Santiago train crash infographic

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Santiago train crash infographic
Source: http://www.noticias24.com/fotos/noticia/10639/en-infografia-como-sucedio-la-catastrofe-ferroviaria-en-espana/ 

This infographic is about a a train crash in the city of Santiago, Spain. It explains in a very clear way what happens, the reasons for the derailment, provides the technical details of what happened and displays all in a very visual way.  It is in a halfway between the abstract and the figurative. maps are abstract but draws and images are completely figurative. The infographic is quite functional, because each part of it and each eleement contains information, each one gives an important approach of the train crash.  It is very lightness, audiences is not going to be overwhelmed because disposition, shapes, lines and colors have been selected in order to offer information in a harmonic way. It is more multidimensional because it gives data from different perspectives or points of view, it talks about the speed, the train model, the number of passengers, etc. This infographic is familiar, audience is used to see this type of images showing information and content is also presented in a common way for this type of cases. It is also novel because data are not repeated it is shown in a way that in each aspect provides new approaches about it. It speaks about the same topic along all its surface but the information is shown in different sur-topics. 

This infographic is intelligible and shallower. It is oriented to a wide audience and it can be understood by a lot of people that does not have any idea about the accident. It does not need an extra explanation to be comprehended because of it clear disposition and illustration.

Machinist in the warpath

Francisco José Garzón, the driver of the Alvia train that derailed in Santiago, Galicia (Spain) last July, warned that the curve of the accident is “inhumane.” This emerges from the post- crash recording that ended with the lives of 79 people.

Train driver of Santiago's crash

He admitted to the judge that he was not “crazy” enough to not hinder. Minutes after of the accident the driver commented by phone the difficulty curve. “It is inhumane”. And he repeated over and over again his wish that there were not dead people. “It will be on my conscience, those poor travelers ...”

“I already told to security that was a dangerous curve. That one day we were going to throw and we were going to swallow it. I was that person”. “I had to go to 80 km/ h but I went at 190 spent or something similar.”

The engineer said in court that the automatic braking system comes into operation only at 200 km/ h and after advance notice. He acknowledged that he did not know in what he was thinking just before arrive to Angrois, and that he must braking before because it is the driver and not the machine who is charge.  

Nelson Mandela's life infographic

This infographic is very efficient. It is based on a timeline of Nelson Mandela's life but it also includes some line charts indicating some South Africa key indicators by presidential terms like: unemployment rate or inflation that clarify the information about his activity as a president of his country during his mandate. Text and years in numbers are the main subjects of the infographic. It is is located halfway between abstraction and figuration, because the part of charts is quite abstract while pictures are figurative. It is very functional, each element on it has a clear objective and nothing is there to decorate. Colors in timeline also add information to facts, they differentiate important dates from most relevant ones and from non-important years.

Nelson Mandela's life infographic
Source: http://www.trust.org/item/20131206084016-vfp3q/ 

It is lightness because information is very well disposed and organized avoiding the possibility to overwhelm audience. This infographic is quite familiar because we are used to be information represented in that way, with a timeline and text that explains which facts and data are explained. It is very comprehensible and aesthetically pleaseant, it is also very useful to acquire knowledge about Nelson Mandela's life with this type of infographics. Charts used in this image are also known and common in different infographics. Furthermore, it is novel because information is not repeated, in each section data reveal to the audience relevant aspects of Mandela's life. Colors makes there a great job in the sense of enlighting the most important events.

This inforgraphic is intelligible and shallower. A wide audience could understand it without an extra explanation. Because data are so clear and it is not necessary to be an expert in politics or in Nelson Mandela's mandate as a South Africa president to comprehend the infographic. Personally, I would add some little extra explanation in charts in order to assure a full understanding. It could be also published in any mass media.

"It always seems impossible until it is done"

Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela who was considered a freedom symbol has died at 95 years old. He dedicated all his life to defend the rights of South African black men and women. He had always been on the battlefield fighting for the equality of all people. 

After being condemned to 27 years on prison he was elected the first president of South Africa in a democratic way by universal suffrage, receiving a great international recognition to his labour and being reward by the Nobel Peace in 1993.

His life was a eternal fight against injustice suffered by black men and women in South Africa. He early started to take part in favor of resistance without violence against the apartheid politics from the minority white regime. 

He finalized his Law studies in 1942 when he joined on the African National Congress (ANC). The organization's main purpose was to become mass movement that span all different worker classes and black professionals South African. Two years later, in 1944, it was created the young league inside ANC and Mandela was elected on 1948 a member of the National Executive Committee. On the same year general elections were celebrated and the Nacional Party won it, formed exclusively by white people, the only who could vote. It that moment Nelson Mandela started his own fight against apartheid. 

On December of 1952 he was detained according to he Communism Repression Law, that prohibited him attend to public meetings and forced them to leave Johannesburgo. He took an important role in the "Letter to freedom" wrote up by the People Congress in 1955. Arrested again from 1960 to 1961, for his active fight, he decided to found the armed arm of ANC becoming the main commander. It was his way to attempt against institutions with an economic relevance or with a symbolic value, but never against people integrity. 

In 1962 he was arrested and condemned to life imprisonment because of sabotage. He accomplished 27 years on prison in very awful conditions that caused him serious health problems. After the international pressure, Frederik W. De Klerk, president of South Africa, decided allow ANC and release Nelson Mandela on 11th February 1990. One year later, he was elected the President of ANC, he drove different general strikes and its effect was the dismantling of the political system based on the apartheid.

Nelson Mandela received many awards because of his labour like Nobel Peace in 1993 or the Asturias Prince Prize in 1992. In 1999 left politics due to his poor health. His last public appearance was at the World Cup 2010.

Palestinian water infographic

Palestinian water infographic
Source: http://visualizingpalestine.org/infographic/gaza-water-confined 

This infographic is about the state of water corresponding to the Palestinian territories, specifically in Gaza. 

Text information makes this infographic clear to be understood. It is so figurative because shapes and draws are quite similar in the reality, the reference and the representation are very close. Colours are well selected, they make reference to the water colour and it is, with black, the most important on the infographic. Despite the pleasant appearence, it is quite functional, very few elements are there to decorate and only maybe one or two could be removed without get off information. They all carry relevant data to the purpose of the infographic. It is pretty lightness, data are sorted, intelligible and are visually clear. Text is combined with solours and shapes following a correct criterion. It is unidimensional in the sense of information follows a
directional line in the presentation of data focusing the importance on confined and contaminated water and its consequencies. This representation is quite original, we are more used to charts and more numbers and lines in infographics but this way is aesthetically pleasing and easy to be understood with a colour combination that makes clear presented data. It is too novel, because information is not repeated and in each section the infographics gives the viewer something new and surprising offering him or her new enlightenment. 

This infographic is intelligible and shallower. A wide audience could understand it without an extra explanation. It is not necessary to be an expert to comprehend the infographic. In my opinion, I would maybe represent some of the text in a more visual way using, for example, a donut or bar chart providing more empirical data and not so many explanations.

Without access to a fundamental right: the water

The report: "Water only for one: The discriminatory access and the apartheid of water in the occupied palestine territories", shown a discriminatory access to a source of water that allows to 500.000 jewish people in the occupied Cisjordania receive six times more water than to the 2,6 million palestine who reside in that zone.

Palestinian children taking water

Tel Aviv violates the international humanitarian right, because it has not any right over occupied territories and neither over their natural resources.Information reveals how the illegal settlements still deviate the water to the israelite water company.

 According to the report, Israel has taken advantage illegally from the palestinian resources in occupied territories to the exclusive benefit of israeli settlements.

Al-Haq, an independent Palestinian non-governmental human rights organisation based in Ramallah, West Banks, requests and to Israel and to third countries immediate countries in order to finish with the exploitation and plunder of palestinian natural resources and to design too structural changes in the system management of shared water resources.

The Coordination Office of Humanitarian Issues of United Nations has heavily criticized Israel for his intention to continue monitoring the palestinian hybrid resources destruction. 

A syrian conflict infographic

A syrian conflict infographic
Source: http://blog.katapult.co.uk/design/infographic-24-months-of-syria-conflict/

This infographic is about the syrian conflict, specially it treats data after 24 months of it begining. 

It is more figurative than abstract because the relation between the reference and the draw are quite close. It is quite functional because each element has an informative purpose and only few things are there to decorate, almost all that is on the infographic contains relevant data to the comprehension of the information presented.It is too quite lightness because information is shown in a clear vissually way. The combination of colours, shapes and lines is selected with a good criteria that makes the infographic easy to understand. It is more multidimensional than unidimensional because of data is shown from different perspectives or treating diverse items of the same big theme: the syria conflict. The infogrpahic is familiar, the way in which information is presented is not novel to the viewers who are used to this type of representations. It is no needed an extra explanation to all that is exposed in this infographic, all is very cleary disposed to the comprehension from a wide audience. It is too novelty because each part of it talks about a new item, exposes new and relevant information to the viewer and it does not give place to the repetition of data.

This infographic is more intelligible and shallower than complex and deeper.It could be published in any medium and be understood by lots of people without an extra explanation.