The Society for News Design is partnering with Tumblr, in collaboration with the office of Congressman Mark Takano (CA-41), to create the first-ever “International Chart Day” celebration, to take place on April 26th.
A free, daylong conference on Capitol Hill will feature Alberto Cairo of the University of Miami, Michael Stoll of Augsburg University in Germany, K.K. Rebecca Lai of The New York Times, Tim Meko of the Washington Post, the “I Love Charts” Tumblr, the Huffington Post, and others to discuss and celebrate charts. Panels will cover the history and future of charts, how infographics will help combat fake news, and a live-build of an infographic in front of an audience.
We’ll be bringing the infographic creating community together to engage the public, by sharing favorite examples, explaining the history and value of charts, and sharing insight in to how to create high-quality, visually engaging, informative visualizations.
You, too, can participate in many ways.
Congressman Mark Takano (CA-41) will introduce a resolution to declare April 26th as “International Chart Day,” and deliver a speech on the house floor about the importance and history of charts. You can see the resolution, and contribute your ideas to it, at www.internationalchartday.com.
“As a teacher for more than 20 years, I saw how visual learners in my classroom were better able to connect, group, and organize ideas that were attached to images,” said Takano. “As an elected official, I see how a well-designed chart can help strengthen an argument, add context to a story, or even win a policy debate. And in 2018, charts and chart-makers have an even more important role as part of the fight against fake and misleading news.”
In addition to the conference, April 26 will be highlighted by the following:
Tumblr will curate charts from across the network on everything from fandoms to news.
An art display on Capitol Hill will showcase some of the best congressionally produced charts to ever show up on CSPAN – curated by the blog Floor Charts.
“Every community on Tumblr makes charts about the things they love—alignment charts, four-quadrant matrices, lines, bars, pies—everything. International Chart Day is such a great opportunity to celebrate the way everyone from fandoms to news editors use charts to visualize their interests,” said Victoria McCullough, Policy Lead at Tumblr.
Check out the official site, share your thoughts on the resolution, and register on Eventbrite. See you there!