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Information design resources

Here you’ll find a curated collection of tools, templates, articles, and ideas to help you design and communicate information with clarity. Whether you’re working on a data-heavy report, an engaging infographic, or an interactive chart, these resources are here to guide, inspire, and save you time.

I’ve gathered what I use in my own projects, alongside practical tips and examples you can adapt to your own work. Browse around, take what’s useful, and feel free to share with others who value thoughtful, well-crafted information design.

Finding useful datasets

Looking for reliable, well-structured datasets to jump-start your next data visualization project? Here are some of my favorite starting points:

Looking for more? Read our blogpost: Small datasets to practice your data visualization skills

Inspiration for data visualization

Digital tools to create infographics and data visuals

Inkscape tutorials

Learning how to create and edit vector images (rather than bitmap images) is one of the key steps in unlocking your full information design power. Inkscape is a powerful free tool to help you do just that. I personally found the following tutorials very useful, not too long, and to-the-point:

Illustrations and icons

Colours

It is undeniable that Lisa Charlotte Muth (Head of Communications at Datawrapper) is the ultimate expert when it comes to color use in data visualization. The list of articles about color on the Datawrapper blog is the best source you’ll ever find on the topic. In particular, the following articles are very worthwhile:

If you’re looking for tools and inspirational places that can help you create color combinations for your visuals, here are some of my favorites:

Typography

Creating graphs

Creating maps

Creating tables

Ethics in data visualization

Books about infographics and data visualization

Here are some of the books that were foundational for my own career path in data visualization and information design:

  • Data visualisation, Andy Kirk
  • Dear Data, Giorgia Lupi & Stefanie Posavec
  • Information graphics, Taschen
  • Infographic designers’ sketchbooks, Steven Heller & Rick Landers
  • Storytelling with data, Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic
  • The visual display of quantitative information, Edward Tufte
  • Trees, maps and theorems, Jean-Luc Doumont
  • Visual journalism, Gestalten
  • Visual thinking, Willemien Brand

If you’re looking for more, make sure to check our complete list of data visualization books!

People on social media talking about data

Videos about data visualization

Dataviz blogs and online magazines

Dataviz podcasts

These are some of my personal favorites. Looking for more? We have a complete list of podcasts on data visualization and information design!

Books on a bookshelf - infographics resources

Read more:

Vreemde plaatsnamen in Vlaanderen

Iedereen kent wellicht 'Kontich' en 'Reet', maar in Vlaanderen hebben we nog veel meer merkwaardige, onverwachte, en vaak grappige plaatsnamen. Heb je bijvoorbeeld ooit al gehoord van Buitenland, Dikkebus, of Grote Homo?

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9 June 2024

Small multiples can save your chart

When you're dealing with a chart that has too much information on it, the most straightforward advice to follow is: break it down into multiple charts, each with less information on them. A powerful example of this is a so-called small multiple approach.

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5 September 2023

thumbnail for video 10 - can you use excel to create a powerful chart

Can you use Excel to create a powerful chart?

Spreadsheet tools such as Microsoft Excel or Numbers might not be the first thing on your mind when considering data visualization tools, but they can be pretty solid choices to build data visuals. Don’t let anyone convince you that using Excel to create data visuals is unprofessional.

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9 January 2023

thumbnail for video 09 - choosing the right font for your data visual

Choosing the right font for your data visual

Fonts evoke emotions: there are very sophisticated fonts, playful fonts, attention-grabbing fonts, and elegant handwritten fonts. Using the wrong type of font can have a lot of impact. In data visualization the implications of typography are mainly focused on readability. Labels and annotations can easily become so small they get hard to read. Above all else, we should choose a font which is readable at small sizes.

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2 January 2023

thumbnail for video 08 - three roles of colour in a data visual

Three roles of colour in a data visual

Colour is one of the most crucial tools we have to turn a normal chart into a powerful chart with a clear message, a chart which tells a story rather than simply presenting the information.

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26 December 2022

thumbnail for video 07 - 7 different goals for your chart

7 different goals for your chart

A crucial step in building a powerful chart is choosing the right type of chart. A lot of charts don’t work because they simply use the wrong type of chart. To avoid this trap, we must ask ourselves a basic question: what’s the ultimate goal of our data visual? What do we want to show with our data?

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19 December 2022

We are really into visual communication!

Every now and then we send out a newsletter with latest work, handpicked inspirational infographics, must-read blog posts, upcoming dates for workshops and presentations, and links to useful tools and tips. Leave your email address here and we’ll add you to our mailing list of awesome people!