Ballou on Visual Communications

Found at an elementary school playground, this surprisingly well made infographic — seemingly crafted with some ancient Microsoft WordArt — tells students how to deal with conflicts. You should be able to get the gist of it without even speaking French! Click to enlarge. (Translation below)

• “I calm down”
• “I explain myself and listen to the other”
• “I take my share of the blame”
• “I find solutions” (“1. Fix it 2. Meet the other halfway  3. Move away & retreat 4. Play together 5. Flip a coin & take your turn 6. Apologize 7. (Think it through)”)
• “Apply the strategy”

A neat video by my friends at the libertarian Institute for Humane Studies (IHS):

The SAQ (Société des alcools du Québec) – the state-owned alcohol monopoly – updated its store in my hometown, complete with a brilliant colour-coded system for picking wines. I have never chosen wine based on anything but price and label-design, so this is god-sent. A beautiful booklet lays out the various “taste profiles” and the foods they ought to be paired with. Once you’ve picked the bottle, you apply the appropriate sticker as a reminder. Here’s a screenshot from the website:

I’ve long had a weakness for motivational/self-help books. My friend Juanita wrote about one such work, clever illustrated by the diagram below. Click for full size PDF.

I’ve long been a fan of the Myers-Briggs model of personality typology. I found a neat iPhone app that describes the sixteen “types” and how they interact with one another. However, I was most impressed by the clever use of icons. It’s fascinating to think that something as complex as personality – our essence, really - could be boiled down to a simple image. For example, the analytical INTJ is represented by a puzzle piece, while the thrill-seeking ESTP is a flame and the conscientious ISFJ is a bow (FYI – I’m an ENTP). Find out what your type is.

Here’s a clip I produced for a mining company operating near my hometown in the Abitibi region of Quebec.

My first job out of university was as an analyst for a company that did political polling. I love the way these graphics show how political views vary across Canada. The data was pulled from the CBC “vote compass.”

As I was browsing through a used book store in St. Petersburg, I found a British book on modern art published in 1976. The following passage amazed me:

There is, however, the chance that interest in computers will eventually extend the capabilities of the visual artist (…) [The computer] can be made to present as many different alternatives as the user desires, and analyses of the finished product can be stored for future use.

As a labour-saving tool, the computer opens up a vastly broader range of chance operations, simply because it works both more surely and more rapidly than the artist can hope to do himself.

In this sense, the computer can be said to extend the idea of freedom (…) But its full potentialities are unlikely to be realized until the operator can treat it as being as much an extension of his own mind as Pollock treated paint and canvas, rags and brushes as extensions of his own body.

-Late Modern – The Visual Arts since 1945, by Edward Lucie-Smith

Yes, computers certainly have become wonderful tools. I was inspired, and did a portrait of Adrienne in Adobe Illustrator:

Last weekend, I was in Moscow and toured the VDNKh park — a collection of Soviet-era pavilions that once showcased the various economic achievements of the USSR. In the 1990s, the park fell into disrepair. However, they’ve since spruced it up, adding carnival attractions, food stands and rollerblade rentals. The pavilions are still impressive, with their Greco-Roman architecture and ornamentation.

(Note the lamps designed like shafts of wheat)

As a designer, I like to consider the work of my counterparts. So, I  pictured an office in 1950s Moscow:

-Hi Sergey. Have a seat. Cigarette? I wanted to tell you that I’m assigning you to the meat pavilion project.

-What?! Why do I always get the dull projects? I was supposed to do the aviation pavilion with Alexey! By the way, where’s Alexey? I haven’t seen him all week.

-Hum. I was meaning to tell you that Alexey won’t be with us any longer. Turns out he was (ahem) a counter-revolutionary saboteur.

- (Silence)

- (Whistles) Anyhow, Nikolay’s now in charge of aviation, and you get meat. I want to see some concepts by next week.

-

Visual communicators are often forced to take a seemingly boring subject and make it compelling. What would you do if you were Sergey?

Here’s the result:

(“Meat Industry”)