Information Design | Exercises

on

4/1/2022 / Week 1
Information Design / Bachelor of Design in Creative Media
Shofwa Alyadiena / 0350019
 LECTURES 

 Week 1 

Lecture 1

The start of my first offline class of this year was for this class. Before doing our tasks, the briefing of the short semester for this module was given. The topic is serving informative data by quantifying and visualizing it; to put it simply, making a design for a set of data. There are many ways to serve data in a 2 dimensional space, most commonly using graphic charts like pie or bar charts. The purpose of this module in general is to serve data in more creative areas by utilizing animations or even 3D spaces.

We were given a lecture about introduction to information visualization; numbers, data, charts, statistics all count as information visualization. It branches off to more modern and worldwide approach such as advertisements. It is important to visualize data, as it can be used for charts like maps or blueprints. As Ms Noranis pointed out from the slides, visual information is processed 60,000 times faster than text. 

Lecture 2

Our second lecture explained about motion graphics. Motion graphics are compositions with the addition of animations. Composition itself is graphics and typography, while animation is movement with rhythm. To create one, we have to first write the script and sounds needed. Storyboards come next to brainstorm how the art direction will be like. Once storyboards are cleaned up they should be turned into the finalized version in the application of our choosing, and then animate it. 


 Week 2 

The second lecture in this class for week two, we were explained more in detail about motion graphic. Motion graphics can be defined as moving idle graphics, compared to animations which is images that aren't moving put together to look like it's moving. Motion graphics include kinetic typography. Kinetic typography reimagines letters as graphics. 


 INSTRUCTIONS 

 Exercise 1: Quantify and Visualize Data 

The first exercise for this module was quantify and visualize data. The example of data provided in class was a set of legos and buttons in different colors and materials. As practice, we are to figure out the variety and similarity of each item to create an infographic. I chose to start off with a set of red legos and attached them to figure out the varieties and amounts. 

Fig. 1.1. Legos Laid Out 1 (5/1/2022)

Fig. 1.2 Legos Laid Out 2 (5/1/2022)

From laying them all out, I've figured about two different things I could make a visual of. 

  • Color:
  • Beige - 15
  • Light Brown - 19
  • Brown - 6
  • Dark Brown - 6
  • Maroon - 13
  • Red - 30

    Holes:
  • 16 entry 16 exit 1
  • 8 entry 8 exit 2
  • 8 entry 4 exit 1
  • 6 entry 4 exit 1
  • 4 entry 4 exit 30
  • 2 entry 2 exit 17
  • 2 entry 1 exit 20
  • 2 entry 4 exit 2
  • 1 Entry 1 Exit 6
  • 4 entry 1 exit 3

Afterwards, I searched up references I could use for ideas and I came across this specific image of chart examples. I wanted to try out a radial sort of chart, similar to the top row in figure 1.3. 
Fig. 1.3 Charts Examples
The next time I attended physical classes, I started organizing how a radial chart would look like with the data I own. 

Fig. 1.4 Organizing (7/1/2022)

Unfortunately, after the first week was over I couldn't attend campus offline, so I had to figure out what I have at home that I could collect data from. In the end, I gathered coins that I have and decided to use that. 

Fig. 1.5 Base Idea (12/1/2022)

I laid out the coins down in a radial-oriented shape. The value of the coin gets higher each circle. The line on the left-middle separates coins that were made earlier and later, separated by "old" and "new".

Fig. 1.5 Base Sketch (12/1/2022)

The base sketch is drawn neatly.

FINAL

Fig. 1.7 Final Data Visualization (13/1/2022)

I finalized the data visualization by lining and coloring the texts written on the A4 paper. The left side is titled "Old Cents" which show the entire part being filled older version of the cents. The right side is our current currency form. going from top to bottom, it shows the value from high to low. The radial form is emphasizing on the shape of the coins.

 

 Exercise 2: L.A.T.C.H 

For the second exercise, we were required to make an infographic poster that shows categorization based on location, alphabet, time, category, and hierarchy. I couldn't figure out what to do at first, so I followed Ms Anis' advice to just stick with making Pokemon infographics. I asked my friend for advice as she plays it (religiously, might I add) and she helped me decide what to make. The real decision maker was when I saw this pokemon:



Fig. 2.1 Salazzle from Pokemon (I hope)

After seeing this pokemon assigned to a specific island, I couldn't resist making one. So I started collecting canon images to use. 

Fig. 2.2 Akala Island

After further research, I've compiled the small amount of data I wanted to show in the infographic, which were based on the trial captains/island kahuna with their totem pokemons and types in their respective locations. 

  1. Olivia - Island Kahuna - No Totem - Rock - Ruins of Life
  2. Lana - Trial Captain - Araquanid, Wishiwashi - Brooklet Hill
  3. Kiawe - Trial Captain - Salazzle, Alolan Marowak - Wela Volcano Park
  4. Mallow - Trial Captain - Lurantis - Lush Jungle

Fig. 2.1 Base Sketch (3/2/2022)

I first used a different reference, making sure I remember the layout of the map in different versions. I was planning to continue in a different application, but I've found that it's easier to trace maps using a vector app such as Illustrator.

Fig. 2.2 Figuring Layouts (3/2/2022)

I continued with figuring out the layouts by scattering the elements in the way I envisioned it to be.

Fig. 2.3 Drawing Characters (4/2/2022)

I traced the characters accordingly to fit the style, making sure the infographic will be noticeably uniform in style. I figured out that I preferred a horizontal layout and that it had fit better.

Fig. 2.4 First Placement Draft (4/2/2022)

After the layout was decided I continued with practicing the color palette. I asked my peers what they thought of the color palette and fixed it accordingly, while also taking inspiration from a senior's work.

Fig. 2.5 Recoloring Progression (5/2/2022)

Lastly, I added the totem pokemons and legends into the artboard, nearing the completion of the infographic.


FINAL

Fig. 2.6 Final L.A.T.C.H. Infographic (5/2/2022)

This infographic is based on the game Pokemon, set on Akala Island. The infographic shows images of trial captains and an island kahuna with their totem pokemons and types. They are placed on the map according to where you can find them in the game.


 Feedbacks 

General Feedback

Seeing other people's work, I have gathered inspiration from the way they visualize data, and how they separate it to a sheet of A4 paper. I've realized for the general public I needed my infographics to be clear and concise, as well as attractive to the target audience. 


Specific Feedback

Asking around for feedback, my friends provided me with criticism that helped a ton. The first thing was explaining what trial captains and kahunas are and why I should differentiate them. They suggested to change the background darker/lighter to contrast the island map itself, and to make sure the flat background can resemble the water despite what color it is. They also suggested to change the formation of the titles to better fit the poster.

 Reflection 

Doing these exercises helped with my color picking abilities. I had a lot of fun creating the posters and discussing the results with my friends and classmates. My favorite part was to write down the data itself to choose what kind of infographic to make out of it.

What I've noticed from other's works is that they prefer using lineless art on vectors. I've also noticed they tend to use specialized or serif fonts as the main title and sans-serif fonts for subtitles. Most of my friends also chose a horizontal layour for L.A.T.C.H.. 

After doing these exercises I figured out the importance of choosing colors and layouts and what data to separate by. Ms Anis said something like "The more you look at it, the more you notice what similarities and differences these data has." and I couldn't agree more. It was almost frustrating at first, as after we see all the similarities and differences, we tend to want to include them all but can't. Luckily, with the facilitator and friends' guides, I was able to create infographics that I personally believe is appealing.

Comments

Post a Comment