Learning through Infographics by Andrew Pettie

Our guest post today is from author, Andrew Pettie, who reflects on how using infographics engages readers.

 

Learning through infographics

By Andrew Pettie

Did you know that around 70 per cent of the way our brain perceives the world is visual? Or that people can identify a picture of a familiar object in just 13 thousandths of a second? That is eight times faster than a blink of the eye!

Humans, you see, are a very visual species and this is why infographics – which reveal information using pictures – are so powerful and engaging. You sometimes hear people describing themselves or their children as being primarily ‘visual learners’. But the truth is: we are all visual learners.

This is the insight that inspired the creation of Britannica’s Encyclopedia Infographica, a groundbreaking new encyclopedia in which the pictures do the talking. Which animal can leap 200 times its own body length? How big is the universe’s largest star? (Spoiler alert: you could fit more than a quadrillion planet Earths inside it!) How many cups of snot does your body make in a day? And does the global population of LEGO Minifigures outnumber human beings?

All these questions and more are answered in Britannica’s Encyclopedia Infographica through 200 specially commissioned infographics – including maps, charts, timelines and more – by the award-winning data designer Valentina D’Efilippo. The aim of this unique and exhilarating book is for readers to experience a ‘Wow!’ moment of wonder and insight on every page. Try it for yourself. As you will see, infographics can help you understand fascinating and surprising things about our world faster than a blink of the eye!

 

Many thanks to Andrew and the team at What-on-Earth Publishing for taking part in this year’s NNFN. ‘Encyclopedia Infographica’ (ISBN: 978-1913750459) is published by Britannica Books.