Nowadays, the cornucopia of graphics seems like a given. However, it was not so long ago that infographics were scarce and lived in closed ecosystems. The majority of graphics were published in newspapers, magazines, or books, and only after they had passed through various loops of editorial vetting. They were expensive to produce, print, and distribute, and there were only a few professionals with the skills and experience needed to create them.

如今，图形的聚宝盆似乎已成定局。 但是，不久之前，信息图表还很稀少，生活在封闭的生态系统中。 大多数图形仅在经过各种不同的编辑审查循环之后，才能在报纸，杂志或书籍中发表。 它们的生产，印刷和分发成本很高，只有少数专业人员具备创建它们所需的技能和经验。

“Social graphics have their own merits and they’re here to stay. It’s important to learn more about them and take advantage of the opportunities they offer”

“社交图形有其自身的优点，并且会持续存在。 重要的是要更多地了解它们并利用它们提供的机会。”

With the arrival of personal computers and desktop publishing, the process of making graphics changed dramatically and information designers acquired amazing new capabilities: from the ability to visualize big data, to creating complex 3D models, or applying GIS cartography to plot data on maps.

随着个人计算机和台式机发布的到来，制作图形的过程发生了巨大变化，信息设计人员获得了惊人的新功能：从可视化大数据的能力到创建复杂的3D模型，或者应用GIS制图在地图上绘制数据。

This digital revolution also marked the beginning of interactive experiences that allow readers to explore visual information dynamically on their desktops. We are currently experiencing a golden age of sophisticated, data-rich visualization.

这场数字革命也标志着交互式体验的开始，该体验使读者可以在桌面上动态浏览视觉信息。 我们目前正经历着复杂的，数据丰富的可视化的黄金时代。

‘The US has a 1.39 billion-pound surplus of cheese. Let’s try to visualize that.’ A Vox.com story from June 20218. (Graphic: Javier Zarracina / Vox)

'美国的奶酪盈余为13.9亿磅。 让我们尝试将其形象化。 Vox.com的故事始于20218年6月。(图片：Javier Zarracina / Vox)

The arrival of social graphics and motion graphics that are specifically created for social networks has brought about new changes for infographics, as new players have entered into this ecosystem. Are these social graphics weaker than their bigger counterparts on websites or in print? Whether it’s true or not doesn’t really matter: social graphics have their own merits, and they’re here to stay. Learn more about them and take advantage of the opportunities they offer.

随着新玩家进入这个生态系统，专门为社交网络创建的社交图形和动态图形的到来为信息图表带来了新的变化。 这些社交图谱是否比网站或印刷版中的社交图谱弱？ 真实与否无关紧要：社交图形有其自身的优点，并且会持续存在。 了解有关它们的更多信息，并充分利用它们提供的机会。

The Social Advantage

社会优势

So what are the main characteristics of these social graphics? First off, they are based on the attention economy. Unlike graphics on desktop computers or in print, most of these graphics appear in an ever-changing stream of content with only a few seconds to capture the reader’s attention. This creates draconian design constraints: visuals have to be attractive and easy to decode from a mobile phone-screen real estate is precious. Typography has to be versatile so it can be read on different screen sizes and ratios.

那么这些社交图形的主要特征是什么？ 首先，它们基于注意力经济。 与台式计算机或印刷品上的图形不同，这些图形中的大多数都出现在不断变化的内容流中，仅需几秒钟即可吸引读者的注意力。 这产生了严苛的设计约束：视觉效果必须具有吸引力，并且必须易于从手机屏幕解码，这是非常宝贵的。 字体必须是通用的，以便可以在不同的屏幕尺寸和比例下阅读。

‘A simple guide to CRISPR, one of the biggest science stories of the decade.’ A Vox.com story from December 2018. (Graphic: Javier Zarracina / Vox)

``CRISPR的简单指南，这是十年来最大的科学故事之一。'' 一个Vox.com故事，来自2018年12月。(图：Javier Zarracina / Vox)

Despite such limitations, social graphics can convey a substantial amount of information. For instance, during the Summer Olympics 2016, the New York Times published a series of GIFs on Twitter and Facebook summarizing the results of track and swimming events: these award-winning graphics used to design and animation to offer a compelling comparison of the events’ key moments and were worthy opponents to their desktop counterparts.

尽管有这些限制，社交图形仍可以传达大量信息。 例如，在2016年夏季奥林匹克运动会期间， 《纽约时报 》在Twitter和Facebook上发布了一系列GIF，总结了田径和游泳比赛的结果：这些屡获殊荣的图形用于设计和动画制作，对比赛的结果进行了令人信服的比较。关键时刻，是台式电脑的当之无愧的对手。

Editing is crucial for every graphic. However, it is even more so in a social graph, since it has to transmit as much information as possible in just a few seconds. On a website, the space is unlimited; in a social media feed, getting seen is competitive-even more so than it ever was in print. Social graphics have to get to the point and remove any and all superfluous details. For instance, we tried to make a social graphic explainer on viruses as succinct as possible, paring it down to only the most relevant information.

编辑对于每个图形都至关重要。 但是，在社交图中更是如此，因为它必须在几秒钟内传输尽可能多的信息。 在网站上，空间是无限的。 在社交媒体供稿中，被展示具有竞争性，甚至比以前任何时候都更具竞争力。 社交图形必须准确无误，并删除所有多余的细节。 例如，我们试图使关于病毒的社交图形解释程序尽可能简洁，将其分解为仅最相关的信息。

“Social media users don’t just want to be consumers of graphics, they also seek a better understanding of the rules of visual communication”

“社交媒体用户不仅希望成为图形用户，他们还寻求对视觉传达规则的更好理解”

Another option we have is to use animation, such as loop cycles in GIFs or short social videos. Video content and GIFs are very versatile-and unlike interactive graphics, they work on most devices and social platforms. Years ago, creating a few seconds of animation was an extremely laborious, intensive task, but with the popularity of software like After Effects and other animation packages, the technical part of producing animations is easier today. Short video format eliminates some of the complications of shooting in the field or the need for voiceovers. Infographers can use many of the visualization tools they already use on other platforms: animated maps, charts, and typography.

我们拥有的另一种选择是使用动画，例如GIF中的循环循环或简短的社交视频。 视频内容和GIF非常通用-与交互式图形不同，它们可在大多数设备和社交平台上使用。 几年前，创建几秒钟的动画是一项非常费力，费劲的任务，但是随着After Effects和其他动画包等软件的普及，如今制作动画的技术部分变得更加容易。 短视频格式消除了野外拍摄或配音的一些复杂问题。 信息绘图员可以使用已经在其他平台上使用的许多可视化工具：动画地图，图表和版式。

Risk and Opportunity

风险与机会

All of these opportunities also come with risks. When graphics are published without having gone through an editorial process or are read without context, they can be more easily manipulated and their information more easily distorted. Marketing agencies, PR departments, and political activists know this well, and they often use social graphics to advance their agendas or cast a critical glare at inaccurate or biased information. How can we, as a graphics community, counteract these challenges? At Vox, we have established a dialogue with our audience on social media about methods of making visual representations with graphics about graphics themselves.

所有这些机会也都带有风险。 如果在不经过编辑过程的情况下发布图形，或者在没有上下文的情况下阅读图形，则可以更轻松地操纵它们，并且更容易扭曲其信息。 营销机构，公关部门和政治活动家都非常了解这一点，他们经常使用社交图片来推进其议程或对不正确或有偏见的信息投以严重的眼光。 作为图形社区，我们如何应对这些挑战？ 在Vox上 ，我们已经在社交媒体上与观众建立了对话，讨论使用有关图形本身的图形进行视觉表示的方法。

‘The most popular books in all 50 states, in one map.’ A Vox.com story from November 2017. (Graphic: Javier Zarracina / Vox)

“在一张地图上，所有50个州最受欢迎的图书。” 2017年11月的Vox.com故事。(图：Javier Zarracina / Vox)

For instance, we produced a video for social media explaining how to choose a map projection, when to use a y-axis that starts at zero, and several pieces analyzing the misrepresentations in the U. S. election maps. At first, these topics might only appear to interest a small audience of data visualization professionals, but we were surprised at their popularity. For instance, our map projections video has more than three million views and counting.

例如，我们为社交媒体制作了一个视频，解释了如何选择地图投影，何时使用从零开始的y轴，以及几段分析了美国选举地图中的虚假陈述。 最初，这些主题可能只会引起一小部分数据可视化专业人员的兴趣，但我们对它们的普及感到惊讶。 例如，我们的地图投影视频拥有超过300万的观看次数和计数。

This interest may be because social media users don’t just want to be consumers of graphics. They also want a better understanding of the rules of visual communication since they are sharing-and often creating-visual content. When someone shares a graphic, they want it to be a part of the conversation within their social circle-and that is a powerful interaction to have with readers.

这种兴趣可能是因为社交媒体用户不只是想成为图形用户。 他们还希望更好地理解视觉传达的规则，因为他们正在共享并且经常创建视觉内容。 当某人共享图片时，他们希望它成为他们社交圈中对话的一部分-这是与读者进行的强大互动。

If we get a better understanding of such connections, we can access a unique tool in the panoply of visualization options that go far beyond the dichotomies of print vs. online, mobile vs. desktop, or interactive vs. linear narratives.

如果我们对这样的联系有了更好的了解，我们就可以在各种可视化选项中访问一个独特的工具，这远远超出了印刷，在线，移动与桌面，交互式或线性叙述的二分法。

Some of the best stories in the world are told in graphics. Learn about the masters and visionaries of infographics through Visual Journalism.

图形中讲述了一些世界上最好的故事。 通过 Visual Journalism 了解信息图表的主人和有远见的人 。

Originally published at https://gestalten.com.

最初发布在 https://gestalten.com 。