Nigel Holmes (born 15 June 1942, Swanland,

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

) is a British/American

graphic designer A graphic designer is a practitioner who follows the discipline of graphic design, either within companies or organizations or independently. They are professionals in design and visual communication, with their primary focus on transforming ...

, author, and theorist, who focuses on

information graphics Infographics (a clipped compound of " information" and " graphics") are graphic visual representations of information, data, or knowledge intended to present information quickly and clearly.Doug Newsom and Jim Haynes (2004). ''Public Relations ...

and

information design Information design is the practice of presenting information in a way that fosters an efficient and effective understanding of the information. The term has come to be used for a specific area of graphic design related to displaying information ...

Biography

Graduating from

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public university, public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City, London, White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design uni ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in 1966, Holmes ran his own successful graphic design practice in England. From 1966 to 1977 he worked as a freelance illustrator and graphic designer for clients such as

British Broadcasting Corporation The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public broadcasting, public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved in ...

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational corporation, multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. T ...

, and

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...

. His work appeared in

New Scientist ''New Scientist'' is a popular science magazine covering all aspects of science and technology. Based in London, it publishes weekly English-language editions in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. An editorially separate organ ...

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was foun ...

, and

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

. In 1977, art director Walter Bernard hired him to work in the map and chart department of ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' magazine, where Holmes later became graphics director. After a sabbatical he started his own company, which has explained things to and for a wide variety of clients, including

Apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...

, ''

Fortune Fortune may refer to: General * Fortuna or Fortune, the Roman goddess of luck * Luck * Wealth * Fate * Fortune, a prediction made in fortune-telling * Fortune, in a fortune cookie Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''The Fortune'' (19 ...

'', Nike,

The Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, education and research centers, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded on August 10, 1846, it operates as a trus ...

Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...

, United Healthcare,

US Airways US Airways was a major airline in the United States. It was originally founded in History of aviation in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh as a mail delivery airline called All American Aviation, which soon became a commercial passenger airline. In 1953, it ...

, and Visa. In 2011

Stevenson University Stevenson University is a private university in Baltimore County, Maryland with two campuses, one in Stevenson, Maryland, Stevenson and one in Owings Mills, Maryland, Owings Mills. The university enrolls approximately 3,615 undergraduate and g ...

held a retrospective show of his work titled ''Picture This - The Explanation Design of Nigel Holmes''. In 2016 an exhibition of his work from 1960 to 2015 was shown at the QVIG Conference in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, and also at the VisCom Gallery, Schoonover Center,

Ohio University Ohio University (Ohio or OU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Athens, Ohio, United States. The university was first conceived in the 1787 contract between the United States Department of the Treasury#Re ...

Publications

''Partial list''.

Books authored by Nigel Holmes

* ''Designer's Guide to Creating Charts and Diagrams'' (1984

Watson-Guptill Watson-Guptill is an American publisher of instructional books in the arts. History The company was founded in 1937 by Ernest William Watson, Ralph Reinhold, and Arthur L. Guptill. They also published the magazine ''American Artist''. Their head ...

) * ''Designing Pictorial Symbols'' (1985 Watson-Guptill with Rose DeNeve) * ''Pictorial Maps'' (1991 Watson-Guptill) * ''Best in Diagrammatic Graphics'' (1993 Rotovision) * ''Wordless Diagrams'' (2005

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London, part of the London Borough of Camden in England. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural institution, cultural, intellectual, and educational ...

) * ''Pinhole and the Expedition to the Jungle'' (2010 Jorge Pinto Books) * ''The Book of Everything: A Visual Guide to Travel and the World'' (2012

Lonely Planet Lonely Planet is a travel guide book publisher. Founded in Australia in 1973, the company has printed over 150 million books. History 20th century Lonely Planet was founded by married couple Maureen Wheeler, Maureen and Tony Wheeler. In 19 ...

) * ''Instant Expert: A Visual Guide to the Skills You've Always Wanted'' (2014 Lonely Planet) * ''Crazy Competitions'' (2018

Taschen Taschen is a luxury art book publisher founded in 1980 by Benedikt Taschen in Cologne, Germany. As of January 2017, Taschen is co-managed by Benedikt Taschen and his eldest daughter, Marlene Taschen. History The company began as Tasch ...

edited by Julius Wiedemann) * ''The Bigger Book of Everything: A Visual Guide to Travel and the World'' (2020 Lonely Planet) * ''Joyful Infographics: A Friendly, Human Approach to Data'' (2022

CRC Press The CRC Press, LLC is an American publishing group that specializes in producing technical books. Many of their books relate to engineering, science and mathematics. Their scope also includes books on business, forensics and information technol ...

)

Books with graphics by Nigel Holmes

* ''The Holy War, June 67'' (1967 Cornmarket Press, edited by Christopher Angeloglou and Brian Haynes) * ''English Landscapes'' (1973

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

by W.G. Hoskins) * ''The Making of the English'' (1973 BBC by

Barry Cunliffe Sir Barrington Windsor Cunliffe (born 10 December 1939), usually known as Sir Barry Cunliffe, is a British archaeologist and academic. He was Professor of European Archaeology at the University of Oxford from 1972 to 2007. Since 2007, he has been ...

) * ''Focus on Health'' (1973

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

Ann Burkitt) * ''The Ascent of Man'' (1973

Little, Brown and Company Little, Brown and Company is an American publishing company founded in 1837 by Charles Coffin Little and James Brown in Boston. For close to two centuries, it has published fiction and nonfiction by American authors. Early lists featured Emil ...

, by

Jacob Bronowski Jacob Bronowski (18 January 1908 – 22 August 1974) was a Polish-British mathematician and philosopher. He is best known for developing a humanistic approach to science, and as the presenter and writer of the thirteen-part 1973 BBC television ...

) * ''Understanding USA'' (2000 TED Conference by

Richard Saul Wurman Richard Saul Wurman (born March 26, 1935) is an American architect and graphic designer. Wurman has written, designed, and published 90 books and created the TED.com, TED conferences, the EG Conference, and TEDMED. Education and honors Wurman r ...

) * ''Information Anxiety 2'' (2001 Que by Richard Saul Wurman) * ''Diagnostic Tests for Men'' (2001 Top Books by Richard Saul Wurman) * ''Understanding Children'' (2002 Top Books by Richard Saul Wurman) * ''Understanding Healthcare'' (2004 Top Books by Richard Saul Wurman) * ''The Enlightened Bracketologist: The Final Four of Everything'' (2007 Bloomsbury, by Mark Reiter, and Richard Sandomir) * ''Blue Planet Run: The Race to Provide Safe Drinking Water to the World.'' (2007 Earth Aware Editions, by Rick Smolan, Jennifer Erwitt, and a foreword by

Robert Redford Charles Robert Redford Jr. (born August 18, 1936) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has received numerous accolades such as an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and two Golden Globe Awards, as well as the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1994, the ...

) * ''The Obama Time Capsule'' (2009 Against All Odds Productions, by Rick Smolan, Jennifer Erwitt, and Phoebe Smolan) * ''Presimetrics: What the Facts Tell Us About How the Presidents Measure Up On the Issues We Care About'' (2010 Black Dog & Leventhal by Mike Kimel and Michael Kanell) * ''Graphic: Inside the Sketchbooks of the World’s Great Graphic Designers '' (2010 The Monacelli Press by Steven Heller and Lita Talarico) * ''Gerd Arntz: Graphic Designer'' (2010 010 Publishers edited by Ed Annink and Max Bruinsma) * ''The Human Face of Big Data'' (2012 Against All Odds Productions, by Rick Smolan, and Jennifer Erwitt) * ''Information Graphics'' (2012 Taschen, by Sandra Rendgen) * ''Raw Data: Infographic Designers' Sketchbooks'' (2014 Thames & Hudson Ltd by Steven Heller and Rick Landers) * ''Understanding the World. The Atlas of Infographics'' (2014 Taschen, by Sandra Rendgen) * ''The Good Fight'' (2017 Against All Odds Productions, by Rick Smolan, and Jennifer Erwitt)

About Nigel Holmes

* ''On Information Design'' (2006 Jorge Pinto Books by Steven Heller)

Lectures and teaching

''Partial list'' * 1980-2009 The Stanford Professional Publishing Course. Developed live action charts on stage, with students taking part. * 1984-1993

Rhode Island School of Design The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase th ...

. An annual weeklong workshop for practicing information graphics designers, conducted with Dave Gray, Robert Lockwood, Ed Miller, George Rorick, John Monahon and guest lecturers. * 1990

TED 2 ''Ted 2'' (stylized as ''ted2'') is a 2015 American fantasy comedy film. The sequel to ''Ted (film), Ted'' (2012), the film was co-produced and directed again by Seth MacFarlane, who co-wrote the script with returning writers Alec Sulkin and Wel ...

* 1999 TED 9 * 2000 TED 10 * 2009 TED (25th anniversary) * 2011-2018 Yale Publishing Course (the successor to The Stanford Professional Publishing Course)

References

External links

Nigel Holmes homepage

AIGA Essay

Eye Magazine interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holmes, Nigel 1942 births Alumni of the Royal College of Art British graphic designers British illustrators Information graphic designers Living people Data and information visualization experts