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<div align="center"><a href="http://www.submitinfographics.com/full-size-infographics/2012_Summer_Travel_Infographic_MapQuest_final.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.submitinfographics.com/full-size-infographics/2012_Summer_Travel_Infographic_MapQuest_final.png" alt="infographic" width="430"><br /> Click to Enlarge </a><br />Via <a href="http://o.aolcdn.com/os/mapquest/blog/2012/07/Summer-Travel-Infographic-2012-MapQuest2"> MapQuest </a><br />View Other <a href="http://www.submitinfographics.com">Infographics</a></div> <p>

This infographic was submitted to us by MapQuest, and provides a great list of things to do around the United States this summer. Even those who can’t get too far from home can check out nearby national parks, ball games, etc. Plus, ouch–the cheapest gas in America in late June was nearly $2.50? Oh, how times have changed!

There are a few standard design comments I want to make here–one is that we typically don’t like to see IGs with white backgrounds, as it’ll just blend in with a large percentage of webpages that host it (like us!). White backgrounds also just aren’t that exciting to look at–especially when combined with gray illustrations. And though there is a lot of fantastic info here, none of it is effectively visualized. There’s plenty of relevant iconography and illustration, but no representation of the numbers. Fifty-eight national parks = 58 trees? Two thousand year old tree = tree dissection with 200 rings (where each ring equals 10 years)? There are a lot of creative ways to visualize all the great numbers on this infographic and up the interest. Data viz and a color makeover could make this infographic excellent.

In all, I’d give this infographic a C. Good content, but a facelift wouldn’t hurt.

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<div align="center"><a href="http://grasshoppergroup.com/the-summer-slump-decline-of-productivity/" target="_blank"><img src="http://grasshoppergroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Summer-Slump.jpg" alt="Decline of Summer Productivity" height="2736px" width="500px"/></a><br />Source: <a href="http://grasshoppergroup.com" target="_blank">Grasshopper Group</a><br />View Other <a href="http://www.submitinfographics.com" target="_blank">Infographics</a></div> <p>

This infographic from the Grasshopper Group details the rising trend in work-time productivity loss during the summer months. There are many factors that play into the decline of productivity in the summer, including rise in temperature, lack of vacation, and basic distractions as many activities occur during the warmer months of the year. Overall, according to this infographic, 25% of all employees report a loss in productivity between June and August every year. This decline is due to summer distractions, outdoor lunches, and leaving early to enjoy the warm weather.

Some other interesting facts include how various temperatures in the office affect employee performance. This includes the following:

• If the office temperature is 86 degrees or higher, productivity goes down to 91%
• At 68 degrees, error rates rise to 25%
• Perfect temperature for an office is 72 degrees, where productivity remains relatively normal, but the minute it goes up to 73 degrees, productivity begins to decline

During the summer, employers should try to keep temperatures at an even level while also encouraging their employees to take a vacation. Employees that don’t take vacations in the summer tend to be the ones who leave early or take lunches outside. Because of this, 37-40% of employees are left carrying the burden of those that take advantage of summer daydreaming.