A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

Lately I've become more and more interested in how pictures can speak to our arguments, to our emotions, and to our values. With the midterm elections coming up, it's interesting how a simple graphic can illuminate one set of ideas while simultaneously laying waste to another.

This series of "Infographics" is one of my favorite bits on GOOD magazine. They're produced every few days, and are a great example of how data-rich, visual posters could come to compete with traditional TV political advertising in the Internet Age.

Say you are a pro-immigration candidate and you want to show succinctly how immigrants, legal and illegal, contribute to the economy. Instead of reading off random stats, you could create an interactive poster showing where the immigrants are coming from, what jobs they are working and where.

How about which countries will be most severely affected by climate change?

What issues do Americans care about in this election cycle, compared with previous elections?

Which evil, maniacal special interests are backing your favorite candidate?

Which countries in the world are the most politically corrupt? I'll give you a hint: Mexico and Italy don't rank so well!