Illustration as a key component of data visualization in media

Modern media illustration is subject to the same processes as journalism -synthesis, diffusion, and convergence. Mixed types (graphics + photography, graphics + infographics) have become a new format for transmitting information, but their role in data visualization is not well understood. The study examines the place, role, and functions of illustration as a component of data visualization in the media. The empirical material for the study was infographics from the largest media and news agencies (TASS, RIA Novosti, The Economist, The New York Times, Bloomberg) from November 2024 to November 2025. The categories for content analysis were: the presence of illustrations in projects, the types of illustrations used (photography or graphics), and the relationship between illustrative and verbal components. An analysis of the ratio of different types of data visualization in RIA Novosti, TASS, and The Economist over the past year showed that the volume of projects with illustrations in them was small, as patterned infographics were quite capable of quickly transmitting information in news materials. The situation was different in Bloomberg and The New York Times. Illustrated infographics prevailed there, accompanying analytical and investigative materials, and performing communication, argumentation, and cultural functions. In relation to textual or auxiliary visual elements of infographics, such as pictographs, geometric shapes, graphic elements, and decorative ornaments, illustrations play a dominant, equal, or auxiliary role. The auxiliary role of illustrations in data visualization is relatively rare. An illustration is either equivalent or dominant in an infographic, but despite the fact that photographs are more common in data visualization projects (with the exception of TASS infographics), the graphic illustration plays a key role in the hierarchy of components, acting as an “eyecatcher” and carrying the main information load. Other verbal and visual elements are subordinate and serve as secondary components in polycode form. Publications with dominant graphic illustrations relate mainly to cognitive (new discoveries, breakthroughs), cultural (events) or problematic (disasters, conflicts, climate change) areas. The results of the study showed that, in the modern media, illustration has become a leading component of infographics. It has been used more often than in the past, and its role has expanded to include not only information but also communication, argumentation, and other functions such as attracting attention, creating an aesthetic experience, providing cognitive stimulation, and others. The author declares no conflicts of interests.

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