Ben Willers Information & Data Graphic Design
Personal Projects
A selection of self-initiated projects, self-directed study, and published work
Gold
Medals at the Summer Olympic Games
Eurovizion
Eurovision Song Contest voting patterns
The Weight of the World
Average body mass index values for men and woman
Energy Consumption in the UK
Comparison of energy usage by fuel type and sector
€uro Recession
GDP per capita, government debt per capita and debt as a percentage of GDP in the UK and all Eurozone countries
The Love of Guns
Civilian firearms per 100 people and homicide rate per 100,000 people
Life in Data
MA Design, University of Lincoln
The Life in Data project was undertaken to demonstrate an ability to present quantitative information in a visually engaging, understandable way to data experts and novices alike. Data from many aspects of my life, including five weeks of food consumption, several months of sleep patterns and two years of bank account activity were compiled into a spreadsheet before being transformed into a series of visualisations that can be explored below.
>Click for further information, including logbooks and my dissertation.
Calorie Intake
24th January – 27th February 2011
Television Viewing
12th February – 11th March 2011
Body Mass Index
June 2009 – April 2011
Walking
24th January – 20th March 2011
Life
1984 – 2011
Weight Fluctuations
24th January – 17th April 2011
Sleep
11th October – 27th February 2011
Money
January 2009 – December 2010
Spending
January – December 2010
IdN Extra 07:
Infographics – Designing Data
International graphic design journal
As a continuation of its mission to amplify and unify the global design community, IdN publishes an additional quarterly magazine "IdN Extra". This series of special editions explores particular themes or projects that the bi-monthly IdN magazine has insufficient pages to cover. Issue 7 contains the work of 44 international information designers, with work from my own MA Design project, including my Weight Fluctuations piece on the cover.
Design Research: Investigation for successful creative solutions
AVA Publishing, Gavin Ambrose and Neil Leonard
Design Research is a stimulating introduction to essential research concepts and terminology with practical briefs and 200+ images of successful design projects. All stages of the research process are considered in a dynamic and entertaining style, covering audience, context, trends, sources, documentation, dissemination and more. Images from my MA Design Life in Data project are used to demonstrate visualisation methods for presenting research findings.
ExpoViz 2012
Public exhibition and events, Campus des Cordeliers, Paris
Fifty data visualisation projects from around the world were exhibited in Paris at the ExpoViz event in 2012. Leading personalities in the field including David McCandless and Nicholas Felton had work displayed, and a series of conferences allowed various data players to share their personal stories and experiences. 'Life' from my MA Design major project was featured among them in print and on large interactive displays.
New Challenges for Data Design
Springer, Dr. David Bihanic
New Challenges for Data Design provides a platform for leading designers to discuss their vision and creativity, helping us to anticipate major changes occurring in the data design field. In my chapter, ‘Show, Don’t Tell’ I reflect on my own practice, approach and methodology, and discuss some of the challenges I have encountered when creating large scale, explorative visualisations.