The use of infographics to display complex information in a way that is clear and easy to understand has evolved significantly. From the early cave paintings, later to maps, and then to the first data maps by William Playfair.¹

While the design of information graphics has traditionally been in print, with the introduction of Adobe Flash in 2000, modern practioners have taken the art of information graphics to a higher level.

Adobe Flash is a multimedia platform that is commonly used for adding animation and interactivity to web pages. Information Designers began to apply these features to the creation of infographics to enhance the understanding and the need for interactivity in our multimedia age of technology. By adding animation to infographics, it engages the audience and allows the user to browse for the information relevant to what they are looking for.²

Overuse of animation can create congestion of information and cause more confusion than clarity. Whether it’s interactive or print, an infographic still has to follow the basic principles of graphical excellence as mentioned by Edward R. Tufte in his book “The Visual Display of Quantitative Information.” ³

• Graphical excellence is the well-designed presentation of interesting data-a matter of substance, of statistics, and of design
  
  
• Graphical excellence consists of complex ideas communicated with clarity, precision, and efficiency
  
  
• Graphical excellence gives the viewer the greatest number of ideas in the shortest time with the least ink in the smallest space
  
  
• Graphical excellence requires telling the truth about the data
  
  

http://smas.studioludens.com/

This infographic features mondial statistics on a human scale. It displays the ongoing stream of events while touching on the emotional actuality of the subject. The design of this infographic is very effective with the use of pictoral representation, the higher the number, the greater the concentration of images that flow down.

http://now.sprint.com/nownetwork/

This infographic for sprint 4G network depicts all the possibilities with a bigger network. At first it may seem overwhelming and crowded, but it makes its point by displaying all this information that is available with a 4G network. It give you current time, facts about the world, fun facts and statistics.

www.googlemaps.com

Google map is a great example of an effective interactive infographic. The map allows the user to be in control of the information. You can zoom in and out, type in the city or exact address you are looking for. Google map added a new feature, which allows you to view a photographic image of the location you are looking for. It also provides direction to your destination from anywhere in the city.

http://www.time.com

This is an infographic of the population density in America displayed as a histogram. The artist uses a map representation to display his information of population in different cities of America. The use of a histogram is effective because you can see where the population is denser with out looking at the numbers. The pulsing point guides the user to the areas where there is information. The title clearly states what the infographic is displaying. It also instructs the user to roll over the pulsing points for further information. The interactive aspect of this map allow the user to navigate through the information they are interested without having the all population numbers displayed all at once.