My Infographic Project Comes to Life

Smallbox Web Design, a local web consulting firm, recently made real this wonderful little idea called "nicing" and brought it to the masses by means of a small community grant program.  It's a rather simple approach that involves spontaneous and surprising acts of kindness. In this case, it's creating a small grant program for local community projects. Smallbox, with the help of Angie's List, are nicing me by making my local infographic project a reality (I originally blogged about it here). I'm proud to say that of the 188 applicants, I was one of 10 awarded a $1000 grant.  From their site,

Jon Ford was seeking $1,000 to… Link up with a group of graphic artists to create a series of infographics to help visualize different aspects of Indianapolis! We love infographics, and cannot wait to see some of these prints for ourselves! Jon Ford, you have been NICED!  

Why infographics? I think there's great value in being data driven.  Let's make decisions and base opinion off of what we know.  The infographic helps us consume a lot of information quickly and effectively promotes complex themes and ideas, all rooted in data.  No, a community's problems are not all solved by the presence of data alone.  I don't presume that people will make rational decisions just because easily digestible data is available.  But I do think that it has the chance to influence and inform. Not sure what exactly is an infographic?  Check out a Pinterest collection of infographics I've collected.   While you're there take a look at my little Star Wars board too because, well, why not?

Behold, the infographic

What will this project look like?
I envision a series of infographics depicting various aspects of this city including our bike culture, craft beer in the city, food in our city, the art scene, the environment, and the tech scene.  I know that I don't currently have enough funds to see six infographics created, but you get the idea about where my head is at.  When this is all said and done with, the city and any interested person or organization will have open access to these infographics, either for electronic or physical distribution.  I'll create an online home for them to ensure accessibility.  

Lately, I've been meeting with a couple of really smart people whom I consider trusted advisors.  I'm getting some great input on where to find some content as well as graphic designer resources.  I've even had a tentative offer to display these infographics in a public gallery space to compliment another event already scheduled.  That's nice!