Simple Starting Place
I really like this diagram from The Infrastructurist showing how residents of major cities get to work. Living in NYC, I was surprised by the number that said they drive to work (bridge and tunnel crowd? cab-to-work Midtown types?), and generally underwhelmed/unsurprised by the minuscule beige “bike to work” area. It’s kind of telling that the designers lump bikers with people who work from home–perhaps it just makes for a better graphic?
Beyond my own preoccupation with transportation, I like this graphic because of its simplicity. It doesn’t follow the bouncing-circles oeurve that seems to be popular in infographic design at the moment. The information is clearly presented using elements people already recognize, making the data almost instantly understood. I think it’s a great example of how minimal design can produce a great infographic, and it’s an encouraging place to start thinking about what might be possible for our design team in the future.