Languages and translations

It happens sometimes. Normally backwards. I refer to the translation of a term given to another language.

In English, it is very accurate, is clear: “architectural visualization”. Even its literal translation is very enlightening: architectural visualization or visualization of architecture.

However, Spanish speakers in general and the Spaniards in particular, we have not very clear how to call this term. Thus terms arises: infoarquitecura, infografía, infografia 3d,… Even others who speak of the “part as the whole” render, 3d, etc.

Certainly there is confusion on how to properly translate this English term.

Etymology and definition of infografia 3D

If we talk about infografía (computer graphics) in general, the term is an acronym for INFORMÁTICA (COMPUTERS) and GRAFÍA (GRAPHY). For the most exhaustive, I recommend reading this article by Juan Luis Iramain.

According to DRAE (Dictionary of the Spanish language) the meaning of infografía is as follows:

(Acrón. de informática y -grafía; marca reg.). (Acron Computer and -grafía;. Reg brand.)

1. Técnica de elaboración de imágenes mediante ordenador. f. Image processing technique by computer.

2. Imagen obtenida por medio de esta técnica. f. Image obtained by this technique.

Forgive me the boldness the scholars of the Royal Academy, but from my point of view, this definition is not correct.

Infografía, nothing more

I think the infografía concept should be understood as the “drawing of information”. That is, a visual method to understand a message.

So, properly use the term infografía when, for example in the newspapers, we see a chart that helps us understand a particular news.

This chart or infografia 3D “draw information.” The drawing may have been produced by computer or not. What is important is the understanding that facilitates regardless of the means with which it was made.

So I disagree with the definition of DRAE.

Infografia 3D vs painting

It is funny, but the simple addition of these two characters, 3 and D, would make more accurate the definition of DRAE.

You could also say that an infografia 3D can be performed without computers. That is for sure. We just have to think about the definition of painting:

Representing or containing an object on a surface with lines and colors suitable.

This definition coincides with the essentials of the term.