Why 2007 I.P.C.C. Report Lacked ‘Embers’

Several authors of the 2007 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change on the projected effects of global warming now say they regret not pushing harder to include an updated diagram of climate risks in the report. The diagram, known as “burning embers,” is an updated version of one that was a central feature of the panel’s preceding climate report in 2001.

Revkin, Andrew C. New York Times, The (2009). Articles>Scientific Communication>Graphic Design>Visual Rhetoric

A Periodic Table of Visualization Methods

An interactive presentation of a variety of visualization techniques used by graphic designers, technical illustrators and document designers to convey information.

Lengler, Ralph and Martin J. Eppler. Visual Literacy (2009). Presentations>Graphic Design>Technical Illustration>Visual Rhetoric

Sixteen Usable CSS Graph and Bar Chart Tutorials and Techniques

Have you ever even tried to create your own CSS graph? If you have, you will know how hard it is. Using Flash is one way to go, but you just can’t beat a beautifully crafted CSS Graph. Have a look at these tutorials and techniques.

SpeckyBoy (2009). Design>Graphic Design>Visual Rhetoric>Charts and Graphs

Trouble-Free Color Palettes: Transform

As the internet and television bring us instant information and access to millions of resources worldwide—some more trustworthy than others—separating fact from fiction requires a bit of skill ... and luck. Illustrator Lonnie Busch recognizes this conundrum, as depicted in his illustration below. Using a palette that combines warm, rich shades along with cooler highlights, Busch is able draw the viewer into the action.

Dynamic Graphics (2009). Design>Graphic Design>Visual Rhetoric>Color

Eleven Ways to Use Images Poorly in Slides

As digital cameras have become ubiquitous, and cheap (or free) photo websites plentiful, more people than ever are using images in presentations. Images are not appropriate for every kind of talk, but even when images are appropriate (such as keynote/ballroom style presentations), people are still making the same common mistakes. So here are some things to keep in mind if you use images in your next talk.

Reynolds, Garr. Presentation Zen (2009). Articles>Presentations>Graphic Design>Visual Rhetoric

Copywriting or Design: Which Gets the Best Results?

Designers believe that if something isn’t working well, and it comes down to changing the copy or the design, it’s always the copy that should be changed, reduced or sometimes nearly completely eliminated. How can I convince my designer co-workers that succinct, simple and memorable words can be just as important as the visuals?

Chartrand, James. Men With Pens (2009). Articles>Graphic Design>Writing>Visual Rhetoric

The Social Life of Visualization: Part 1

In 2009 we are in the midst of an interesting era for data visualization, particularly as it becomes coupled with the social web. Increasing processing speed, bandwidth and storage capacity are making it relatively simple to render and access visual representations of data. Developers have released libraries of code so we can easily create our own visualizations; and access to all kinds of data is becoming incredibly standardized, particularly through the use of APIs. So as visualization becomes much more straightforward to integrate into online environments, it makes sense to rethink how it can best be used in this setting.

Yuille, Jeremy and Hugh Macdonald. Johnny Holland (2009). Articles>Graphic Design>Visual Rhetoric>Charts and Graphs

Visual Design for the Non-Designer

What can a non-designer do to harness the power of visual design without calling professional help? Quite a lot, says internationally-regarded visual designer Dan Rubin. We called Dan to talk about what design techniques are accessible to mere mortals.

Spool, Jared M. and Dan Rubin. User Interface Engineering (2009). Articles>Graphic Design>Visual Rhetoric>Podcasts