Author: Vincent

The oldest Chinatown in Europe is in Amsterdam

I started this blog in 2006 as a way to share my travels and perspectives with family and friends. Since then I’ve written over two hundred posts and there are always ones that are still a work-in-progress. Last week, I decided to do a bit of spring cleaning and found some tips I had collected … Continue reading The oldest Chinatown in Europe is in Amsterdam

Pamplona: the centre of infographics and pintxos

Last month I was in Pamplona, Spain where the world-famous running of the bulls takes place. While the bull running doesn’t show up until mid-July, the city becomes host to Malofiej, an infographics world gathering, in March. It wasn’t a surprise that infographics weren’t the first thing on the tip of people’s tongues when I … Continue reading Pamplona: the centre of infographics and pintxos

Show Don’t Tell – what I learned from Malofiej’s workshop

In March, I had to make a choice between going to Sendai, Japan for the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction or to Pamplona, Spain for the 23rd edition of Malofiej. It was a tough choice… Japan was something that I’ve been involved with and following for the past few years, while Spain … Continue reading Show Don’t Tell – what I learned from Malofiej’s workshop

There’s more to getting the job done than having the right tools.

Learning a new skill requires time, patience, and a genuine interest to do it well. This can go for languages, sports, art, cooking, etc. This goes the same for any kind of skill required for communications, whether it’s, writing, drawing, photography, videography, etc. In this day and age, you can do just about any of … Continue reading There’s more to getting the job done than having the right tools.

Visiting ‘TOM’ in Lausanne

Every four years one city/country hosts the spirit of the Olympics. Probably not as well known is the fact that the International Olympic Committee lives in Lausanne, Switzerland, and with it the Olympic Museum, probably one of the best museums I’ve visited in Switzerland. A visit to the museum had been on my wish list … Continue reading Visiting ‘TOM’ in Lausanne

Twitter and the changing landscape of communications

Normally thought of as something to do for fun or to keep for personal stuff, social platforms like Facebook and Twitter are now places not only to share photos and status updates, but to find information, news, and communication (dare I say, “engage”) with people. While “communication” was (or still is?) thought of as a … Continue reading Twitter and the changing landscape of communications

Disaster graphics get bronze prize for international information design award

One of the buzz words these days is “infographics”. While these can range from just simple pie graphs to complex flowcharts, the best aren’t necessary the most “designed”. The most effective information graphics are ones that can communicate an idea or story and that can help the audience turn information into knowledge. This also means … Continue reading Disaster graphics get bronze prize for international information design award

Charts don’t explain themselves

It’s a scary fact of life these days that people take figures and numbers at face value, and consider them authoritative when it comes from the “source” or by the media, yet a lot of times they are taken out of context to serve a purpose like selling an idea or a service. Maybe it’s … Continue reading Charts don’t explain themselves