Janet Giampietro :: Gblog

Earlier in the year, political unrest in North Africa led the way for the Arab Spring. Now it’s Italy’s turn.

What unites people more than a place to chat freely – and a common enemy?

Fed up with Silvio Berlusconi’s corrupt and ineffective government, thousands of Italian voices were heard via the “4 Sí” campaigns on Twitter, and in Facebook groups such as Questo pomodoro avrà più fans di Silvio Berlusconi (This tomato has more fans than Silvio Berlusconi) and Un’Italia senza Berlusconi (Italy without Berlusconi).

While Berlusconi owns about 70% of the country’s media, social media is still firmly under public control. (more…)

TED2011 is less than a month away. I took a look at this year’s program. It is spectacular in its creativity, diversity, and its ability to inspire – aptly titled The Rediscovery of Wonder. There’s are so many great voices, I am looking forward to hearing them all. But these are my five can’t-wait-to-watch videos, once they get posted.

From absurd amounts of knowledge to expansive exploration, these five characters piqued my curiosity and spurred my own creative rediscovery. (more…)

“Words, words, words.” Not meaningless, as Hamlet implies.

President Obama’s recent State of the Union (SOTU) address set many publications and bloggers into an infographic frenzy. Examining words and patterns is one revealing way to look at relationships between language, political branding, social patterns, and trend-spotting. Informative pictures emerge.

Two exemplary interactive sites provide a wealth of words as a basis for analyses. They are wonderful in design and simplicity of use, and deliver an abundance of information that could only be possible so quickly via tech innovation and open resources.

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Holiday greetings to everyone! With the economy still on the edge of tipping – to the good side, people are looking ahead to 2011 with hope, and they are still waiting to exhale. I felt the tone of the 2011 cards should project a peacefulness.

I’ve designed three cards in the series this year. Download a PDF with all three, share or print one or all. (more…)

With the ability to create complex graphics more easily and the potential to share them globally – in seconds, my appetite for spectacular info design is ravenous. Representing complicated information is a challenge from many sides, but when it’s conceived and designed well, it’s transformative. (more…)