Paola Antonelli and Alice Rawsthorn on Information Design

In this new episode of Design Emergency, our cofounders, Paola Antonelli and Alice Rawsthorn, explore the rapidly expanding field of information design at a time when it is an increasingly powerful force in our lives. They do so by identifying some of their favourite examples of information design: past, present and future. . The emergence of data visualization has transformed information design in recent years. Yet information design continues to come in many different forms: from statistical diagrams, maps and signage systems, to scientific visualization, animated narratives and, even, gestures. . Among the examples chosen by Alice and Paola are: the pie charts with which the 19th century health reformer, Florence Nightingale, convinced the British government to fund the design and construction of new clinics and hospitals; the compelling visual and statistical analyses of different aspects of African-American life in the early 20th century by the sociologist W.E.B. Du Bois; and Harry Beck's famous 1933 diagrammatic map of the London Underground. . They also discuss Harry Beck's famous 1933 diagrammatic map of the London Underground; Clemenger BBDO Wellington's Covid-19 public information campaign for the New Zealand government; and the pioneering data visualisations produced by the researchers and artists Kate Crawford and Vladan Joler to trace technology’s impact on our lives in the last 500 years and the social, political, economic and ecological implications of artificial intelligence. . Design Emergency is supported by a grant from the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts. . Graphic design by Studio Frith Recording and editing by Spiritland Creative . Design Emergency is supported by a grant from the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts.