What is information design?

Una breve definición de diseño de información según John Emerson. Information design for Advocacy - An introduction to information design, John Emerson, 2008

Information design uses pictures, symbols, colors, and words to communicate ideas, illustrate information or express relationships visualy.

Effective design is not just a matter of making text pretty or entertaining, but of shaping understanding and clarifyng meaning. Information design adds seeing to reading to make complex data easier to understand and to use. It can hel illustrate complexity, showing relationships between ideas or actors or providing a snapshot of changing systems. It takes many forms and appears in many media. Some familiar forms include charts, graphs, maps, diarams or timelines. These can be big or small, simple or complex, published in print or electronic media.