Big Bad World
A big bad infographic on death, phobias, and the fact behind the fear (nice and cheery, I know). My focus was weaving the data into a narrative, presenting death as we know it, fears, flipping those fears on their head, and then bringing a new perspective on death around the world. The true value of data visualisation is the ability to show context and comparisons and I wanted to use that as much as possible to tell the story. Seeing that 7/10 people die age 70+ in high income countries is one thing, seeing that next to only 2/10 reaching 70+ in low income countries is another.
To build this story, I wanted to make sure each topic led naturally to the next and spent quite a while selecting what information to include and organising the hierarchy. The layout adds to this flow, with sharp cutouts highlighting key data and headings and directing the eyes back and forth across the page.
My goal was to put the data first with minimal illustration so it would neither distract/clutter the information or be unsuitable for what is a serious topic. To highlight key points or label data, I designed an icon set which matches the angular and minimal design of the infographic. The minimal colour scheme is carried on from there, making use of a monochromatic grey palette with lime green to highlight key points and headings. Coloured sections break up the data and divide it into defined topics.
It was a challenge to strike a balance between the gravity of the subject matter and the slightly tongue in cheek tone of pointing out the exaggerated aspects of our common fears. The typefaces play into this, with a technical serif for the body text and the almost playful Gil Sans Ultra Bold for headings that subconsciously makes you wonder how bad it could really be. Ultimately, I hope that the more playful elements serve to highlight the need not to get caught up in fears while emphasising the impact of the real horrors they are juxtaposed against.
View it on GitHub
