2012 was, definitively, a special year for Visual Loop – after all, we launched this site less than 6 months ago and the feedback has been outstanding so far. Much of that comes from the strong community we’ve been building for the past 3 years on Tumblr and more recently on Pinterest, so, despite being a new digital environment created to feature a more profound content, I can’t really say that Visual Loop was born in 2012. But it was a special year, for sure.

There were, of course, other fantastic sites, focused on data visualization, that made their appearance during 2012. We decided to pick some of them that deserve to be added to your RSS list. Some came from companies and newspapers, others by designers and visual journalists, and they cover a wide range of topics related to information design.

Tableau’s Viz of the Day

Featuring examples of the works done with Tableau Public, the Viz of the Day has become a must-follow blog for everyone connected to the field. We’ve recently presented a showcase of data visualizations made with Tableau, many of which seen on the Viz of the Day.

(image: Tableau)

Data Stories

We have to mention, of course, the podcast launched in February by Enrico Bertini and Moritz Stefaner. Since then, the bi-weekly show has featured some of the top experts in data visualization and visual journalism, covered events like VizWeek, promoted hangouts on Google+ , and we just hope that both Enrico and Moritz are able to keep the impressive quality of the show.

(image: Enrico Bertini and Moritz Stefaner | Data Stories)

Juan Velasco’s Blog

The blog of one of the most respected infographic designers and illustratoirs in the world. The Spanish Juan Velasco launched his blog ….

Juan Velasco

Mapping the Nation

The site that was created as an extension of Susan Schulten‘s book “Mapping the Nation” has a blog that is regularly updated and that will surely catch the eye of all those interested in Cartography.

(image: Mapping the Nation)

If we assume

Created by James Davemport, a PhD candidate in the Astronomy department at the University of Washington, If We Assume is a continuous exploration of the field of data visualization by the author.

(image: James Davemport)

NASA JPL Infographics

We talked about this one here.

(image: NASA)

Tumblr has become the blogging platform of choice for many interesting and amusing sites about information design. Two of the most respectable infographic publishers, The New York Times and the Washington post launched their Tum,blr-blogs about the backstage of their infographic prodution in 2012.

Charts ‘n things

(image: Charts n Things)

Post Graphics

(image: Washington Post Graphics)

Other interesting Tumblr-blogs from 2012:

Baby Steps in Data Journalism

(image: Baby Steps in Data Journalism)

World Bank Data Viz

(image: World Bank)

Postcards from Above

(image: Redline Design | Postcards from above)

Floor Charts

(image: Floor Charts)

To close, two mentions to non-English speaking countries. The fist one comes from Greece, a country that has been producing amazing infographic designers, for the past years, and the second is focused on the political turbulence between Israel and Palestine. The infographics presented in this last one are in English.

Greek Infographics

(image: Greek infographics)

Visualizing Palestine

(image: Visualizing Palestine)

Did we miss some other blog or data visualization gallery? Let us know in the comments!