Information Design Post 5

Found on Pinterest. Designer Unknown.

Found on pinterest (cv.duncanmckean.com)

This infographic about the Titanic shows that time, statistics, and comparisons can be used even when representing a single point in time or an event. Visually, there is a lot of depth in the main focus of the graphic (the ship), which acts not only as a subject, but creates a story throughout the piece. In the bottom right, the chronology of sinking remains depth-like in the use of 3d space on the 2d poster. This depth is extremely useful because of what information it is portraying. However, in other parts of the poster, such as the bottom right, where the ship is being dissected, a flat design plays a bigger role. I contrasted this infographic which is very diverse and broken up against a very straightforward, combined infographic that has much less variety. Though I think there is validity to both of these approaches, I think that they serve different purposes and are therefore use different methods. The infographic on the right which compares education versus employment, does a very good job as still remaining separation and diversity through color, yet collectively allows the audience to quickly glance and find what they are looking for. In the titanic infographic, though the information is interesting to look around, it is more difficult to scan through and find what you are looking for. However, content again comes into play when it comes to this comparison, because in an informational poster about the titanic, one may not be sure what they are looking for in the first place, so it is okay if the poster is a little more fun and broken up.

Information Design Post 4

This week I wanted to contrast two vastly different infographics in order to show how there is not a singular way to effectively display groups of information, and yet how storytelling seems to consistently play a role. In the first infographic shown, the frequency of blood groups in the Singapore donor population is shown in a red “droplet” made of paper. The information has a sort of “key” around the top, which still plays a role in the overall story. It is effective in giving us percentages in this key, and then visually displaying the information in the interesting graphic that gives us a quick-glance idea of what these different percentages look like when compared to one another. The information in this infographic is separated only by color, yet is effective in making the group visual still be distinctive. The coffee infographic on the other hand, which shows the different kinds of coffee served at Starbucks, is much more separated and distinctive in terms of space, yet the colors are consistent and do not play a role in showing the variety in drinks.The color is used to distinguish what is milk, foam, espresso, water, etc., but scale and shape is used to show the difference in each drink. Though this particular poster does have more words and explanation, it could have been just as effective with using a simplistic key to distinguish what each drink has, as the blood type poster uses. Both of these examples, though different in the way they use their “keys” distinguish differences while still showing consistency and togetherness.

Information Design Post 3

Whether it be a map or a set of data, information is harder to present graphically than it looks. Though both of these examples may look a bit boring at first glance, they are carefully thought out in order to make sure that the viewers will be able to obtain the information in the  most successful and efficient way possible. The first photo was taken in downtown Gig Harbor, WA and displays a map intended for the boater audience. Because fisherman or boaters most likely need a chart that can quickly show them what they need to know, the key in the corner makes it so that they can easily find places to fill up on gas, where they can stay overnight, and parks. The icons may not be the most creative or beautiful, yet sometimes when the goal is efficiency, simplicity wins over interest. In the second graphic, I really liked the way they approached the hierarchy. The chart shows what people who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in visual and performing arts go into for their careers post- college. The thicker lines leading to the other half of the circular graph represent a larger portion of people, and the thinner lines suggest a smaller amount. In this case, most people who graduated with an art degree of some sort DID end up going into the “Arts and Entertainment” occupations, and the thinnest lines show us that very little when into the physical science field or into construction. This split graph allows us to easily flow from one side to the next, while still feeling an overall sense of whole-ness. This graphic is successful not only in its it’s visual information execution, but in the overall feeling it gives from its natural and non-harsh shape qualities.

Sources:

Map – Downtown Gig Harbor, made by Bri Communications
College Majors vs. Occupation Groups – Found on fastcodesign.com, made with the U.S. Census Bureau‘s dat, Dikiiy // Shutterstock