"To be truthful and revealing, data graphics must bear on the question at the heart of quantitative thinking: 'Compared to what?'" — Edward Tufte
As part of Mother Jones' new series Plutocracy Now, they've presented eleven fantastic charts under the heading "It's the Inequality, Stupid."
Here's a taste:
These charts are in the best tradition of public interest design: turning otherwise inaccessible or hard to understand data into compelling and informative narratives. The staggering inequalities in the United States are only increasing, and these charts put on firm footing what most of us only intuitively understand.
Turning data from an ugly-but-readable number table into a chart also means our understanding of the information comes from a different region of our brain. Understanding the substantive difference between, say, 62% and 24%, requires the logical, number-crunching left hemisphere of the brain. However, understanding the difference between two differently colored and sized shapes requires spatial estimation and visual comparison, which reside largely in the right hemisphere - the side of the brain largely responsible for processing new situations and triggering emotional responses. Well-designed data is more than just pretty: it substantively changes how we understand and react to it.
As one commenter put it, "every single voter in america needs to read this and explain why they aren't outraged and marching with torches". Unfortunately it's not enough anymore to explain what's wrong - we need to propose solutions as eloquently as we condemn our current system's failures.
All graphics, but especially political graphics, have consequences. Things as seemingly trivial as color schemes and visual metaphors can be a cause's (or legislation's) success or undoing.
Individuals and organizations can no longer afford to treat design as an afterthought, a bit of pretty window dressing to be applied at the end. Informed and critical design needs to be a key part of every political & social project from the start. No less than our collective future depends on it.
Patrick St. John, Creative Director, has been designing and art directing for more than a decade. He has worked in a variety of mediums, including publications, advertising, web, and video. A graduate of Moravian College in Graphic Design & Political Science, Patrick has always sought to link "doing good design" with "doing good." 
