Malofiej18: Report from the JJ

Malofiej18: John Grimwade reports from the Jumping Jester

Grimwade comments today on the SND website, that you get a very good idea of what is going on in infographic departments around the world, from one bar in Spain - the unofficial HQ of infographics

So, in a somewhat scary atmosphere of smoke and blasts of infographic hot air, you can get a very good idea of what is happening in graphics departments around the world. Not the carefully considered comments you hear in the conference auditorium, but the full-on, uncensored, inside stuff. Of course, drink is a powerful component in this process, but it often just amplifies the underlying truth

So what about the big debate: "Data Visualisation is killing infographics"

No question. This was the hot topic... There is a significant group of graphics people who feel that data-viz graphics do not belong in their newspaper or magazine. “Sterile.” “Impossible to understand.” “Clinical.” “Cold.” These and many more compliments were being banded about. Not opinions shared by all the attendees by any means, but by a large enough group for it to be certainly worth noting

and "are we making graphics for other graphics directors to admire"

Several people felt that perhaps we are. No question, there were tons of lavishly produced mega-graphics in the competition... Some of the attendees had been at the Zeist conference (in the Netherlands), and had heard Charles Blow’s succinct argument that we need to re-evaluate the approach we are taking: Make sure that we have a strong story, worth telling, and tell it in a clear and concise way