Cool Infographics, Randy Krum, Wiley, October 2013
As Martin J. Eppler and Sabrina Bresciani wrote in their article “Embracing the Visual” in Communication Director 03/2013, combing visual elements in corporate communications “increases recall, engagement and attention levels.” Research shows that visual information is more quickly and easily comprehended and much more likely to be remembered, a point which is beautifully made on almost every page of Cool Infographics. Time and time again, we see facts and figures transformed into colourful, quirky and cool imagery. Best of all, author Randy Krum shows the nuts and bolts behind the visual magic, presenting an overview of the design processes and software tools necessary for creating visuals that clearly communicate (we especially appreciate the section on how to re-draw your resume). This makes the book an empowering and necessary read for communicators who might be more comfortable with the written word: take power back from your graphics team and learn just why a bar chart is better than a pie chart for a particular piece of information, or how to fit your info graphic resume on the iPad. Cool Infographics is a great gift for yourself or someone else, with more inspiration on each page than many other books manage to cram into whole chapters.