Mad Drinkers: An Infographic Inspired by Mad Men

An Innovative Web-based Approach to Visualize Drinking Habits

The Mad Drinkers project was born out of a casual conversation during a workshop break. The team noticed the heavy drinking and smoking portrayed in Mad Men and decided to delve deeper into the subject. What started as a simple observation soon turned into a unique design concept.

Mad Drinkers stands out for its innovative approach to data visualization. Through a web-based platform, the infographic showcases the relationships between alcohol consumption, locations, time, and trends in the first season of Mad Men. The team used surface visualization techniques to highlight the connections between characters, their relative alcohol consumption, the length of each episode, and the time span of the entire season.

One of the strengths of Mad Drinkers is its simplicity. The clean and intuitive design allows users to easily navigate and explore the data. The team took advantage of HTML5 and CSS3 capabilities to create a seamless and interactive experience. Hover effects and animations provide additional insights, allowing readers to view specific units of the graphs and gain a deeper understanding of the drinking habits portrayed in the show.

The research behind Mad Drinkers was extensive. The team watched every episode of the first season, collecting data on time, locations, main characters' relationships, drinking behavior, and smoking behavior. They also gathered information on cocktails and beverages popular in the 1960s, including their alcohol percentages. In just five days, the team processed and presented the data in a visually compelling way.

The Mad Drinkers project was recognized for its creativity and ingenuity, receiving the Bronze A' Design Award in 2013 in the Graphics, Illustration, and Visual Communication Design category. This prestigious award celebrates designs that demonstrate technical and creative excellence while contributing to improvements in quality of life.