1. Infographics have gone mainstream—what makes an infographic stand out today?

Visual content is all about storytelling, so the ones that stand out the most are those that are able to tell you something new and interesting. The best content is able to take something complex and use visuals as a mechanism for making it accessible to a wider audience.

2. What is the appeal of great visualization?

The impact of visual content is massive. Often, most data visualizations are graphs that display information, but don't take any steps to explain the importance of these data. Visual content helps cross the last mile by telling the story behind the numbers. 

Content is about harnessing the story, and great visuals—whether it be infographics, video, interactives, pictures or presentations—help tell those stories. In some cases, visuals are effective because they help evoke emotion, while in others it's the ability to simplify a complicated concept. Visual content is an amazing resource because it helps your story stand out and makes the process of telling your story more compelling, engaging and impactful.

3. You've just got a big funding influx—looks like infographics are here to stay—what is the next frontier for data visualization?

We've only begun to scratch the surface of what can be achieved with visual content. Video is becoming widespread and organizations, brands and individuals are increasingly looking to unlock its storytelling power. Interactives are taking the same concepts that made infographics so powerful and are adding an entirely new dimension by giving viewers the ability to actively engage and interact with the content moment to moment. The great thing about visual content is that its lessons can be applied to a range of different mediums, and as our technological abilities continue to advance, so will our capacity to use new techniques to improve our storytelling.

4. How can organizations working in development optimize using data this way?

Whether it is showing the incredible work organizations are doing around the world, educating about a particular challenge or pursuing any other goal, visual content allows development organizations to tell the story behind their experiences and empower audiences to pass the story on. 

5. What has been the best use of data visualization you have seen? Why did it catch people’s attention?

We recently worked on a video with an amazing design firm called I Shot Him. Their work focuses on producing content that has a major social impact. The video tells the story of drug cartel wars in Mexico. What makes it so special is that it takes an idea that is beyond the focus of many people and brings the data to life by telling the story behind it. Even more, it shows people what they can do to help make the situation better. It's a perfect example of the power of visual content in that it simplifies complex information, tells an important story and leads viewers to the place where they can take action.