David McCandless and Neville Brody on infographics

My former colleague, Tony Effik has a link on his blog to an interesting BBC Newsnight item. It's a piece on infographics and features David McCandless, author of Information is Beautiful (called The Visual Miscellaneum in the US) and designer Neville Brody.

They discuss the pros and cons of beautifying complex data – does it make it more accessible or does it hide what's important? David comes off worse in the exchange IMHO which is a shame because his is the more valid argument. The world is ever more complex and people are increasingly visual – engaging information graphics are an accessible way of decoding the world. Brody's desire for more edge has nothing to do with infographics per se merely their subject and style.

Of course, I'm also a total sucker for nice infographics so I guess I'm biased. David's book is absolutely lush and worth £9 of anyone's money. (And no I've never met him and am not on a comission.) His blog is a must read too (incidentally, his recent true size of Africa post might have the kind of edge that Brody is looking for). David has inspired me to think much harder about how I represent data (all I need now is his graphic skills).

If you like this kind of stuff, also check out Daytum and the work of Nicholas Feltron which is simply spectacular. Right, enough gushing fanboy, get back to work.