A goal of communication ever since should be to communicate “to the point”. Depending on the kind of data on which the result is based on, the target group and the brief, things sometimes get a bit messy and more complex than they need to.
The credit crisis has been one of the things everyone was worried about, while nobody really understood the background story. Many people have tried to deliver an explanation to the crisis: Why did things turned out the way they did? Who’s guilty? Why aren’t there control mechanisms? And why has there been no clear explanation how all this could have happened communicated to the public?
The following video tries to give an answer to most of these questions. It uses a very clear, unique and understandable visual language and only uses as many words as needed, making it a great example for how to communicate efficiently. Enjoy!
The Crisis of Credit Visualized from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo.
The Short and Simple Story of the Credit Crisis.
Crisisofcredit.com
The goal of giving form to a complex situation like the credit crisis is to quickly supply the essence of the situation to those unfamiliar and uninitiated. This project was completed as part of my thesis work in the Media Design Program, a graduate studio at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California.
For more on my broader thesis work exploring the use of new media to make sense of a increasingly complex world, visit jonathanjarvis.com.
Support the project and buy a T-Shirt! cafepress.com/crisisofcredit
© Copyright 2009 Jonathan Jarvis
The Short and Simple Story of the Credit Crisis.
Crisisofcredit.com
The goal of giving form to a complex situation like the credit crisis is to quickly supply the essence of the situation to those unfamiliar and uninitiated. This project was completed as part of my thesis work in the Media Design Program, a graduate studio at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California.
For more on my broader thesis work exploring the use of new media to make sense of a increasingly complex world, visit jdjarvis.com.
![[Post to Twitter]](http://www.afterthebuzz.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-twitter-big4.png){kind=icon}
This post is tagged Communication, crisis of credit, visualization
i honestly do not believe in popular science and the clip advocates the idea of simplifying/popular science. if i would, i should believe what’s written in the daily mail/mirror/news/sport about the threats of vaccination, cellphone towers causing suicides as well as increasing the risk of cancer due to my wireless network. in my opinion the animation follows a problematic concept. it is a form of dumbing down due to the lack of trust in the peoples ability to grasp complex concepts.
it is a nice approach for about 50 percent of the nation while the other half prefers a more in depth analysis as delivered by Wired ( http://hex.io/f20 )
Some, in particular the concept of credit and the ‘crisis’ we are in right now, should and must not be simplified because simplification is the key to the mess. we live in a time wherein information is available at your fingertips, everything can be researched and for almost anything you can find a complex answer online.
shouldnt we rather rely on peoples ability to understand complex systems and give them the opportunity to educate themselves instead of offering a comicy 11 minute presentation?
I totally get your point, but the intention of the video (besides getting a good grade for the thesis work) is neither to “advocate” simplyfying things in general, nor to give an in-depth explanation, but to deliver an entry point for further understanding on which people are asking for more information about the topic.
Since this financial crisis not only has a world-wide impact, but also affects the very personal life of many people, it is essential that a majority of the people, even if they’re not interested in things like these in general, understands the underlying problems and how this financial landslide could have hit the world so hard.
Therefore it makes people talk throughout many layers of society. And when people talk, failures are revealed and solutions for the future are born.