We are in the "golden age of infographics," claims Gareth Cook, editor of The Best American Infographics 2013. These visual representations of data and stories can be found on television, online and in print, used to represent everything from the most-discussed sports stars on ESPN to gun ownership rights by country.
Presented in full color, the 69 infographics Cook has selected are a testament to the power of visual storytelling. Some are elaborate bar graphs and charts, such as "The Four Kinds of Dog," which shows dog breeds grouped by their DNA profiles; others show one set of data in relation to another, such as "Gay Rights in the United States, State by State." Flow charts document everything from "How to Be Happy" to answers to the question, "Should I Check My Email?" An entertaining introduction from former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne catalogues the various approaches and presents the pros and cons of each, allowing readers to ask important questions about how and why each graphic interprets the data on hand.
Infographics allow designers to compress a lot of data and information into a small space, which makes these graphics best explored in small doses. Spread out over multiple readings, The Best American Infographics 2013 proves a testament to the power of visual storytelling--and is an invitation to readers to question the myriad graphics they inevitably encounter each day. --Kerry McHugh, blogger at Entomology of a Bookworm