David McCandless
David McCandless
David McCandless is a British data-journalist, and information designer based in London. He is the founder of the visual blog Information Is Beautiful. Early explorations into the synergy between data visualisation and his work as a journalist led to the development of Information Is Beautiful and the subsequent publication of his seminal book of the same name...
NationalityBritish
ProfessionJournalist
information form compression
Visualizing information is a form of knowledge compression.
great huge information
Personally, I find visualisations great for helping me understand the world and for sifting the huge amounts of information that deluge me every day.
almost aspect demanding design information literally magical poured pours quite
I feel that every day, all of us now are being blasted by information design. It's being poured into our eyes through the Web, and we're all visualizers now; we're all demanding a visual aspect to our information. There's something almost quite magical about visual information. It's effortless; it literally pours in.
provide ubiquitous
Data is the kind of ubiquitous resource that we can shape to provide new innovations and new insights, and it's all around us, and it can be mined very easily.
years data government
Data is the new soil, because for me, it feels like a fertile, creative medium. Over the years, online, we've laid down a huge amount of information and data, and we irrigate it with networks and connectivity, and it's been worked and tilled by unpaid workers and governments.
oil data soil
Data is the new oil? No: Data is the new soil.
eye maps landscape
By visualizing information, we turn it into a landscape that you can explore with your eyes, a sort of information map. And when you’re lost in information, an information map is kind of useful.
amount huge information laid networks unpaid worked workers
Over the years, online, we've laid down a huge amount of information and data, and we irrigate it with networks and connectivity, and it's been worked and tilled by unpaid workers and governments.
finding journalist love
What I love - and I'm a journalist - and what I love is finding hidden patterns; I love being a data detective.
colour endless image jungle websites
In an endless jungle of websites with text-based content, a beautiful image with a lot of space and colour can be like walking into a clearing. It's a relief.
grasp instant love overview situation stay
I love information. I want to stay current. I don't want to be under-informed. But I'm busy. Sometimes, I need an instant overview of a situation that I can grasp in a second.
agency design edward guru information known power rise second since university yale
Information design has been around since the 1970s. Pioneers like Yale University design guru Edward Tufte and design agency Pentagram have long known and used its power. But now with the rise of the Internet, it's having something of a second birth.