The evolution of the Popemobile

 

 A good example here of how effective a well designed infographic can be. I am English and I understand nothing of the language used in this piece. However, despite the irrelevant explanatory text beside each entry I fully grasp what it is about, and all the important info comes across.

I think that the only improvement I would suggest is to to perhaps include the names of the Pope in residence at the time of each model, as part of the red sub-header. Besides this, it's good to see another infographic that transcends the language barrier.

Movie Legends - Immortalised in Stone & Steel

The Great British Bread Debate

This infographic attempts to distingquish the different names for the British classic, an issue that often boils the blood of those discussing which they feel is correct. Designed by the talented duo @lizzieastles and @jensties.

Having shown the infographic to a few people, it's clear that the list isn't quite definitive as some of the names were disputed based on their given locations. But it is such a complex and heated topic to hammer down that this does do well to lay the base of discussion.

The bread king himself, Paul Hollywood, recently picked up on the infographic and made his play as a "Barmcake" or "Floury Bap" man. But as someone also from the North-West, I can certainly agree with those who claim that "Barm" is indeed the correct term.

The Evolution of Television

 

An interesting look at the history of the television set, created by Reddit user CaptnChristiana.
It could have been nice to have a tiny bit of blurb attached to each model, as we don't really learn much about the actual advancements, but it doesn't really need it. Simplicity is key here, good job.

Reflections - '10 of the Most Iconic Swords in Fiction'

This is one of my own designs that I published around six months ago, and it has certainly been interesting seeing the different reactions to it. Since putting it online at the start of the year it has already had over 140,000 views, which is quite surprising considering that I'm not famous or don't have any particular influence on the web.

The topic does have quite a strong geeky element to it, and no doubt this drew some attention. But I do think that most of its appeal is due to the overall design. I have created a number of infographics over the past few years, both static and animated, and on some occasions I perhaps haven't put as much thought into the final design and mood of a piece. But without a doubt the most popular or most noticed of my works have been those where I have actually spent more time on the overall design. Afterall, it may have the most interesting message contained within, but when I see an infographic with a really bad or lazy design I tend to just move on to the next. It's important.

I can't deny it, this infographic came under a lot of scrutiny. But it tends to be the case that people are more likely to pick out the negatives rather than focus on what they liked, and the kind of feedback that comes with work like this (particularly pop culture pieces) is just something that you have to be prepared to take.

However, I have also received some nice feedback based on the layout of the piece. Originally my intention was to find a way of condesing the content so that the infographic wasn't overly long, and this eventually led to my design based on Japanese tatami mats. This proved to be successful in terms of condensing the content, but at the same time provided background imagery relevant to the piece.

I have a tendancy to focus on drawn imagery in my work, and it was important to me with this particular infographic that I took care with the details. Although they are hard to make out in the final piece, elements such as the 'Ramirez Katana' handle carvings, the 'Hattori Hanzo' logo, and the 'Anduril' scriptures are all present. For example, here is part of my drawing from the base of the 'Atlantean Sword' image:

I didn't really need to spend time on this very small part, especially when you see that it doesn't really make an appearance in the finished article. But you'll sometimes be surprised how much people appreciate the little details.