FCC National Broadband Map
Why is this project worthy of an award?
The FCC’s National Broadband Map, allowing Americans to inspect broadband provider availability in every county, city, and even neighborhood across the U.S. For this map, the FCC needed to display a massive amount of data on broadband availability and broadband speeds across the US, down to the neighborhood level. It needed to be interactive, so that Americans can understand what broadband coverage is available to them, and where there are still areas of no broadband options that the FCC needs to address. The UI needed to be clear and easy to use. As Commissioner Roscenworcel said after seeing the map at the February FCC Open Meeting, “To have a fair shot at success, you need access to broadband […] So today we start with a map. This is important because the old adage is true, you cannot manage problems that you do not measure. With this tool, we can identify where service is and is not, where facilities are being built and where they are lacking. And how communities are connected and how they are at risk of falling behind. In other words, we have a blueprint for action that will provide everyone from consumers to policymakers with more information.” With Mapbox tools, the FCC can embed this 5 billion vector combination dataset into a map offering high rendering performance at every zoom level. The Tippecanoe vector tile generation tool subdivides the data spatially, merges blocks that have the same broadband networks available, and makes other geometric simplifications to represent the data as compactly as possible. In the user’s web browser, GL JS dynamically scales and styles this tiled data, ensuring seamless interaction with the map. If you’re a developer needing to visualize enormous data, or even 5 billion-combination datasets, Mapbox’s data visualization tools can help you bin and render this data at scale.
What else would you like to share about your design? Why is it unique and innovative?
The map displays an FCC dataset with over 68 million records, across 11 million blocks, with 441 different broadband providers — this makes for nearly 5 billion vector combinations. Once a user adds in their address, they can see the broadband providers available for their home along with provider tech and speeds. Users can interact with the map at all levels, starting from visualizing coverage in their neighborhood or block and drilling all the way up to nationwide view. This was the biggest data visualization implementation Mapbox has ever supported with a customer on the order of data volume and scale.
Who worked on the project?
Steve Rosenberg, Chief Data Officer, Wireline Competition Bureau, FCC Richard Mansfield, Associate CIO for Stakeholder Relations, Office of the Managing Director, FCC Allison Baker, Senior Data Analytics Manager, Office of Strategic Planning & Policy Analysis, FCC Eric Fischer, Tippecanoe, Data viz, Telemetry, Mapbox Dan Swick, Manager, Supporting Engineer, Mapbox Hannah Judge, Customer Success, Mapbox
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Finding the Truth in Data
Why is this project worthy of an award?
Most fintech companies conform to category norms – a nondescript sans-serif typeface sat next to a generic graphic shape. Elliptic are not an ordinary fintech company. What they do is very difficult. They link bitcoin data to criminals and provide intelligence to law enforcement agencies (all the major ‘3 letter agencies’ in the USA and their UK equivalents). They find the truth in data.
What else would you like to share about your design? Why is it unique and innovative?
The rebrand of Elliptic brings this purpose to life. Negative space typography, inspired by data blocks, reveals what Elliptic are looking for – Terrorism, ransomware, child pornography and weapons. Legibility is therefore deliberately challenging to echo the difficult task Elliptic undertake. A simple black and white colour palette reflects the seriousness of the legal cases Elliptic provide intelligence for. A set of 4 posters that contain hidden words were created to be displayed at fintech events and trade conferences. Launched in February 2018, event posters, confidential presentation file covers, printed documents, screen animations, Elliptic’s online presence, promotional items, a launch film, environmental graphics and business stationery have been created as part of the comprehensive rebrand. The brand has only very recently launched and for the first time ever, Elliptic have received email requests from admirers of the new look requesting they create on-brand merchandise and swag. The rebrand has been well received by law enforcement agencies, financial institutions and young tech talent Elliptic are targeting to join the business.
Who worked on the project?
Jonathan Brodie, Senior Designer Mark Wood, Design Director Pippa Chishick, Account Manager Ned Image, Animation David Whyte, Animation Luigi Honorat, Animation
View the project video: https://vimeo.com/261367606 Password is Elliiptic
Flag Stories
Why is this project worthy of an award?
Each flag is telling a country’s own unique story. But how unique is a flag really when it comes to the graphic design? Flag Stories is a one-of-a-kind project about the world flags exploring them in every possible to discover hidden stories about flags. There are a lot of books and websites covering the different aspects of flags like history, demography and culture, but the Flag Stories website is adding new stories to the field by creating simple and beautiful infographics. Comparing the data of layouts, colors, similarities, symbolism and proportions you will find interesting stories you didn’t know. Like, do you know what is the most used symbol in flags? Most used color? Or how the world flag would like, if all flags were combined? Well, go have a look at www.flagstories.co and see for yourself.
What else would you like to share about your design? Why is it unique and innovative?
A flag is simply a fascinating piece of design. With limited constraints and simple colors, flags are highly symbolic representations of a country’s unique story. That’s why we decided to explore them in every possible way in order to share our fascination with the world. The project was named Flag Stories and it’s a series of infographics presented on flagstories.co where new stories will be added continuously. Flag Stories is a project by Ferdio - a Copenhagen based infographic agency transforming data and information into captivating visuals. Curious to see what might be learned from an in-depth deconstruction of flag design, the project was also set out as a way of demonstrating how you can find and tell stories from something that seems rather "storyless" by comparing the data of layouts, colors, similarities, symbolism, proportions, etc. To be honest we didn't expect to find this many stories behind flags, when we started out. But it seemed like the more we dug into the data, the more stories emerged. So expect more flag stories to be presented in future. Also we didn't expect this much attention and interest from people around the world as it is kind of nerdy, but Flag Stories went viral reaching not only design oriented medias, but also the mainstream audience. Reading hundreds of mails and feedback from users, it also underlines the strong feelings and interest to flags. So our plan is to keep digging and continuously adding new stories to the project and topic - new infographics are already lined up.
Who worked on the project?
Birger Morgenstjerne - Managing Director Jeppe Morgenstjerne - Creative Director
View the project video:
Fleishmann’s Yeast – 150 years in 150 Seconds
Company AB Mauri North America
Introduction Date March 1, 2018
Project Website http://abmna.com/videos/150-years-in-150-seconds/
Why is this project worthy of an award?
2018 marks the 150th anniversary of Fleischmann’s Yeast. The iconic American brand is the oldest baker’s yeast company and the first standardized commercial yeast brand in the United States. Introduced in 1868 by enterprising Austrians Charles Fleischmann and his brother Maximilian, Fleischmann’s Yeast is now part of AB Mauri North America’s portfolio of products and a staple ingredient in American pantries. To acknowledge and celebrate this milestone, AB Mauri North America has created a video, Fleischmann’s Yeast – 150 Years in 150 Seconds, to share this interesting and somewhat unknown story with customers, employees and fellow baking enthusiasts.
What else would you like to share about your design? Why is it unique and innovative?
The unique animated video tells the history and impact of an everyday ingredient that is often taken for granted. It quickly and accurately captures and weaves 150 years’ worth of science, baking, pop culture and history into an entertaining and educational two-and-a-half-minute video.
Who worked on the project?
Mark Prendergast, President, AB Mauri North America Rick Oleshak, Vice President Marketing, AB Mauri North America Tricia McNamara, Marketing Manager, AB Mauri North America Studio T Creative
View the project video: http://abmna.com/videos/150-years-in-150-seconds/
Flower & Freedom - Brand Identity
Company Aalchemy
Introduction Date November 6, 2017
Project Website https://www.flowerandfreedom.com/
Why is this project worthy of an award?
The legalization of cannabis is a revolutionary time for design for many reasons. Not only is the cannabis space itself deprived of accessible brands, the emergence of a new industry is also transforming others in its wake–including health & wellness and food & beverage. However, the reality of cannabis still being so deeply stigmatized by most of society is what truly excites us to help shape the industry in its infancy. We had the fortunate opportunity to rebrand Flower & Freedom, a cannabis lifestyle brand based out of Vancouver. Their mission is simple: to empower individuals to safely explore cannabis as part of a healthy lifestyle. A lot of their efforts go towards increasing education around cannabis, including: facilitating educational events, leading cannabis-focused fitness classes and participating in discussion panels. Our goal for Flower & Freedom was to challenge the stigma by tearing away from the outdated, “stoner-aesthetic” that plagued the industry, as well as to offer something new and approachable to the scene. By creating a cannabis brand that was relevant, thoughtful and design-forward, we made space for healthy conversation.
What else would you like to share about your design? Why is it unique and innovative?
The Flower & Freedom brand goes beyond a logo; we’ve created an entire identity system to work fluidly throughout both print and digital platforms. The suite is comprised of a flexible selection of logo lockups, color & pattern palettes, web and layout styles, as well as custom photography. Flower & Freedom is sophisticated, bold, and female run, which is quite the contrary to the heavily masculine aesthetic of most current cannabis brands. As our work with F&F is on-going, we’re excited to navigate the evolving industry and watch it blossom into something new.
Who worked on the project?
Alex Diaz - Co-Founder & Creative Director Amanda Ortiz - Co-Founder & Senior Design Lead
View the project video:
