Welcome to the [infographics.eu] in Zeist, the Netherlands.
The congres is held for the second time for information visualizers, editors and designers, and is organised by six infographic-designers from various media in the Netherlands. This post is written by guest blogger , infographic-designer at , a daily morning newspaper .

10.23h -
The readers of newspapers and the new newsreaders who get there news from their mobile phones are compared and questioned. What happens when newspapers disappear, will the paper-reader switch to a smaller device and willing to pay for content? And is the infographic-designer going to take a role in that transition? Can the infographic-designer make the compex information clear. Nigel Holmes shows a video he made to explain the effects of stand-by-(vampire)-energy, he made.

10.51u Barbera van Os (RTLnieuws) and Gert de Graaff (graphic video teacher)
Barbera was surprised that last years congres wasn't about motion infographics so she is joined the organisation and is happy to give a presentation with Gert.
First video is about the airplane crash at Schiphol feb 25 2009, they made in enormous time-pressure.

Gert de Graaff shows examples of dutch newsgraphics that are totally misplaced, or are read out a load by the newsreader and not giving extra information. The BBC makes better use of newsgraphics where the graphics add something to the newsstory.

12.08h - Gerrit de Jager, Cartoonist
Makes cartoons for the FD and AD newspapers. Is very happy with the economic crisis. He has never drawed so much red lines going down.
Shows a true graphic-story of his adventure with a Dutch bank just in the week before the crisis really started last year.

12.18h - Geoff McGee, multi-media editor Le Monde
Building a team for making online infographics in the newsroom.
Works now for 1 1/2 year at Le Monde interactif. Newspaper and website are very seperate, but they are going to merge this summer.

Geoff explaines what an infographic-newsroomteam needs for skills; Illustration (2d 3d), motion graphics, cartography, database scripting, statistical analyses.
Important tasks for Infographics team, manage relationship with newsroom, track project, develop style guide, build simple infographics creation tools. Tools that everybody in the newsroom can use.

Coming from a print background you need to master lineair sequence graphic as a first step to enhance graphics, like the graphic: . Afterthat comes: layering, embedding, direct manipulation (let people play with things), interactivity (tribute), data.
He developed a simple tool for newseditors they can make theirself and embed in their newsstory. "we have been there, infographicmakers don't want to be bothered with simple line graphics ;)"

13.18h - Ton Frederiks, Adobe
Shows of the new features in CS4, integration of Illustrator and Flash.
One Creative Suite 4 is won by one of the participants.
That's a well spend trip to Zeist!

14.32h -
She worked for several media and won the Infographics Year price of the Netherlands in 2003. Now she started an infographic-design agancy with 5 employees.
Gorvernment and semi-governmental organisations come to her agency for graphics
Important issues for designing a graphic are target, targetgroup, media.
The images her company produces must have a clear an attracting image. Due to her years of infographic making she made an online on her site.
Shows a case a company that and an
An infographics for the company to explain the proces on the factorysite And making an online graphic for people who don't want to visit the factory because of the smell.

15.00h -
Searching tips on internet. Think like a document, learning how to search for images with images. Visiualize! How to look for GHB, a drug, if i want buy it. Think what would stand above that page> order. so enter, in the Google bar, order GHB: or better: ALLINTITLE "ORDER GHB"
Forget the question; see the parts of the answer and predict the answer, what would the answer be in an encyclopedia? Enhance the reliability. Look for the hidden web i.e. go to archive.org. Visualize the front door that Google does find but the database behind it will stay hidden for Google. i.e. Looking for a docter ... Look for the 'find doctor' database and enter the name of that doctor there.

16.10h -
Shows work that his agency did the over the years i.e. the Mondriaan stichting, Museum Boijman Van Beuningen and the city The Hague. They like randomnes and non-hierarchy in data visualisation and mapping.

final conclusion of
16.55h -

Showing bad design, and pointing to the to help you out in the office.
Where the hell are we going? Data is comming to use from every angle, it's a datastorm. Art versus information a loving embrase or a fight. Does these two collide and explode?
We all know the Wonderful graqhics from Dataflow but does it deliver the information? Can we use that kind of visualisation in the news?

Online we haven't still find the right interface, we have to try over and over. 3D must show simplicty, clearity and elegance. Like

Future style, shows examples of Wired magazine, NTSE
That style originated in the 50ties, primary colors, strong graphic typography (Bookexamples: , )
Shows some amazing work of his students (!).

17.51h - that's it! Thanks everybody who attended, Thanks Andrew for your patience with me ;).

check my for photo's, comming asap.

See you next year :)