Good information is hard to come by. Good organization of information is even harder to find. As data-gathering, remote-sensing, and super-computing technologies improve, researchers are facing overwhelming volumes of data, and the demand to manage and manipulate these treasure-troves in efficient and accurate ways grows even more.

Fortunately, there are people like Cybu Richli out there, who have an acute ability to present ground-breaking data in fascinating and incredible ways. Cybu, a graphic designer and architect in Lucern, is working with Seed Magazine in New York to create a series of "Cribsheets" that by their definition are "downloadable tools for living in the 21st century." Seed explains:

Scientific issues and innovations seem to creep into everyday conversation more than ever before. Recognizing that we could all use some expertise in hot science topics, Seed offers its Cribsheet.

And while they may look simple and beautiful, they are far from effortless projects. According to some folks I work with, a visualization is a model of a complex physical event that involves describing the event in mathematical terms. That can't be understated. With data like this out there, you're not dealing with your average Excel documents. But when you combine these visualizations with carefully crafted text (in the case of the cribsheets, a collaborative effort between Seed's writers and an international cadre of scientists), the result is breathtakingly powerful and refreshingly practical:

• Cribsheet #1: Stem Cells
• Cribsheet #2: Climate Change
• Cribsheet #3: Avian Flu
• Cribsheet #4: Hybrid Cars
• Cribsheet #5: Nuclear Power
• Cribsheet #6: Hurricanes
• Cribsheet #7: Extinction
• Cribsheet #8: The Elements

Update: I think I'll be updating this post until the cows come home. After all, it's worth having a running list of these amazing one-sheets!