As a technical writer, I made my living wrangling words. I used graphics, mostly diagrams and screen captures, to enhance the content but they were never the primary part of my documentation. But the web has made interactive graphics an effective way of conveying information that would be difficult or impossible to do with just words. I am in awe of the people who can do this; aside from being a competent photographer, I am not a graphics person.
Here are a couple of websites that seriously impressed me, both with their content and the way it was conveyed.
"Not much is left of the old Aztec - or Mexica - capital Tenochtitlan. What did this city, raised from the lake bed by hand, look like? Using historical and archeological sources, and the expertise of many, I have tried to faithfully bring this iconic city to life."
The site uses 3D modelling to show what Tenochtitlan might have looked like just before the Spanish invasion. The images are stunning. I especially liked the use of overlay graphics to show the comparison between 1500 and now.
- The James Webb telescope is a giant leap in the history of stargazing. "Our view of the universe will never be the same." (no paywall link)
This interactive page, produced by the New York Times, is the best site I've seen for showing the capabilities of the James Webb telescope in comparison to the Hubble and terrestrial telescopes.
Thanks to the Recomendo newsletter for pointing out these sites.
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