On my research I’ve seen different sources sharing the idea of ancient cave drawings as the very first infographics in history. I gotta be honest that it didn’t make much sense to me at first – after all, I don’t think our ancestors were trying to comply complex data into a visual-friendly way so other people could understand it. But if we think that, maybe, they were simply trying to tell a story about their life by using graphic representation – well, in that case it could be considered the beginning of infographics.
(like the drawings John Snow found on that cave, that pretty much "tells" the alliance between the First Men and the Children of Forrest against the White Walkers.. again: it has a narrative!)
ps. If you never watched Game of Thrones... we can't be friends. 🤓
So maybe is not about the complexity of the data, but the story behind it.
Moving forward, I kind of gave up on spending too much time researching the history of infographics. There are so many different sources! I was feeling really overwhelmed (and tired) to organise it all. I think the important message is, this stuff is old, like, ancient old. And its purpose is to use tools like data visualisation to tell a story or provide a wider perception about something.
And with that mind, I think it’s time to move on with how infographics are used nowadays and get inspired by cool, unusual examples. But right now I’m really hungry so.. see you on my next post.
Comments