lives being lost to Cardiovascular Disease (shown in real time; multiply by 25,000 for annual number) animated illustration for presentation; source: 2000 U.S. Census; originally 10 x 7ft. (projected) / 2004

Data is boring. It’s just facts and figures; numbers on a page. There’s no life in it: No blood, sweat or tears, not to mention sex. But actually, there almost always is. Nearly all data is merely classified results of the choices people make. If someone didn’t make enough money to pay their phone bill. If someone trained hard enough to win an Olympic bronze medal. If someone was found 30 stories below a penthouse balcony. There is data that can tell us all about these things. Unfortunately, it’s too often left flat, or worse, twisted up in knots, suffocated and sputtering in it’s own purple ink. It is in the mindful extrication, marrying and expression of data that its ones and zeroes may come to life, breathe in our faces and tell us to pay attention for a minute because it’s going to help us understand the beautiful and the terrifying things we’ve done. This is information design.

Nothing should teach us more about ourselves than adversity, and that’s what we were faced with in Information Design, one of the most sweat-worthy courses in the decidedly rigorous Visual Communication Design program at the University of Washington. Indeed, the subjects of our designs were nothing short of catastrophic: groups were assigned strains of natural disasters or epidemics to seek out, research and present based on their potential merit to inform through design. After this, we were to design at least three magazine spreads of narrated information graphics individually.

Our research team, comprised of Jesse Graupmann, Jim Nesbitt and myself came upon Cardiovascular Disease (CVD), by far the United States’ most prolific killer. In terms of deaths and monetary expenditures, raw data makes it clear that CVD, which encompasses Heart Attack, Stroke, and various other arterial conditions, is a significantly larger problem than any other known phenomenon.

comparison of annual deaths between Cardiovascular Disease, and other notable causes of death, as well as the total deaths accrued in all significant U.S. wars; (roll over to enlarge) [sources: American Heart Association, 2003; Centers for Disease Control 2003; U.S. Pentagon, 2000]; originally 10 x 7ft. (projected) / 2004

Currently, on average, CVD kills about 1.5 million people per year in the U.S. or one every 33 seconds, accounting for 39.4% or one of every 2.5 deaths in the year 2000. Even all forms of cancer combined don’t kill as many people as does Coronary Heart Disease alone, just one of several types of Cardiovascular Disease. This is not to mention non-disease related deaths such as murders or accidents, which also pale in comparison to CVD. Perhaps most shocking is that more people die of Cardiovascular Disease each year than were killed in every major U.S. war, combined.

comparison of annual costs between Cardiovascular Disease, Cancer, Alzheimer’s Disease and AIDS, as well the combined annual budget for the U.S. military (roll over to enlarge) [sources: American Heart Association, 2003; Centers for Disease Control 2003; U.S. Pentagon, 2000]; originally 10 x 7ft. (projected) / 2004

In our presentation to the class, we introduced these and other such daunting facts with the animated chart at the top of this post projected behind us, illustrating deaths occurring due to the disease even as we were making the presentation. We made a pretty good case, and we were off on our own to dive in and make those facts dance their deadly dance in the pages of our own magazine articles.

But having the undisputed king of killers wasn’t enough for me. I was thirsty for more blood. I suppose I wanted more sex in it, too. Based the numbers above, Cardiovascular Disease sounds pretty bad, but how could it be worse than HIV and AIDS? I set out to answer this question by comparing the two based on five critical factors…

Both Cardiovascular Disease (coded in yellow, in relation to the arterial plaque that makes the condition) and HIV/AIDS (coded in green, in relation to the general notion of debilitating illness that sooner or later plagues its carriers) are national epidemics. But, in terms of probability of affliction, deaths and monetary expenditures, raw data makes it clear that Cardiovascular Disease, which encompasses Heart Attack, Stroke, and various other arterial conditions, is a significantly larger problem than HIV/AIDS. However, the latter receives far more media draw, and, though spending on CVD exceeds HIV and AIDS by quite a wide margin, spending in proportion to death rate is actually much lower.

Roll over any of the spreads below to see them much larger

National Epidemics magazine article segment comparing monetary and mortality statistics of Cardiovascular Disease vs. HIV/AIDS; 20 x 12in. (spread) / 2004

Looking closer at those affected by Cardiovascular Disease or HIV and AIDS reveals a more compelling statement regarding public perception. It is without question that Cardiovascular Disease affects and kills far more people overall than does HIV and AIDS; this transcends racial, gender, and geographic borders. However, HIV is actually slightly more prevalent in young adults aged 25 – 34. While the death rate of AIDS is still less in this group than that of CVD, being infected by a life-threatening, terminal disease in the prime of one’s life is obviously a crushing blow and likely plays a key role in the cultural awareness and fear of AIDS not present in regard to Cardiovascular Disease.

Geographically, prevalence of Cardiovascular Disease is strongly correlated to broad regions of the U.S., while HIV and AIDS cases tend to be concentrated in major metropolitan areas. Generally speaking, CVD affects those in the South significantly more than other regions. Several Southern states have even been grouped and labeled as the “Stroke Belt.” Speculation as to the cause of this geographic bias points to the prevalence of two major risk factors: poor diet and inactivity. Specifically, the common practice of deep-frying many foods contributes significantly to elevated cholesterol levels. High temperatures in this region are also thought to contribute to the population’s high rate of inactivity.

Victim Profiles magazine article segment comparing demographics of those affected by Cardiovascular Disease vs. HIV/AIDS; 20 x 12in. (spread) / 2004

Though HIV and AIDS are much younger conditions than Cardiovascular Disease (indeed, Stroke was first recognized by Hypocrites over 2,400 years ago), both have seen a steady rise in prevalence in recent times. This progression has not occurred randomly. Various risk factors and behaviors contribute to the probability of being afflicted by either illness.

In the case of Cardiovascular Disease, there are a few risk factors, such as hereditary predisposition, for which there is little recourse. However, the bulk of risk factors stem from modifiable lifestyle choices. Chief among these are adequate exercise and proper diet. Americans have become steadily less active over the last fifty years, which has led to massive obesity. Without regular moderate exercise, the heart grows weaker and obesity forces it to work harder than it is prepared. Though some diet choices have improved over the years, others have worsened, canceling out most positive changes.

HIV, too, has risky behavior as its primary champion. Unsafe sexual contact with infected persons and sharing “dirty” needles are the two most prominent and most avoidable modes of transmission. Safer sex practices, such as condom usage, have increased slightly and needle-exchange programs have worked hard to curb infected needle usage, but overall behavior patterns have not changed significantly since initial public recognition of the disease.

How They Begin magazine article segment comparing risk factors of Cardiovascular Disease vs. HIV/AIDS; 20 x 12in. (spread) / 2004

The physiological processes by which Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) and HIV/AIDS progress are significantly different. CVD is actually a very simple, localized mechanical process whose effect can be easily seen by the naked eye (once revealed in surgery), while HIV/AIDS is much more complicated and widespread, and operates entirely on a microscopic level.

How They Kill magazine article segment comparing how Cardiovascular Disease and HIV/AIDS affect the body; 20 x 12in. (spread) / 2004

Once affected by either Cardiovascular Disease or HIV/AIDS, appropriate management is crucial. In this realm, Cardiovascular Disease patients have a number of options at their disposal. If a severe cardiovascular event such as a Heart Attack or Stroke occurs, surgical action is necessary and must be performed immediately for any chance of survival or recovery. However, warning signs such as throbbing pain in the area affected often precede these events by minutes, hours or even years. If caught early enough, Cardiovascular Disease is quite treatable and its progression can actually be reversed. This can be accomplished by way of lifestyle changes, various cholesterol or blood pressure-lowering medication or, if particularly severe, surgery.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for those with HIV/AIDS. Tragically, there is still no cure for HIV or AIDS, but, after close to twenty-five years of intense research and development, pharmaceuticals have come a long way toward managing the conditions. AZT was the first anti-HIV drug approved by the FDA in 1986 and is still used today. The now famous “AIDS Cocktail” (which often includes AZT) is the currently the treatment of choice, but this regimen is neither cheap nor simple. A handful of harsh drugs must be taken on a precise schedule several times a day, every day, for the rest of one’s life. The course demands very specific diet and eating habits to work properly. It is so important that this schedule not be deviated from that many patients are advised to ‘practice’ with different kinds of candy for weeks before actually beginning cocktail treatment. Once committed to the regime, the drugs can make the patient very nauseated and may even be rejected outright by the body. If this occurs, then various alternative drugs must be experimented in hopes that a suitable treatment can be reached.

Managing Their Presence magazine article segment comparing treatment options for Cardiovascular Disease vs. HIV/AIDS; 20 x 12in. (spread) / 2004

Since this was just an academic exercise never published in the public realm or even read by anyone other than possibly classmates—who were facing their own disasters—and a few competition judges I don’t know, I can’t say how this translation of data might be able to affect others. But, speaking for myself, I can tell you that processing this information, expressing it graphically and digesting it once came together was deeply affecting. Indeed, this was probably the most depressing project I’ve ever designed. I don’t think I actually shed tears, but it certainly made me sad.

Multiple Choice, Alternatives to the Worn Out Model of U.S. Transportation booklet; front cover; 4.5 x 4.5in.; 28ppg. / 2003

Teen angst is a powerful force not often harnessed for forward progress. At the same time, many of today’s most overwhelming transportation problems are fueled by inertia. There is one predominantly accepted model that most people of driving age accept as given and therefore perpetuate. If there’s one thing kids hate, it’s being told that they have to do something a certain way. Multiple Choice plays between both of these phenomena.

This book, one of a few projects undertaken for the Publications course in the UW Visual Communication Design program, was designed as a thought leadership piece that might be put out by a major car maker to mark an openness to new ideas, sparking productive discourse on the future of transportation…

Content is related to the youth in abstracted vernacular of the age-old standardized test. But the point that’s being driven throughout is that, unlike such tests, these issues have more than one right answer, and the answer most commonly accepted is not necessarily right at all. This isn’t a test after all; it’s a challenge.

At the beginning of each section, two questions are posed: concerning the current situation: Why?, with the prevailing, claustrophobic choice as the only choice, and, considering several alternatives in an open context, Why not?.

The book is divided into four sections. The first, Dinosaur Technology, focuses on fuels, asking Why only fossil fuels? (as illustrated by oil derrick bubbles) and Why not hydrogen/fuel-cell, electric, solar, biodiesel or even wind-power?

Multiple Choice, Alternatives to the Worn Out Model of U.S. Transportation booklet; front cover; 4.5 x 4.5in.; 28ppg. / 2003

The sections then cite a quote about the detrimental effects of the current “right answer”—here an excerpt from The Nation decrying the inefficiency and inscrutable political backing of fossil fuel—while sharing brief descriptions of the alternatives.

Multiple Choice, Alternatives to the Worn Out Model of U.S. Transportation booklet; Dinosaur Technology chapter head; 9 x 4.5in. (spread); 28ppg. / 2003

In the spirit of test-taking, each description begins with a simple question. The writing is kept brief and light, but informative. At the end of each section, simple information graphics compare relevant statistics between all of the choices, such as mile per dollar, contrasted with contrary government subsidy.

Multiple Choice, Alternatives to the Worn Out Model of U.S. Transportation booklet; Dinosaur Technology chapter head; 9 x 4.5in. (spread); 28ppg. / 2003

The next section, Vehicular Suicide, focuses on efficient uses of vehicles, asking Why single-occupancy in large vehicles like SUVs, and Why not carpooling, public transportation, motorcycling, cycling, or even the curious Segway?

Multiple Choice, Alternatives to the Worn Out Model of U.S. Transportation booklet; Vehicular Suicide chapter head; 9 x 4.5in. (spread); 28ppg. / 2003

Multiple Choice, Alternatives to the Worn Out Model of U.S. Transportation booklet; Vehicular Suicide alternative descriptions; 9 x 4.5in. (spread); 28ppg. / 2003

Information graphics compare emissions per person per day with cost per day.

Multiple Choice, Alternatives to the Worn Out Model of U.S. Transportation booklet; Vehicular Suicide information graphics; 9 x 4.5in. (spread); 28ppg. / 2003

The third section, Going Nowhere Fast, focuses on how those vehicles get from point-A to point-B, and asks Why just the static highway tangles currently in place? and Why not some more efficient, safe and/or easy alternatives, such as splitting highway systems into levels for different uses, automatically-linked vehicle caravans, hyper-efficient magnetic track systems or even more futuristic bubble technology?

Multiple Choice, Alternatives to the Worn Out Model of U.S. Transportation booklet; Going Nowhere Fast chapter head; 9 x 4.5in. (spread); 28ppg. / 2003

Multiple Choice, Alternatives to the Worn Out Model of U.S. Transportation booklet; Going Nowhere Fast chapter head; 9 x 4.5in. (spread); 28ppg. / 2003

This section is summed up with comparisons of time wasted in traffic in different U.S. cities currently, ranging anywhere from about 50 to 80 hours per year.

Multiple Choice, Alternatives to the Worn Out Model of U.S. Transportation booklet; Going Nowhere Fast chapter head; 9 x 4.5in. (spread); 28ppg. / 2003

Lastly, What Now? asks readers to contemplate what to do with all these choices and offers an interactive CD-ROM with tunes for the next commute, as well as information on how the youths’ can use their informed chutzpah to challenge friends, family, and political representatives whose standstill status quo is so rarely challenged otherwise.

Multiple Choice, Alternatives to the Worn Out Model of U.S. Transportation booklet; What Now? information/CD; 9 x 4.5in. (spread); 28ppg. / 2003

American Realities film series posters: Roger & Me | Hoop Dreams | Troublesome Creek; digital plot outputs; 24 x 36in. (each) / 2002

We Americans are conditioned to think that ours is the best country in the world—that this is the land of opportunity, and we can achieve anything here if we try hard enough. And, by all available evidence, there seem to be plenty of other countries in which people are a hell of a lot worse off than us. But life in the U.S. ain’t all sweet apple pie, and opportunities are easier to come by for some than others. Of course, you’d never know this by watching most film or television. With so much false “reality” pervading contemporary media, it is shockingly refreshing to see the true struggle of real life shown so eloquently in some powerful recent documentary films.

As one of three projects assigned in our Visualizations course in the Visual Communication Design program at the UW, we were to develop a theme around three movies of our choosing for a film festival of sorts, then design a corresponding promotional poster series. With American Realities, I thematically linked Roger & Me, Hoop Dreams and Troublesome Creek, as poignant revelations of Americans forced to work extraordinarily hard just to make ends meet, often against opposing forces of others’ opportunities.

By visually expressing the emotional tension of these stories, I aimed to generate awareness not only of these filmic case studies, but also of the true elusiveness of the American dream…

Roger & Me tells the story of Flint, Michigan residents as their town withers away in the wake of GM moving eleven of their factories from Flint to cheaper labor in Mexico.

American Realities: Roger & Me movie poster; digital plot output; 24 x 36in. / 2002

Hoop Dreams follows the lives of two inner-city boys who try to use their talent for basketball to escape the ghetto.

American Realities: Hoop Dreams movie poster; digital plot output; 24 x 36in. / 2002

And Troublesome Creek shows Russ and Mary Jane Jordan as they try to save the farm that has been in their family for over 100 years from new bank owners eager to foreclose.

American Realities: Troublesome Creek movie poster; digital plot output; 24 x 36in. / 2002

In terms of competition, it doesn’t get more subjective than a juried art show. It also doesn’t get much more incomprehensible. The primary point of bother is that nobody can even agree on what art is. A lot of people confuse the medium with the message. Just because something is painted doesn’t make it art. Great art reveals before-unrecognized issues; the medium is just a way of delivering the message. To be clear, I also don’t believe design is art, and this is not to say that it is any more or less important. Design’s role is to reconcile the issues revealed by art with pragmatic needs of society.

So, how do you judge art? Assuming you can get beyond the initial hurdle of understanding what art is, it only becomes less simple, because great art breaks rules and redefines those pesky parameters. How can you say whether it has broken the rules and redefined parameters sufficiently? And how does someone become a recognized expert at determining that?

I’ve entered a few design contests (and been entered into many more by firms I’ve worked for), which have their own issues (design can rarely be judged objectively in common show formats because they never allow for enough context to be known). However, I’ve only ever entered one juried art show, and that was in high school. I submitted three pieces…

One piece was really more design than art. Still feverishly obsessed with automobilia, My drawing here was an isometric view of a cockpit of a contemporary take on 1960s race cars, with an open roof, headrest fairing and button-down tonneau cover over the passenger seat compartment.

race car cockpit illustration; pencil on paper; approx. 10 x 8in. / 1995

Nobody seemed to understand what it was, so I amended the drawing mid-show with an explanation (“It’s a car, dammit!”). No prize.

Another piece was a decent illustration, I suppose, but pretty crappy in terms of art (I just copied it—not traced, but copied verbatim—from a photograph in a popular magazine).

Pick-up B-Ball illustration; pencil on paper; approx. 8 x 10in. / 1995

No interpretation (or thought) needed. No prize.

The third piece was certainly the most interesting and definitely stood out from anything else in the show. It was not a school project. In fact, if anything, it was an anti-school project. It was a doodle I had done during class.

Dan illustration; ballpoint pen and correction fluid on photo paper packaging; approx. 10 x 14in. / 1995

People doodle in class all the time, much to the chagrin of teachers everywhere. The quality in this piece was that I framed it and put it in a show (curated by the school), which made people think about what it meant. What did it mean? Perhaps that I was bored in class? Perhaps that I was rapt with some sort of undirected creativity that needed to be put on anything that I happened to be in front of me? Perhaps that this white boy shooting fancy black and white pictures had been struck by the influence of hip-hop bling? Perhaps that I was tired of people stealing my very expensive photo paper?

Whatever people saw in it, I can take some satisfaction in that it snatched up second place in the show. If only first prize wasn’t just some pretty painting copied from a photograph.

This man is a professional athlete.

Let me just say this right off the bat (so to speak): I don’t much like baseball. I find it boring. For a professional sport, there are a disproportionate number of noticeably overweight players, and it’s not surprising why: it’s clearly not very challenging in terms of cardiovascular fitness requirements. In case you aren’t familiar with the game, here’s a snapshot of a typical play (one man on first, one on deck):

The batter walks casually to the plate.
The catcher and the umpire crouch down.
The batter takes a few very slow, deliberate practice swings, seemingly showing the pitcher exactly where he wants the ball to be thrown.
The catcher makes some hand signals in his crotch.
The pitcher watches these signals and very subtly shakes his head several times.
The catcher makes more hand signals in his crotch.
The pitcher very subtly nods his head.
The pitcher starts his windup.
The pitcher turns to his left and tosses the ball ever so gently to the first-baseman as the base-runner, who had been about six steps away from said base returns to his position actually on the base before the ball gets there.
The first baseman tosses the ball back to the pitcher.
The base runner resumes the exact same position six steps away from first base.
The pitcher returns his attention to the catcher.
The catcher makes more crotch signals.
The pitcher again refuses the vast majority of these signals, but finally lowers his head to confirm his intent to actually… pitch.
The pitcher winds up and throws the ball to the batter.
The batter does nothing.

This is an actual play! How can people watch this?!!

Depending on if and how the batter hits the ball during the rest of his “at-bat,” this basic process can literally go on forever (there is no limit to the number of mis-hits, or “balls,” allotted to the hitter). Multiply this play by whatever number you want (there is also no limit on how many runs can be scored in an inning) and then multiply that by at least nine innings – per team (but there is no limit on those, either, so if the game is tied, it can go 12 or 13 innings, easy).

However loooong the game ends up being, there are really only two or three players out of at least 10 on the field that are ever doing any kind of activity at the same time, and it’s very brief when it happens. The rest of them are just standing around. If the guy who hits the ball isn’t very good at running, it’s no problem; they just get a “pinch” runner to run for him. If the pitcher gets tired or starts pitching badly, they just bring in another one (no limit on those, either). And almost every position on the field has a specific “coach” in the game to consult on what a player should do there, so strategic thinking isn’t a necessary skill, either.

Let’s just get to the point: This has got to be the laziest sport in the world. How did this become our national pastime? Have any of these national pastime people ever seen a game of basketball? Or table tennis? Pac-Man? Anything?

Luckily, I once had an opportunity to turn my frustration for Major League Baseball into one of my favorite design projects…

editorial cartoon: Major League Baseball Strike | pencil on paper / 1995
(The faint red splatter is due to an unfortunate spill and is not part of the concept.)

This project was not done for a design client or even a design class, but for one of my high school English courses. The assignment was to create an editorial cartoon for a newspaper based on prominent events of the time. One of these events was the great (and I mean great) Major League Baseball strike of 1994/1995 that nulled a complete season, including the “World Series” (which, by the way, only involves teams from most—but not all—of the U.S. states and possibly one or two from Canada). To this day, I’m pretty unclear as to who started this thing; I was just glad that it happened: The less baseball on TV, and in the daily lexicon of social banter, the better. But, I was also annoyed, as were many actual baseball fans, because it was all about money—a lot of money. But, apparently not enough of a lot of money for said lazy players. (I will admit that this is a pretty standard, knee-jerk reaction to these types of events, and that there was more than one side to the story, but the other side isn’t that compelling, either.)

My cartoon, here, should be pretty straightforward. You’ve got your batter (who is, of course, a big fat baby) swinging his most cherished bat (the dollar bill) and actually hitting something: himself. The impact produces a single, self-pitying tear from the batter, who fails to recognize that the percussion of his action has rang far deeper than in his own head, but has in fact irrevocably damaged the record and credibility of America’s most (questionably) beloved sport.