Double-Shots of Inspiration Return
Rhymes from across visual arts.
Welcome to Chartography—insights and delights from the world of data storytelling.
Some images call to one another. That is the premise of Chartography’s inspiration double-shots: far-flung works juxtaposed so their hidden kinships can glow.
Today’s pairings range from oceans to neon, moth wings to eclipses, stitched objects to impossible forests. A fun adventure in seeing more.
Vincent Laforet, San Francisco | Simon Theuma, Dreamtime
Rose Sanderson, Cyrestis thyodamas mabella | Karl Sascha Schneider, Old Surehand (1904)
Corey Cavagnolo | G. Kero, Spring Summer 2025
NASA Juno, Jupiter | Edward Burtynsky, Thjorsá River #1 Iceland (2012)
NASA, Orion, Moon backlit by the Sun (2026) | Lance Wyman, eclipse stamp (1970)
Jan Venema | Ulla-Stina Wikander, Sewing Machine
Gustave Doré, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (1877) | Illustrated London News, Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins' studio where he made the Crystal Palace dinosaur (1853)
Keith Macgregor, Hong Kong | Noah Scalin, Sprinkles (2017)
Hayden Sherman, Batman 89 | Hiro Isono
Melody Tuttle, Nocturne in Blue and Orange (2022) | Gerard DuBois, Sisyphus (2021)
Victoria Troynova, vase | Tavares Strachan, Robert (2018)
Francine LeClerq and Ali Soltani, Delft Blue Eyes + Nails | Caskata, HorseshoeCrab platter
If this format is new to you, its earlier editions are here:
A Double-Shot of Inspiration
Another Double-Shot of Inspiration
A Third Double-Shot of Inspiration
We really can see more when we look across and between designs. If one of today’s pairings lingers in your mind, send it to someone whose eye you trust.
Onward!—RJ
About
Chartography is the newsletter of Visionary Press and Info We Trust, by RJ Andrews.
RJ Andrews is obsessed with data graphics. He helps organizations solve high-stakes problems by using visual metaphors and information graphics: charts, diagrams, and maps. His passion is studying the history of information graphics to discover design insights. See more at infoWeTrust.com.
RJ’s book, Info We Trust, is out now! He also published Information Graphic Visionaries, a book series celebrating three spectacular creators in 2022 with new writing, complete visual catalogs, and discoveries never seen by the public.