January Graphics in Review

Following is the top 10 graphics done by me in January at the Deseret News. Also included are pretty much the rest of the graphics I did in the month of January. I excluded graphics we do on a monthly basis, as these were probably not originally created by myself. What you do see are all graphics I either completely recreated in Illustrator, or graphics derived from data given to me by writers.

I am doing this to show off what I have done on a monthly basis. This will also help me to see what I have done, and perhaps, by getting a broader overview of my work, see ways in which I might improve my craft.

So without further adieu, here is my top 10 for January 2015:

1. The terrible scope of pornography on the internet

Though not the most visually pleasing graphic, this one above all others conveys the compelling terrible reality of pornography on the internet. This blight on our society destroys and addicts minds as much as any drug. The Deseret News constantly publishes stories constantly on pornography's evils and how to combat it. Here is a link to over 80 stories on the subject. And this is the link to the story this graphic was published with

2. Highlighting Troop numbers and losses during the 6 Day way

I thought this an interesting graphic showing troop numbers and losses. The article highlights a documentary directed by Mor Loushy called, “Censored Voices,” being screened at the Sundance Film Festival. Sounds like an interesting film looking to stir the pot on the never ending conflict between Israel, Palestine and other neighboring countries.

3. Update of LDS missions in 2015

This shows new missions opening in the world this year. I always wondered what it would be like to be among a group of missionaries blazing gospel trails in a country where never have stepped the servants of the Lord. Of course not all new missions are like this. In many cases its simply breaking part of an old mission away to form a new one. Despite this, I find it interesting that in all the Eastern hemisphere there is only one major mission change. I hope this isn't a sign of growing conflict in the East effecting growth on that side of the world.

4. 2014 Homicides Photo illustration

I have done this pretty much every year since 2009. This is a collage of images showing people who were involved in major homicides during the previous year. I am touched by the feeling of loss and sadness depicted in each photo. As you can see below I did two versions. One highlights the faces by leaving them in full color, and the rest is made a monochromatic blue. Full-color version is what was published, as it turns out, only in the print edition of the News. Her is a link to the story. Its pretty grim, try not to shed a tear by the end of this story.

5. Mental illness facts

This graphic actually went through about 7 revisions in information and visuals to get what you see below. It published with an inspirational story about a former University of Utah athlete named Craig Rydalch. Great story, with good information on mental illness and depression.

6. Statistics on families who live in Mobile homes

This published with a story about the pros and cons of mobile home ownership. An interesting read about the culture and economics of mobile home communites.

7. Graphic highlighting emissions from freestanding stoves

An ongoing issue to come out of environmentalists and the legislature is the quality of air here in Salt Lake City. Naturally when the inversion hits in the winter months environmentalist megaphones come out to try and do something about the bad air. And  because the air looks terrible and the legislature just happens to be in session this time of year, everyone gets an earful of this. This year's angle is those darn evil freestanding stoves. If we just banned those all our air problems would be solved right? Riiiiiight? Anyway, I re-created the below graphic. Here is a link to the story. 

You be the judge, but I think Stoves are being used as a scape goat to push an agenda. Lame.

8. You too can have great credit

Great informational story on how to improve your credit score. The graphic is essentially an illustrative list, but the info contained in it is good and to the point.

9. Graduation, employment and income

This highlights a few stats concerning education and employment. The story is about another documentary playing at Sundance by Greg Whiteley. He challenges the idea that our current public educational system will lead our children into successful ahppy adult lives.

I really like the color and 3D aspects I was able to achieve in this graphic.

10. Illustrative graphic on intellectual humility

The writer came to me on this and essentially said she had no idea what to do with the text. I was given some serious creative license. What you see below is the result. A simple illustrative chart. The story for this is fascinating and worth a read.

The rest of the graphics for January

Below is nearly everything else I put together or created in January. Thanks for taking the time.