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London: The Information Capital
In London: The Information Capital, geographer James Cheshire and designer Oliver Uberti join forces to bring you a series of new maps and graphics charting life in London like never before
When do police helicopters catch criminals? Which borough of London is the happiest? Is 'czesc' becoming a more common greeting than 'salaam'? James Cheshire and Oliver Uberti could tell you, but they'd rather show you. By combining millions of data points with stunning design, they investigate how flights stack over Heathrow, who lives longest, and where Londoners love to tweet. The result? One hundred portraits of an old city in a very new way.
When do police helicopters catch criminals? Which borough of London is the happiest? Is 'czesc' becoming a more common greeting than 'salaam'? James Cheshire and Oliver Uberti could tell you, but they'd rather show you. By combining millions of data points with stunning design, they investigate how flights stack over Heathrow, who lives longest, and where Londoners love to tweet. The result? One hundred portraits of an old city in a very new way.
240 pages, Hardcover
First published October 30, 2014
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239 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
May 19, 2019
Interesting insight into London through infographics and maps. Sometimes the colour scheme makes it difficult to see the data clearly without a looking glass but in general a mind-blowing experience.
September 12, 2020
A very interesting book that that could sit very nicely on a coffee table but, through no fault of its own is already dated only 7 years on. Will be looking out for an updated version.
August 3, 2022
Excellent book with information on London expressed graphically
January 2, 2015
Having been given London: The Information Capital for Christmas, I took advantage of the festive free time to properly look through it from start to finish, and I’m really glad I did.
This book doesn’t need to be approached in a linear way or all at once – and it’s to be explored rather than ‘read’, since the maps and graphics raise questions and invite further delving into the issues and trends that they illustrate. It could be great to dip in and out of, if you actually will. Personally, I like this type of book, but tend to flick through it, look forward to dipping in, and then leave it on a shelf to gather dust forevermore whilst I focus on small paperbacks that I can read on my commute.
London: The Information Capital is divided into themed chapters on Where we are, Who we are, Where we go, How we’re doing and What we like. Visually, it’s stunning: colourful, clear and imaginative. The maps and graphics draw on a wide range of sources, and provide a comprehensive and fascinating snapshot of London today, covering all the important issues as well as some quirky and unexpected aspects of the city. The book can take you through a rollercoaster of responses to London life: affection, pride, intrigue, awe, irritation, anxiety, community, isolation...
Infographics are probably most interesting when you have a stake in what they are visualising, and when they are still current – in this case, if you’ve been living or working in London over the last few years. Focusing on the data for my borough gave me a new insight into my area but also made the amount of data in the book more manageable to look at. It could even help to inform decisions about where to live, how to travel, etc. As time goes on, more up-to-date infographics will become available online, but there was something special about these maps and graphics being presented all together in print, so I was glad to have seen them now, whilst they are current.
My one little gripe is that, in maybe two or three of the graphics, it’s difficult to distinguish between two colours representing different types of data. My last eye test was good so I don’t think it’s me!
Overall, I think London: The Information Capital is a fantastic book that I’d recommend to any Londoner, that paints a beautiful, warts-and-all picture of our city. An immense amount of work must have gone in to creating it, and it is definitely worth setting aside a chunk of time to explore.
This book doesn’t need to be approached in a linear way or all at once – and it’s to be explored rather than ‘read’, since the maps and graphics raise questions and invite further delving into the issues and trends that they illustrate. It could be great to dip in and out of, if you actually will. Personally, I like this type of book, but tend to flick through it, look forward to dipping in, and then leave it on a shelf to gather dust forevermore whilst I focus on small paperbacks that I can read on my commute.
London: The Information Capital is divided into themed chapters on Where we are, Who we are, Where we go, How we’re doing and What we like. Visually, it’s stunning: colourful, clear and imaginative. The maps and graphics draw on a wide range of sources, and provide a comprehensive and fascinating snapshot of London today, covering all the important issues as well as some quirky and unexpected aspects of the city. The book can take you through a rollercoaster of responses to London life: affection, pride, intrigue, awe, irritation, anxiety, community, isolation...
Infographics are probably most interesting when you have a stake in what they are visualising, and when they are still current – in this case, if you’ve been living or working in London over the last few years. Focusing on the data for my borough gave me a new insight into my area but also made the amount of data in the book more manageable to look at. It could even help to inform decisions about where to live, how to travel, etc. As time goes on, more up-to-date infographics will become available online, but there was something special about these maps and graphics being presented all together in print, so I was glad to have seen them now, whilst they are current.
My one little gripe is that, in maybe two or three of the graphics, it’s difficult to distinguish between two colours representing different types of data. My last eye test was good so I don’t think it’s me!
Overall, I think London: The Information Capital is a fantastic book that I’d recommend to any Londoner, that paints a beautiful, warts-and-all picture of our city. An immense amount of work must have gone in to creating it, and it is definitely worth setting aside a chunk of time to explore.
August 9, 2016
At last; a coffee table book that's still interesting after the first 20 minutes. One that is informative as well as looking good, beautifully presented and nicely bound.
There's a wealth of information here and going back there's always a few details you missed the first time around. It's as good reading from cover to cover as it is just browsing. The data is usually intriguing and interesting but so is the presentation of the data. There's plenty to learn about infographics from the many different ways they present the datasets.
But not all is good. There are plenty of examples where the graphics miss their mark; datasets organised alphabetically (which makes no visual sense) or random graphic tropes (sizeable icons) or the use of awkward colour sets. Whilst this is often frustrating it's informative in it's own way and I found myself redesigning the infographic in my head (nowhere does the infographic move into a 3D representation... though that may be an ethical stance by the authors... or maybe they're just not skilled in CAD software). They'd both read Edward Tufte, but often a pretty page won out over a more informative presentation.
The last gripe is that the book has already aged... if only we could get an update on what's happened in the last two years ('published 2014). Which means that this book won't be on your coffee table for very long...
There's a wealth of information here and going back there's always a few details you missed the first time around. It's as good reading from cover to cover as it is just browsing. The data is usually intriguing and interesting but so is the presentation of the data. There's plenty to learn about infographics from the many different ways they present the datasets.
But not all is good. There are plenty of examples where the graphics miss their mark; datasets organised alphabetically (which makes no visual sense) or random graphic tropes (sizeable icons) or the use of awkward colour sets. Whilst this is often frustrating it's informative in it's own way and I found myself redesigning the infographic in my head (nowhere does the infographic move into a 3D representation... though that may be an ethical stance by the authors... or maybe they're just not skilled in CAD software). They'd both read Edward Tufte, but often a pretty page won out over a more informative presentation.
The last gripe is that the book has already aged... if only we could get an update on what's happened in the last two years ('published 2014). Which means that this book won't be on your coffee table for very long...
June 7, 2016
OH MY GOD I AM TOTALLY IN LOVE WITH THIS BOOK! Such amazing quality of the pages and beautifully organised!! I could not have recommended a better book about mapping! After buying this book I started to gain more interest in mapping. Everytime I read the maps again and again I get curious even more about other cities and I hope they will do other series too! I know I will never get bored of this book. I like how they have used tracing paper to inform us about other things which şs great because we do thag technique in Architecture schools. I think this is a great book also for architecture students who want to express their portfolio pages as self-explanatory.
February 1, 2017
A beautiful book that is a joy to leaf through. There's something for everyone In here!
June 19, 2016
A fascinating book & beautifully produced.
October 17, 2018
In a dinner in 2009, the UK prime minister Gordon Brown asked an investor Tim Berners-Lee, how should the government make the best use of the internet. Tim replied to make all its data available online. Much to his surprise, the Prime minister replied: "Let's do it."
Since then, the government and public sector received more than 500 000 FOI (Freedom Of Information) requests through this website (WhatDoTheyKnow), and by law, the institutions must answer.
James Cheshire captures information about London in 100 infographics, to change our perspective over the city. The information is very diverse, explaining History (London's first Roman roads and bridges, how the city has grown), Geography (warmest and colder places), Culture (the second more spoken Language per council, the residents original country), Lifestyle (Happiness per Council, favourite mode of transportation, the most common commutes), health (medicines, causes of death per council), etc.
The book was published in 2014, and I strongly recommend for people who are currently living in London.
Since then, the government and public sector received more than 500 000 FOI (Freedom Of Information) requests through this website (WhatDoTheyKnow), and by law, the institutions must answer.
James Cheshire captures information about London in 100 infographics, to change our perspective over the city. The information is very diverse, explaining History (London's first Roman roads and bridges, how the city has grown), Geography (warmest and colder places), Culture (the second more spoken Language per council, the residents original country), Lifestyle (Happiness per Council, favourite mode of transportation, the most common commutes), health (medicines, causes of death per council), etc.
The book was published in 2014, and I strongly recommend for people who are currently living in London.
January 3, 2023
This was lent to me by my mother in law, and I throughly enjoyed all the interesting statistical information and accompanying fabulous illustrations. 😊 Goes up to mostly 2012/2013, so rather outdated now.
June 3, 2020
London statistical porn
October 1, 2022
A well-curated, insightful, interesting & beautiful collection of stories in data.
Some brilliant visualisation approaches, some rather questionable ones.
Overall quite entertaining.
Some brilliant visualisation approaches, some rather questionable ones.
Overall quite entertaining.
February 24, 2018
With graphs depicting data on a variety of topics, this book was fascinating. Including information on people, places, technology and much more this book explains London in a unique way.
September 15, 2015
Ottimo lavoro di datavis nato dalla collaborazione fra un cartografo ed un visual designer. Come gli autori giustamente spiegano, la loro è una fotografia, un ritratto statico di Londra attraverso i dati disponibili all'epoca della progettazione del volume e non uno strumento di consultazione - che ovviamente sarebbe più fruibile in un formato digitale che consenta l'aggiornamento agile dei dataset di riferimento. Ad ogni modo, gli information designer troveranno qui una miriade di soluzioni di rappresentazione efficacissime e sartorialmente elaborate per visualizzare una serie di informazioni dense ed eterogenee. Mai più adeguata è stata la scelta della capitale britannica, formidabile propulsore di dati e risorse la cui rappresentazione non può che risultare quasi sempre pregna di significato. Sicuramente una best practice fra gli esercizi di stile applicati alla Data Visualization.
March 17, 2016
A lovely, colorful coffee table sized book for anyone who likes London, maps, and infographics. It's surprisingly dense, and the reference section at the back lists the online data sources for most of the graphs if you want to try your hand at crunching the numbers yourself.
January 4, 2015
Amazing! Informative yet captivating infographics of the city. Kept me hooked for hours!
February 15, 2016
Well compiled. As fun as it is informative.
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November 15, 2016Wonderful
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews