iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Michael Friendly @datavisfriendly.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

Nice mappy cutting board, but here is a lovely old cheese map of France. France, as it turns out, seems to have been designed for mapping types of cheese, bread, ...

An engraved cheese map of France, highlighting the regions where cow / sheep / goat predominates

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Michael Friendly @datavisfriendly.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

#TodayinHistory #dataviz #Onthisday #OTD 📊 🎂Jun 04, 1902 Henry C. Beck born in London, England 🇬🇧 In 1933, he redesigned the route map of the London underground rail system to favor usability over geography

Henry Beck's 1933 tube map of London features straight, mostly non-overlapping lines of subway routes, designed for usability at the expense of geography

Photo of Henry Beck in front of his map of London's subway system.

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Simon Rogers @simonrogers.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

The great debate: cats or dogs? 🐶🐱 Search data reveals a clear winner: dogs dominate worldwide. In fact, one of the top translation searches globally is "how to say I love you in dog". Whose team are you on? Check out my new book What We Ask Google: whatweaskgoogle.blog

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Simon Rogers @simonrogers.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

It's Mother's Day this weekend in the US and I wrote a piece for Literary Hub exploring what turns out to be one of the most profoundly isolating experiences we go through as humans: grief.

simonrogers.net

Why Grief Feels So Lonely—And Why the Data Proves We Aren’t

It's Mother's Day this weekend in the US and I wrote a piece for Literary Hub exploring what turns out to be one of the most profoundly isolating experiences we go through as humans: grief.

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Simon Rogers @simonrogers.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

Loved joining @wgntv.com Chicago this morning to chat through What We Ask Google youtube.com/watch?v=4dT0mqFxaWg&si=elrZ8oWIu6Fcfc_s

youtube.com

'What We Ask Google: A Surprisingly Hopeful History of Humankind'

YouTube video by WGN News

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wisevis @wisevis.eu · 28/04/2026

Tangent: I suspect Tufte became more interested in #datavis after becoming aware of @nigelblue.bsky.social's work. :)

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nigel holmes @nigelblue.bsky.social · 25/04/2026

seeing that pinhole is the pangram on wordle today reminds me that i wrote a book!

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Cas Mudde @casmudde.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

This is brilliant! 👇

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Simon Rogers @simonrogers.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

We worry about our pets' feelings. "Do dogs grieve?" is a top search. We also ask "Do dogs cry tears?" 😢 A lot of WHAT WE ASK GOOGLE is actually about grief - in all forms. Even in the ways we search for our pets. Pre-order here: whatweaskgoogle.blog

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Simon Rogers @simonrogers.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

"Did you know...?" What We Ask Google is your guide to the way we search for the things that really matter to us. Find out more: whatweaskgoogle.blog

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Alberto Cairo @albertocairo.com · 31/03/2026

Just finished reading the draft of this book for the second time, and it made me smile and think as much as it did the first time. Pre-order it. Also, it's full of illustrations by @nigelblue.bsky.social. As Simon writes, "There's a joy to Nigel's work which emanates through his art to the reader."

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Jen Christiansen @jenchristiansen.com · 17/03/2026

And shoot, I HAD to ask @nigelblue.bsky.social for an isotype graphic for a math column on the base rate fallacy. I’m so glad he said yes! #sciart www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-...

scientificamerican.com

These puzzles reveal a glitch in your thinking

Here’s how a mathematical paradox distorts our view of news, safety and statistics

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Quincy Morgan @waysidemapping.org · 25/08/2025

Back when I worked on iD (the default OpenStreetMap editor) I designed over 270 bespoke map icons to illustrate various feature types. These are free and open source. A guided gallery of my icon work is now available on my portfolio: waysidemapping.org/projects/id-...

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mcc @dryad.technology · 08/02/2026

This object is a legitimate masterpiece of design

A yellow "caution wet floor" standee. The bottom is flared so it looks like a banana peel.

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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 25/01/2026

It's time for a truly massive general strike. robertreich.substack.com/p/sunday-t…

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Alberto Cairo @albertocairo.com · 22/01/2026

In the newsletter: The Open Visualization Academy is almost here. We launch next week; save the date! openvisualizationacademy.beehiiv.com/p/the-open-v... #dataViz #infographics #dataJournalism

openvisualizationacademy.beehiiv.com

The Open Visualization Academy is almost here

We launch next week; save the date!

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Jan Schwochow @janschwochow.bsky.social · 07/01/2026

Now I'm finally here at Bluesky :). The cult magazine is back. The new INGRAPHICS magazine has been available to buy for a few weeks now. INGRAPHICS is a magazine for visual thinkers. It is published in English once a year. www.schwochow.shop

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Jen Christiansen @jenchristiansen.com · 12/12/2025

What an unexpected treat! I bumped into the one and only @nigelblue.bsky.social in the lobby at Informa in NYC today. We’re both filming videos related to our CRC books on information graphics. Nigel always brings a smile to my face.

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nigel holmes @nigelblue.bsky.social · 04/12/2025

going to overeat at Christmas? Work it off with my new book as your guide! letsgetinfografit.com

let's get infografit book with Santa Claus hat

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Kenneth Field @kennethfield.bsky.social · 04/12/2025

Can't recommend this highly enough (you can skip the page where @nigelblue.bsky.social highlights me and my drums 🤣)

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nigel holmes @nigelblue.bsky.social · 04/12/2025

going to overeat at Christmas? Work it off with my new book as your guide! letsgetinfografit.com

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RJ Andrews @infowetrust.com · 13/11/2025

Liking DIGITAL DIAGRAMS (2000) by Diagram Group’s Trevor Bounford much more than expected—And not just because it showcases lots of @nigelblue.bsky.social but that’s always a plus!

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nigel holmes @nigelblue.bsky.social · 03/09/2025

some of the contributors to my book are getting their copies already…and i haven’t seen it yet! rowland did a beautiful website for it: www.letsgetinfografit.com have a look!

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Attila Bátorfy @attilabatorfy.bsky.social · 03/09/2025

my university's library sorts out old Time magazines, bound by year. And look! @nigelblue.bsky.social

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nigel holmes @nigelblue.bsky.social · 14/08/2025

my book Let’s Get infografit is almost out (pub date sept 5); you can pre-order it at routledge/crc press and amazon. the preview there is for the ebook version; not quite the same as the real thing! oh well…here’s the cover:

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nigel holmes @nigelblue.bsky.social · 25/07/2025

great book about an oddly great guy!

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Nick Sousanis @nsousanis.bsky.social · 18/07/2025

This was an absolutely great book! An amazing story, Guy Delisle dug deeply into the challenges, triumphs & horrific moments of Muybridge’s life, I learned a ton, was captivated for all of it. My dad got it first recommended - I hadn’t heard of it. Def recommend! From @dandq.bsky.social great stuff!

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wisevis @wisevis.eu · 07/07/2025

Combine Einstein (simple but not too simple) and @nigelblue.bsky.social (it's not about simplifying, it's about clarifying). Instead of simplifying q.b. and clarifying, you have a tool that forces you to go simpler and without options to clarify. It's unfixable, hence the cardification.

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Michael Friendly @datavisfriendly.bsky.social · 09/05/2025

#TodayinHistory #dataviz #OTD 📊 💀May 8, 1904 Eadweard Muybridge died in Kingston upon Thames, England 🇬🇧 ~ 1875 he developed a system for motion photography from a series of frames & pioneered the study of motion in humans and animals --a precursor of moving pictures & animated graphics.

Photo quilt of Muybridge images. It shows people walking, running or jumping and several sets of horses racing

The famous 1878 Horse in Motion, a set of 12 images of a race horse, Sally Gardner, at the race track in Palo Alto CA. The goal was to answer the burning question of _unsupported transit_: Is there any stage in a gallop when the horse has all 4 feet off the ground. See if you can find the frame that proves this.

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Alex Selby-Boothroyd @alexselbyb.bsky.social · 19/04/2025

Some of the nice ideas that didn't make the cover of The Economist this week, and the one that did economist.com/newsletters/cover-story

The American Eagle, in the style of a crashed airplane

A dollar bill, with an N written in Sharpie in front of the ONE

George Washington escaping from the dollar bill using knotted sheets

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Michael Friendly @datavisfriendly.bsky.social · 09/04/2025

And here it is in motion. Can you spot where it is that the horse has all 4 feet off the ground? Leland Stanford made a bunch of money on this bet; Muybridge provided the proof.

Animated version of Muybridge's The Horse in Motion

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Michael Friendly @datavisfriendly.bsky.social · 09/04/2025

#TodayinHistory #dataviz #Onthisday #OTD 📊 🎂Apr 9, 1830 Eadweard Muybridge born in Kingston upon Thames, England 🇬🇧 Muybridge pioneered the use of photography in the study of motion, a precursor of moving pictures & animated graphics.

Muybridge;s Zoopraxiscope, a circular device for arranging a set of still pictures to create the impression of motion.

Photo of Eadweard Muybridge, with a long white beard

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RJ Andrews @infowetrust.com · 07/04/2025

today I'm making the welcome placard for next week's exhibition at Cooper Union, featuring an insane collection of AMAZING information designers: @nadiehbremer.com @jenchristiansen.com @datavandals.bsky.social @kennethfield.bsky.social @nigelblue.bsky.social @shirleywu.studio & many more

Making information graphics is a craft—a handmade, rational, and optimistic pursuit that expands our knowledge and empowers our actions. The west side of the exhibition traces an intimate path through Info We Trust (Visionary Press, 2025) with text, original artwork, and enlarged illustrations by author RJ Andrews. Together, they underscore how data storytelling is both an art and a science, bridging imagination and evidence.
In parallel on the east side, the exhibition broadens its lens to celebrate the field of information design as a whole. Works by leading contemporary designers showcase today’s expanding visual vocabulary alongside historic examples chosen for aesthetic and thematic resonance. Each piece reflects a belief that information, when generously made for the audience, can illuminate and inspire.
See how designers past and present wrangle the chaos of data into intriguing forms bursting with clarity. From rare charts to digital darlings, each artifact speaks to a shared pursuit: to reveal comparisons, provoke discovery, and carry us all to new shores of reality.

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Artologica aka Michele Banks @artologica.net · 03/04/2025

Background: in my last post, I speedwalked through millennia of science and history in the intersection of writing and art

open.substack.com

Read The Signs

The Evolution of Writing, In Science and Art

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Emily Peck @emilypeck.bsky.social · 03/04/2025

An incredible explainer on the "tariff formula" from @felixsalmon.com @axios.com

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Michael Friendly @datavisfriendly.bsky.social · 04/04/2025

#psy6135 An effective way to show change. Why does this work?

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nigel holmes @nigelblue.bsky.social · 20/03/2025

here’s the cover of my new book…out later in the year!

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RJ Andrews @infowetrust.com · 08/03/2025

DIAMONDS WERE A GIRL’S BEST FRIEND—a classic 1982 TIME chart by @nigelblue.bsky.social—has arrived!

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Jason Forrest @jasonforrest.bsky.social · 24/01/2025

Like everyone - the @datavandals.bsky.social abandoned Twitter and have a profile here! Give us a follow - we have tons of awesome news to share soon!

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RJ Andrews @infowetrust.com · 20/01/2025

graphic magic just arrived via @nigelblue.bsky.social 💙 Van taarten en balken [Of pies and bars]. 1996 🇳🇱

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Sonja Kuijpers | STUDIO TERP @sonjakuijpers.bsky.social · 17/01/2025

Have you read Nigel Holmes - Joyful infographics? Imo a mustread when doing dataviz 🙌 @nigelblue.bsky.social

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Michael Friendly @datavisfriendly.bsky.social · 22/12/2024

#TodayinHistory #dataviz #Onthisday #OTD 📊 💀Dec 22, 1945 Otto Neurath died in Oxford, England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 1924: Museum of Social Statistical Graphics and the ISOTYPE system, a method of showing social, technological, biological, and historical connections in pictorial form

A Neurath ISOTYPE chart titled The Young Population Aged 13-20 with the question: How many of each age group stay in school? Stay in school is shown by blue people sitting at a desk going to the left of center; people working is shown by red walking figures going to the right.

Neurath ISOTYPE Figure titled: Great War 1914-18, showing numbers of Allied vs Central Power troops by ISOTYPE symbols: killed (black graves), wounded (red, on crutches) or returning home (men walking)

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Michael Friendly @datavisfriendly.bsky.social · 22/12/2024

#TodayinHistory #dataviz #OTD 📊 🎂Dec 22, 1880 Willard Cope Brinton born in West Chester, PA, USA 🇺🇸 1914: Pictograms to represent a series of numbers by icons (combining concepts of the bar graph and pictogram of varying size) ; heat maps and more-- 'Graphic Methods for Presenting Facts'

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Michael Friendly @datavisfriendly.bsky.social · 20/12/2024

#TodayinHistory #dataviz #Onthisday #OTD 📊 🎂Dec 20, 1838 Edwin A. Abbott born in Marylebone, Middlesex, England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 1884: In _Flatland_, he gave literary description of life in a 2D world for people living in a 3D world, thus prompting 3D people to think about the possibility of higher dimensions

Cover of Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions, showing a diagram of a Flandlander's house in the shape of a pentagon

Image of a 3D sphere rising through the 2D plane of Flatland, showing that it would appear as a circle changing in size over time

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