In recent years, ‘infographics’ have brought a new dimension to the presentation of information and data about Doctor Who’s rich and varied history.

FEATURE BY ROBERT FAIRCLOUGH

Infographics – extracts of information clearly presented in accessible, graphic forms such as graphs and pie charts – are a way of rationalising the increasing amount of data we’re bombarded with. Infographics have become increasingly popular since the digital revolution of the late twentieth century and are now a part of everyday life, to the point where they’ve become a major component of journalism, commerce and education. The proliferation of computer games, as well as the growth of the internet and social media, have also contributed to the popularity of infographics.

One of their strengths is that they can reveal patterns of information and statistics that otherwise might not have been obvious. For this reason, fans of long-running and/ or complex fictional subjects have embraced them, producing designs that can range from the seriously illuminating to the unashamedly irreverent. Star Wars admirers can now see how all the characters’ family trees interrelate, Star Trek enthusiasts are able to consider the many and varied hairstyles of Lieutenant Uhuru, while Game of Thrones fans can appreciate the tangled network of sexual relations between the fantasy drama’s characters (in diagram form).

With such a long, diverse and comprehensively catalogued history, Doctor Who is ideal for the infographic treatment. In 2013, to coincide with the series’ 50th anniversary, designer Paul Smith published the unofficial Time & Space Visualiser through his company Wonderful Books. “Data visualisation struck me as something that hadn’t been applied to the show that much,” he says. “I have a background in technical and business publishing that has involved working with and charting data, so I wanted to see how many ways I could find to apply the visualisation techniques I’d learned to Doctor Who. I was inspired by designer and data-journalist David McCandless’ book Information is Beautiful [2009], particularly by its variety of content.”