Information Design : Exercises

on

4.1.2022 - 21.1.2022 (Week 1 - Week 3)
Chung Yi Ki / 0345014 / BDCM
Information Design
Exercises

Lecture

Week 1 / Introduction to information visualization 

Fig 1.1 Statistics on how different kinds of information are absorbed
Source: https://www.segalbenz.com/blog/visual-communications-grab-attention

Presently, we live in a visual information culture where information are presented visually everywhere. (e.g: billboards, video advertisement etc.) This is because people tend to remember and process visuals quicker than text.

The goal of visualizing information is to deliver a complicated information in a simple and quick-to-understand way. Information design is to display data through spatial, quantitative, and chronological solution. 

To kickstart the ideation process when making an infographic, making mind-maps is a good way to segregate data and help to form an idea on how to visualize it.

Fig 1.2 Examples of data visualization methods
Source: https://datavizproject.com/

When creating data visualization, think about how to use charts or all the data visualization method to deliver the data in a simple manner. 

Fig 1.3 Video analysis on Charles Minard's 1869 infographic
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3T7jMcstxY0

An example of an effective infographic that breaks down complicated data into easy-to-understand visualization is Charles Minard's 1869 chart about Napoleon's army journey to Moscow. The brown colour section in the infographic shows the route the army is taking to Moscow, while the black colour section signifies their return route. The width of these two section represents the number of men left in the journey. Map lines can be seen connecting to these two section to visualize location and the temperature chart below shows the change of temperature in each location during their return trip. 

Instructions

Exercises

Exercise 1: Quantify and Visualize Data

Idea development

Choice of data and breakdown

Fig 1.1 Randomly chosen Lego pieces (5/1/2022)

For the object I chose to use for my exercise 1, I decided to go with Lego bricks. I asked my cousin to help me randomly choose a few bricks from a box of Lego as a kickstart for me for this exercise. 

Fig 1.2 Bricks sorted through type and studs (5/1/2022)

Fig 1.3 Information sorting written down on paper (5/1/2022)

I then started to sort out the bricks by categorizing them by their number of studs and the type according to the studs. I also written and drew out the information on a piece of paper so it'll be easier for me to think of the layout later on.

Layout organization

Fig 1.4 Layout of information gathered (5/1/2022)

After that, I arranged the Lego bricks with a statistical layout in mind. I tried to make the layout more visually appealing by adding colour dots to represent "studs" as decorations. 

Fig 1.5 Final layout of information gathered (6/1/2022)

After receiving feedbacks from Ms. Anis, I went on to label each miscellaneous blocks in the infographic and took a clearer picture for my final submission. 

Final Quantify and Visualized Data

Fig 2.1 Final visualized quantified objects (6/1/2022)

Exercise 2: L.A.T.C.H

Idea development

Data research and sketches

Fig 3.1 Data tabling and poster sketches (15/1/2022)

I chose to use Pokemon data to create an infographic. While I was researching on which information in Pokemon to include and how to arrange them, I found out that in the Pokemon Sword and Shield game, the in-game weather affects the kind of Pokemon that will appear. Since we need to include at least 4 L.A.T.C.H principles in our infographic, I decided to focus on using information from the Pokemon Sword and Shield game in which I retrieved from these websites:

Fig 3.3 Lake of Outrage map reference #2 (15/1/2022)
Source: https://gamewith.net/pokemon-swordshield/article/show/13924

Fig 3.4 Lake of Outrage map reference #3 (15/1/2022)
Source: https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Lake_of_Outrage/Dens

I also searched for some pictures on the map of Lake of Outrage so that I can sketch and digitize the map out based on it. 

Digitization of sketch

Fig 3.5 Landscape orientation tryout (19/1/2022)

After that, I moved on to create the infographic digitally on Adobe Illustrator. I first made the infographic in a landscape orientation and then drew out the map based on the picture references I found, with Fig 3.2 being the main reference for the shape, and included the necessary elements in the map. I colour coded each of the Pokemon's "bubble" according to their type colour and placed weather symbol indicator beside them to show which weather will they appear in. Then I used an arrow shape to create the rarity chart. 

Fig 3.6 Pokemon type symbols from Pokemon Sword and Shield (19/1/2022)
Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/pokemon/comments/o9u29a/oc_the_type_logos_introduced_in_swsh_are_my/

Fig 3.8 Pokemon Sword and Shield logo (19/1/2022)
Source: https://www.pngmart.com/image/tag/pokemon-sword-and-shield

Fig 3.7 Weather symbols from Pokemon Sword and Shield (19/1/2022)
Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/pokemon/comments/dxowsf/sword_and_shield_weather_cheatsheet/

As I was searching for Pokemon type symbol images to use in my infographic, I found Fig 3.6 which matches the style that I'm going for in my infographic. I also found an image of the game logo to include in my infographic. For the weather symbols, I referenced back to the ones used in the game while drawing it out in Adobe Illustrator. The sources for each of the Pokemon images will be listed at the bottom of the blog post. 

Fig 3.8 Portrait orientation tryout (19/1/2022)

I then thought the landscape orientation doesn't work that well since it feels quite empty so I tried out a portrait orientation version.  All the elements included are the same but just with the addition of the labelling for the weather symbols. The rarity chart is also changed to a different visual representation where I used a staircase line chart concept. 

Fig 3.9 Rearranged elements and gradient addition (21/1/2022)

After receiving feedback from Ms. Anis, I decided to further develop the portrait orientation version for my final outcome. I rearranged the elements to follow a margin of 2 pixels and changed the background of the rarity chart to a gradient colour to further show the change from common to rare. I also included a title to label the chart and rearranged the type symbols in an alphabetical order for easy navigating. The background is also added a subtle gradient colour so that it won't be too plain and act as a subtle separator between the map and the rarity chart. 

Final L.A.T.C.H Infographic 

Fig 4.0 Final L.A.T.C.H Pokemon Infographic (21/1/2022)

    Feedback

    Week 1 - Exercise 1
    The data organization is not bad, clear enough. Label the miscellaneous bricks so that the reader will know why they are classified as such.

    Week 3 - Exercise 2
    The rarity visualization is nice, give it a title, maybe "rarity level" or "rarity chart". And the background of the chart can be a gradient where the colour changes from common to rare, gold could be used to indicate rare. When arranging elements in a poster, remember to always follow a margin, as now the spaces between the left and right side are imbalanced. For this infographic, a 2 pixels size margin would be suitable. 

    Reflection

    Experience 
    These exercises were interesting to do as it taught me the different ways and methods to organize data and create an infographic. Creating an infographic wasn’t something that I thought need technical knowledge on but after doing these exercises, I realized that infographics aren’t just about stating the facts and information out, but they also need organization knowledge and creativity to create a poster that’s easily understandable and appealing to look at. This can be shown especially through Exercise 1 where we have first-hand experience in sorting out data and using our creativity to make an interesting infographic out of physical objects. The L.A.T.C.H method of data organization is very useful to learn about too, and I’m glad that I was able to learn how to apply it through making my Pokemon infographic in exercise 2.  

    Observations 
    I observed that by including visualizations for data such as icons or stylized charts is not only able to let the audience remember the information written in the infographic better, but they also serve as an indicator on what the associating information will be talking about, much like a cue card. This gives the audience a brief moment to prepare and anticipate for the upcoming information. 

    Findings 
    I found that for ease of navigation and understandability throughout an infographic, data should be organized with a specific order in mind where possible (e.g: alphabetical order, a particular categorization etc.). People tend to naturally follow an order so having data organized in this way would increase the ease of readability of the infographic. 

    Pokemon images sources:

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