traveled to Shanghai to conduct a two-day workshop for DBS Bank staff. We had been working with DBS with similar workshops in Singapore, Hong Kong, Jakarta, and Mumbai before. The idea is to show the value of infographics and data visualization as a tool to bring insight, clarity and communicate complex information and data in a visually engaging and revealing way, both to internal stakeholders and to the general public.

The last stop was in Singapore. We were there once again (9th time, I think) teaching a public workshop on infographics hosted by our friends of Methodology (they also organize the DBS workshops). Methodology develops great education programs, workshops, conference and media about creative ideas and design processes.

The final two days in Singapore I had the opportunity to conduct a workshop on interactive  /mobile infographics for staff working at the different media publications of Singapore Press Holdings (SPH). SPH is the publisher of The Straits Times, Singapore’s largest newspaper (founded in 1845) and clearly one of the best in South East Asia. They do excellent infographics and dataviz both in print and online. It was great to spend time with them as well as with members of Lianhe Zaobao (the flagship Chinese newspaper in Singapore), The Business Times, AsiaOne and other SPH media organizations. The workshop was organized by WAN-IFRA, the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers

 

Our Infographics and Data Visualization Workshop in Washington D.C. (Dec 1-2)

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5W Academy is heading to Washington, D.C. soon for our next Infographics and Data visualization workshop in the US. It will be on December 1-2.

We received great feedback from our D.C. workshop back in October 2015. A combination of local and out-of-state participants from government agencies, design studios, NGOs and other organizations got together for two days.

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Our previous workshop in Washington, D.C.

The two-day workshop is a comprehensive introduction to the creation of infographics and data visualization. With a mix of theory and practice, the workshop is aimed at professionals and students interested in developing the skills to produce engaging, insightful visual storytelling with their content. No previous experience with infographics or specialized software is required.

We will learn how to gather and prepare data, the Do’s and Dont’s of working with numerical information and charts, and the principles of visual hierarchy, color, typography, illustration, and narrative to create impactful infographics.

Attendees will sketch out infographics, storyboard motion graphics and create / publish their interactive data visualizations and web maps with the help of Tableau Public. The class will discuss award-winning projects and offer an overview of tools and strategies for creating infographics and data visualization.

Infographics are a universal language. Our most recent workshops in NYC (March), Amsterdam (June, hosted by Graphic Hunters) and Singapore (July, hosted by our friends at Methodology) were great experiences and it seems the demand keeps increasing.

Workshop n Amsterdam, June 2016

Workshop n Amsterdam, June 2016

Workshop in Singapore, July 2016

Workshop in Singapore, July 2016

Learn more about the instructors and schedule in our page or register directly here. We hope we’ll see you soon in DC!

Teaching Infographics

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5W_Academy copy

We’ll be in New York on March 24-25 with our well received workshop on principles of infographics and data visualization. How is it different, and what do our participants learn?

Infographics and data visualization have experienced significant change since we started 5W Infographics back in 2001. And certainly since we published our very first infographics, which takes us all the way to the late 80s! If you were thinking of infographics  and dataviz as a new field, you may want to think again.

Some of these changes are profound, in good and bad ways, and they are a big part of the reason why at 5W Academy (our educational branch) we think infographics and dataviz education are important precisely now.

Individuals and corporations have now access to massive public and private data sets, and new software applications allow us to visualize them. But that’s not the same as having the ability to a find relevant story behind the data, and the skill to visualize and design it efficiently.

We also see countless of unfortunate examples of infographics that are little more than empty decorative designs around a few numbers, the product of marketing departments with the only purpose of making content viral. It’s just pretty clickbait that gives a bad name to infographics. These have become so pervasive that sadly, many people think of that type of content first when they think of “infographics”, a trendy word now. But in nearly all cases they offer absolutely nothing in terms of revealing insightful patterns and trends behind numerical or special information.

Data visualization is not new. It’s actually been around us for hundred of years, and many of the principles behind it stand the pass of time. It’s good to look back at some of them.

At 5W we started working with infographics in the field of journalism, where focus and accuracy are paramount. During long years as staff members for newspapers like El Mundo (one of the European infographics pioneers) and The New York Times, or magazines such as Fortune and National Geographic, we were trained to seek first and foremost data sets and information that was both accurate and relevant to our readers. To find focus and to visualize that content in a visual way through charts, maps, and illustrated infographics that would offer new visual insights for our readers. With stiff competition for space in the news pages, you need to prove you can inform (not decorate) in a way neither the best writers or photographers can with the tools of their craft alone.

Today it often seems like the word “infographics” has been hijacked by marketers with inadequate understanding of data visualization principles and sometimes dubious or biased agendas; and often the term “data visualization” or dataviz has been appropriated by software wizards and digital designers more fascinated by the fact they can visualize large amounts of data than by how they can extract and explain a revealing story by visualizing the core message behind it. The result is cool but empty data art that tries to pass as information or incomprehensible “data dumps” that look fascinating but lacks proper editing and design basics and just confuse anyone with an honest intent of making sense of it.

The purpose of our workshop is to explain the principles that enable us to create powerful visual stories that illuminate concepts for readers in engaging ways. And to practice them hands-on. We haven’t found a workshop that looks at all the different tools of infographics and dataviz at the same time: the Do’s and Dont’s of plotting numbers and statistics with charts; geographic and thematic cartography; illustrations and pictograms; design, hierarchy and color; and exploring creativity with those tools.

In our next post we’ll look in detail at the content and schedule of the two-day workshop.

New workshops in NYC and Singapore

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5W Academy is heading to NYC for our next Infographics and Data visualization workshop in the US. It will be on March 24-25.

We received great feedback from our Washington, D.C. workshop back in October. A combination of local and out-of-state participants from government agencies, design studios, NGOs and other organizations got together for two days.

This two-day workshop is a comprehensive introduction to the creation of infographics and data visualization. With a mix of theory and practice, the workshop is aimed at professionals and students interested in developing the skills to produce engaging, insightful visual storytelling with their content.

We will learn how to gather and prepare data, the Do’s and Dont’s of working with numerical information and charts, and the principles of visual hierarchy, color, typography, illustration, and narrative to create impactful infographics.

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Attendees will sketch out infographics, storyboard motion graphics and create / publish their interactive data visualizations and web maps with the help of Tableau Public. The class will discuss award-winning projects and offer an overview of tools and strategies for creating infographics and data visualization.

At the same time, we are keeping busy in Asia. We’ll be back in Singapore on February 18-19 for “The Power of Infographics 4”, the fourth edition of a workshop that has proven really popular. The workshop is organized by Methodology and partnership with German leading art/design book publisher Gestalten.

Also in Singapore, we were invited to do back-to-back workshops on March 8-9, March 10-11 and possibly also March 14-15. The organizer is Maitre Allianz, a leading training services company.

First 5W Academy workshop in Washington, D.C.

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“Really good overall. A strong alternative to Tufte and Few.”

Earlier this week we hosted the first 5W Academy event in Washington, D.C. The two-day workshop’s aim was to serve as an introduction to the creation of infographics and data visualization, with a combination of theory and practice.

The brand-new Marriott Marquis Washington hotel was a terrific setting for the event (thank you to all involved for the great quality of service and responsiveness).

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We had a great turnout with a combination of local and out-of-state participants from government agencies, design studios, NGOs and other organizations interested in producing visual storytelling. With such a broad topic, it can be challenging finding a path and focus that works for the whole group in a public workshop, but the feedback was really positive.

“It was a great course and made what for me was a moderately interesting topic into a fascinating one”.

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Workshop3

The participants practiced their hand at researching, conceptualizing and sketching out infographics with multiple components, taking decisions on narrative focus, hierarchy and design balance. For future workshops, quite a few people pointed out they would welcome a third day in the workshop to have more time with hands-on exercises and Tableau software practice. It’s something we are seriously considering for future events.

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We are looking at the possibility of having the workshop in NYC very soon and, if the interest keeps rising, you may have a 5W Academy event near you in the near future! Our goal is to cover not only infographics and data visualization but all topics relevant to information design and visual storytelling.

The Power of Infographics 3 workshop in Singapore

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Our Power of Infographics two-day workshop in Singapore proved so popular in January and May that we are coming back for the third time on September 29 and 30. The event is hosted by our friends at Methodology in partnership with Gestalten, the German publishers and specialists in visual culture. 5W’s co-founder Juan Velasco (ex Graphics Art Director at The New York Times and ex-Art Director of National Geographic magazine) will offer a comprehensive review of information graphics and data visualization, both in print and online. The hands-on experience will involve gathering and preparing data, working with statistics in Excel, sketching, storyboarding… By the end of the workshop the attendants will have a completely sketched-out illustrated infographic with multiple components and a functioning online data visualization including interactive charts and maps. We’ll use the free Tableau Public for our interactive exercises.The theory and practice of information graphics will be covered in multiple lectures. We’ll discuss step-by-step examples of award-winning infographics and the latest trends. We’ll learn which charts are best to use for different types of data; what type of maps are useful to give insight into our data sets or to locate stories, and how they are created; the tools and processes for successful motion graphics… We will also experiment with hierarchy, color, typography, illustration, and narrative to create effective infographics that make an impact. If the previous workshops are any indication, seat will go fast! Reserve yours now by emailing admin@methodology.sg

Singapore_Bay

Five infographics workshops in South East Asia

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South East Asian newspapers

I have recently spent over three weeks teaching five infographics workshops in South East Asia in association with WAN-IFRA, the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers. Quite a trip!

Below the Petronas Towers

The schedule included in-house training for the staff of several news organizations (The Bangkok Post newspaper, The Manila Bulletin newspaper and Astro Awani, a major television and online organization based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia). I also had two public workshops in Singapore (which included staff from The Straits Times) and in Jakarta, Indonesia.

At the Manila workshop

At the Manila workshop

Some hand sketching in Manila

Hand-sketching smarthpone graphics in Manila

Most of the workshops focused on interactive graphics, data visualization and the print-to-web challenge, but there was also a lot of content on print infographics and even print layout design. Luckily, in most cases the attendee list included chief editors from the media organizations. The reality at a global scale is that most editors still assign graphics as decorative elements to make pages “pretty”. They often need a better understanding of how data visualization, process diagrams, or smart thematic mapping can elevate the journalistic quality of their publication while making it more visually engaging. Graphics departments are little more than service sections receiving assignments and not being used as visual journalists that generate and research infographics ideas.

Group Photo at Astro Awani

Group Photo at Astro Awani

I took the opportunity to better understand the media landscape in the region (where print newspapers are often still growing) and the status of infographics. The Bangkok Post is one of the two major English-language newspapers in Bangkok, and the Manila Bulletin is the largest and oldest newspaper in the Philippines. Both publications have very skilled artists but they are still trying to find their way in the creation of good data-driven infographics.

I would say the biggest surprise was Kompas, the leading newspaper of Indonesia (the surprise only reveals my previous ignorance). The design of this daily (both Mario Garcia and Roger Black made redesigns in the past) is every bit as good as any of the major European newspapers, and so are the excellent graphics. I also liked The Straits Times from Singapore, but that wasn’t a surprise as I had seen their good graphics before.

Next January, 5W will be conducting new workshops with WAN-IFRA in India and coming back to Singapore in association with German publishers Gestalten and local design think tank Methodology. In the meantime, I need some rest after visiting 5 countries in 23 days!

A rent vehicle in Manila... and driver

A vehicle for rent in Manila… and driver

 

 

Workshops in Singapore

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Onwards to South Asia! 5W is going on a tour. For the next few weeks (October 21 to November 14) 5W’s Creative Director Juan Velasco will be leading workshops in Bangkok, Singapore, Manila, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta.

The events are organized by WAN-IFRA, the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers. Some of them will be in-house training for local media organizations, but the Singapore and Jakarta events are public.

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. It annually organizes the two major meetings of the global newspaper and news publishing industry: the World Publishing Expo and World Newspaper Congress. WAN-IFRA is unique among global industry organizations as its first objective is the defense and promotion of press freedom and the economic independence of newspapers. It is also the industry’s leading “think tank” for new strategies, business models, and operational improvements.

There will be two workshops in Singapore, focused on interactive graphics, data visualization and the print-to-web challenge. October 28-29 will focus on newspapers and October 30-31 on magazines. The second one is still open for registration. See the details here (newspapers) and here (magazines).

WAN-IFRA Interactive Graphics nd Data Visualization in Mag-3 1 WAN-IFRA Interactive Graphics nd Data Visualization in Mag-3 2

Workshop with Gestalten in Berlin

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I just came back from teaching a two-day workshop on infographics in Berlin. The event was called “The Power of Infographics” and assembled a varied group of professionals coming from as far as Brazil. We were hosted by German art and design book publishers Gestalten in their beautiful Gestalten Space, the company’s flagship concept store and event space in Berlin’s Mitte district.

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Gestalten produces high-quality books on design, art, architecture, photography, and other visual disciplines in contemporary visual culture. In the last few years they have published a number of titles about infographics. I was interviewed for their book “A Life in Illustration”, which describes the work and day-to-day activities creators such as  Christoph Niemann, Andrea Ventura, Jan Van Der Veken, Peter Grundy, Jessica Hische, and the New York Times’s Jonathan Corum. You can read the interview (made around 2012 when I was still at National Geographic) here.

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Gestalten started publishing books on infographics with their popular Data Flow series. Other Gestalten books featuring our work in 5W or National Geographic are A Map of the World and Around the World.

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