Legible London are monolith signs around London to aid pedestrians aroudn the city. It is a great example of the role of infographics.
MY STRATEGIES FOR VISUAL RESEARCH For my Strategies for Visual research project (SVR) I chose to reserach info-graphics to see how they work and help me learn how to effectively construct info-graphics. At first I wanted to look at info-graphics as I felt they were a good way of clearly and precisely showing information to people. I was interested in how they could be used to show information in a clinical and objective way and also how they could be manipulated to give a sjubjective twist to facts and data. Over the course of the project this focus changed from the ‘ethics’ of info-graphics to looking at the construction of info-graphics and ways of systematizing their construction for future usage. During the project I consulted a wide range of resources and looked briefly at the physical construction of info-graphics as well as their theoretical construction. These resources were from the web, books, magazines and examples I found out and about. I believe that info-graphics are close to being something that could be described as ‘pure graphic design’, in that their purpose is to communicate information effectively to an audience. Examples include train timetables, food labels and manuals. That said, in my research I found plenty of examples of info-graphics that rely on more subjective communication. In analyzing examples and my own research I learnt how to group and order the information I found so that I could make sense of it and go on to create a system of constructing info-graphics. It was interesting to list visual techniques that could be combined and layered to create a far more compelling whole.
EXPERIMENTS IN MAKING INFOGRAPHICS I constructed my own info-graphics to get a feel of how it was done and to create ways of displaying information. These were early attempts at finding a focus on the SVR project and weren’t based on any research in particular. These test pieces did help later on when I began to group techniques of how to represent types of information. The information used to construct the graphics was simple and based on every day things close to hand.
Distance in kilometers (min = 0 km,
My Favourite Illustrator: Jasper Goodall Brighton, England Distance: 75 km
My Favourite Comedian: Russell Brand London, England Distance: 15 km
My Favourite Breed Of Dog: Me
German Shepherd London, England Distance: 0 km
Type sizes:
Shape/Line/Gradient reproduction
Akzidenz-Grotesk BQ Regular Sex-charged fop blew my junk TV quiz (12pt) Sex-charged fop blew my junk TV quiz (11pt)
Circles:
Sex-charged fop blew my junk TV quiz (10pt)
Radius from left to right: 15mm, 10mm,
Sex-charged fop blew my junk TV quiz (9pt)
7.5mm, 5mm and 2.5mm.
Sex-charged fop blew my junk TV quiz (8pt) Sex-charged fop blew my junk TV quiz (7pt) Sex-charged fop blew my junk TV quiz (6pt)
Line weights:
Akzidenz-Grotesk BQ Regular Sex-charged fop blew my junk TV quiz (12pt)
20pt to 0.25pt from left to right.
Sex-charged fop blew my junk TV quiz (11pt) Sex-charged fop blew my junk TV quiz (10pt) Sex-charged fop blew my junk TV quiz (9pt) Sex-charged fop blew my junk TV quiz (8pt)
Gradient:
Sex-charged fop blew my junk TV quiz (7pt)
100% Black to the white of stock.
Sex-charged fop blew my junk TV quiz (6pt)
CD COLLECTION FACTSHEET A ABBA Air Al Green Al Stewart Alanis Morisette Alcino Frazao Ali Farka Touré All Saints Amadou & Mariam Amy Winehouse Armenian Naval Band B The Band Barry White The Beach Boys The Beatles The Blues Brothers The Byrds Beautiful South Bee Gees Belly Betty Wright Beyoncé Bill Withers Billie Holiday Billy Bragg Billy Joel Blondie Blue Bob Dylan
E Electric Light Orchestra Elkie Brooks Ella Fitzgerald Elvis Costello Elvis Presley Ernest Ranglin F Findlay Quaye Fleetwood Mac Frank Sinatra Frank Zappa Fun Lovin’ Criminals G Gabrielle Genesis George Michael Gladys Knight Gwen McCrae H The Housemartins Happy Mondays Hot Club De France I Isley Brothers J The Jacksons Jackson Browne Jackson Teagarden Jefferson Airplane Jimmy Cliff
Miles Davis Moby Mozart Ms. Dynamite N Neil Diamond Neil Young Nick Drake Nicole Appleton Nina Simone Norayr Karfashian O Oasis Otis Redding P Patti Smith Group Pet Shop Boys Peter Gabriel Peter Tosh Phil Collins Pink Floyd Pixies The Pogues Primal Scream Prince Pulp R Redskins REM Robbie Williams
4%
CANADA
42% USA 1% CUBA
FEMALES AND MALES I made this shortly after the SVR briefing. It was based on the amount of women vs the amount of men I saw in three situations, the bar, smoking area and the library. I used the pink dots to represent women and the grey ones to show men. I then arranged the dots in two situations to reflect the situation they were in.ÂŹ
INFO-TEST This graphic was made so that I could test the print quality of different weights and sizes of the elements of an info-graphic when screen printed. The graphic was a rough diagram of my favourite things and their proximity to me. I never printed the graphic because it wasn’t relevant to the focus I decided on.
Screen Print Infographic Test Pearse O’Shea BA Top Up November 16th
Distance between me and them: My Favourite Film: City Of God (2002) Fernando Meirelles Kátia Lund Rio De Janeiro, Brazil Distance: 9289 km
Distance in kilometers (min = 0 km, max = 9289 km)
My Favourite Musician: Bob Dylan Malibu, United States of America Distance: 8787 km
My Favourite Illustrator: Jasper Goodall Brighton, England Distance: 75 km
My Favourite Comedian: Russell Brand London, England Distance: 15 km
My Favourite Breed Of Dog: Me
German Shepherd London, England Distance: 0 km
Type sizes:
Shape/Line/Gradient reproduction
Akzidenz-Grotesk BQ Regular Sex-charged fop blew my junk TV quiz (12pt) Sex-charged fop blew my junk TV quiz (11pt)
Circles:
Sex-charged fop blew my junk TV quiz (10pt)
Radius from left to right: 15mm, 10mm,
Sex-charged fop blew my junk TV quiz (9pt)
7.5mm, 5mm and 2.5mm.
Sex-charged fop blew my junk TV quiz (8pt) Sex-charged fop blew my junk TV quiz (7pt) Sex-charged fop blew my junk TV quiz (6pt)
Akzidenz-Grotesk BQ Regular Sex-charged fop blew my junk TV quiz (12pt)
Line weights: 20pt to 0.25pt from left to right.
Sex-charged fop blew my junk TV quiz (11pt) Sex-charged fop blew my junk TV quiz (10pt) Sex-charged fop blew my junk TV quiz (9pt) Sex-charged fop blew my junk TV quiz (8pt) Sex-charged fop blew my junk TV quiz (7pt) Sex-charged fop blew my junk TV quiz (6pt)
Gradient: 100% Black to the white of stock.
CD COLLECTION FACTSHEET I took down all the details of my cousin’s CD collection (which was pretty big) and used this information as a basis for a two page fact sheet. I showed a variety of different information on the sheet, showing where the artists were from, what periods they had recorded in, what were the most popular genres etc. I used maps, symbols and illustrations to communicate the information about the CD collection.
Sketch of layout
CD COLLECTION FACTSHEET A ABBA Air Al Green Al Stewart Alanis Morisette Alcino Frazao Ali Farka Touré All Saints Amadou & Mariam Amy Winehouse Armenian Naval Band B The Band Barry White The Beach Boys The Beatles The Blues Brothers The Byrds Beautiful South Bee Gees Belly Betty Wright Beyoncé Bill Withers Billie Holiday Billy Bragg Billy Joel Blondie Blue Bob Dylan Bob Marley Bob Seger Bobby Womack Boz Scaggs Bruce Springsteen Buena Vista Social Club Buffalo Springfield Bunny Wailer Burt Bacharach
F Findlay Quaye Fleetwood Mac Frank Sinatra Frank Zappa Fun Lovin’ Criminals G Gabrielle Genesis George Michael Gladys Knight Gwen McCrae H The Housemartins Happy Mondays Hot Club De France I Isley Brothers J The Jacksons Jackson Browne Jackson Teagarden Jefferson Airplane Jimmy Cliff Joan Armatrading John Coltrane John Holt John Lee Hooker John Lennon Johnny Cash Joss Stone Judy Collins Justin Timberlake K Kaiser Chiefs Kanye West Kate & Anna McGarrigle The Kinks Kirsty MacColl
C Cat Stevens The Clash Cher Coldplay D Daft Punk Damien Rice David Bowie David Gray De La Soul Dean Martin Debbie Harry Dennis Brown Dexys Midnight Runners Donal Fagen Donna Summer The Doors The Drifters The Dubliners Doobie Brothers Dusty Springfield E The Eagles East 17
E Electric Light Orchestra Elkie Brooks Ella Fitzgerald Elvis Costello Elvis Presley Ernest Ranglin
L Labi Siffre Lauryn Hill Led Zeppelin Leonard Cohen Lou Rawls Louis Armstrong M Madness Madonna Madradeus The Magic Numbers Mamas & The Papas Martha Wainwright Marvin Gaye Massive Attack Michael Jackson Michael McDonald Mike Theodrakis
1/2
Miles Davis Moby Mozart Ms. Dynamite N Neil Diamond Neil Young Nick Drake Nicole Appleton Nina Simone Norayr Karfashian
4%
CANADA
1%
42% USA
O Oasis Otis Redding P Patti Smith Group Pet Shop Boys Peter Gabriel Peter Tosh Phil Collins Pink Floyd Pixies The Pogues Primal Scream Prince Pulp
T Tchaikovsky The The Tom Petty U The Undertones UB40 V Van Morrisson The Verve W The Who Whitney Houston
RUSSIA
35% ENGLAND .5%
AUSTRIA
6% IRELAND
2%
1%
FRANCE
ARMENIA
.5%
GREECE
1%
4%
PORTUGAL
JAMAICA
1% CUBA
1% MALI
R Redskins REM Robbie Williams Roberta Flack Rod Stewart The Rolling Stones Ruben Gonzalez Ry Cooder S Seal Simon & Garfunkel Sinéad O’Connor Sketch Souad Massi Spice Girls Squeeze Steely Dan Stevie Wonder Sugababes Supertramp
.5%
SCOTLAND
.5%
ALGERIA
PERECENTAGE OF ARTISTS FROM: ALGERIA Souad Massi ARMENIA Armenian Naval Band Norayr Karfashian AUSTRIA Mozart CANADA Alanis Morisette Kate & Anna McGarrigle Leonard Cohen Martha Wainwright Neil Young Nicole Appleton The Band CUBA Buena Vista Social Club Ruben Gonzalez
ENGLAND All Saints Amy Winehouse Beautiful South Bee Gees Billy Bragg Blue Cat Stevens Coldplay David Bowie David Gray Dexys Midnight Runners Dusty Springfield East 17 Electric Light Orchestra Elkie Brooks Elvis Costello Findlay Quaye Fleetwood Mac Gabrielle Genesis George Michael Happy Mondays Joan Armatrading
John Lennon Joss Stone Kaiser Chiefs Kirsty MacColl Labi Siffre Led Zeppelin Madness Massive Attack Ms. Dynamite Nick Drake Oasis Pet Shop Boys Peter Gabriel Phil Collins Pink Floyd Pulp Redskins Robbie Williams Rod Stewart Seal Sketch Spice Girls Squeeze Sugababes Supertramp The Beatles
The Clash The Housemartins The Kinks The Magic Numbers The Pogues The Rolling Stones The The The Verve The Who UB40
JAMAICA Bob Marley Bunny Wailer Dennis Brown Ernest Ranglin Jimmy Cliff John Holt Peter Tosh
MALI FRANCE Ali Farka Touré Air Amadou & Mariam Daft Punk Hot Club De France PORTUGAL Alcino Frazao GREECE Madradeus Mike Theodrakis SCOTLAND IRELAND Al Stewart Damien Rice Primal Scream Sinéad O’Connor The Dubliners SWEDEN The Undertones ABBA Van Morrisson
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Al Green Barry White Belly Betty Wright Beyoncé Bill Withers Billie Holiday Billy Joel Blondie Bob Dylan Bob Seger Bobby Womack Boz Scaggs Bruce Springsteen Buffalo Springfield Burt Bacharach Cher De La Soul Dean Martin Debbie Harry Donal Fagen Donna Summer Doobie Brothers
Ella Fitzgerald Elvis Presley Frank Sinatra Frank Zappa Fun Lovin’ Criminals Gladys Knight Gwen McCrae Isley Brothers Jackson Browne Jackson Teagarden Jefferson Airplane John Coltrane John Lee Hooker Johnny Cash Judy Collins Justin Timberlake Kanye West Lauryn Hill Lou Rawls Louis Armstrong Madonna Mamas & The Papas Marvin Gaye Michael Jackson Michael McDonald Miles Davis
CD COLLECTION FACTSHEET CLASSICAL Mozart Tchaikovsky
COUNTRY
Johnny Cash
POP
ELECTRONIC
Air Daft Punk Massive Attack Moby
30 artists
ETHNIC
Alcino Frazao Ali Farka Touré Amadou And Mariam Armenian Naval Band Buena Vista Social Club Kirsty MacColl Madradeus Mike Theodrakis Norayr Karfashian Ruben Gonzalez Souad Massi The Dubliners The Pogues
FOLK
Al Stewart Judy Collins Kate & Anna McGarrigle
ROCK 74 artists
Genres
2 Classical 1 Country 4 Electronic 14 Ethnic 3 Folk 6 Indie
5 Jazz 30 Pop 7 Raggae 74 Rock 15 Soul
INDIE
Alanis Morisette Damien Rice David Gray Findlay Quaye Happy Mondays The Magic Numbers
JAZZ
Billie Holiday Ella Fitzgerald Hot Club De France Lou Rawls Louis Armstrong
POP
ABBA All Saints Beautiful South Bee Gees Beyoncé Blue Burt Bacharach Cher Dexy’s Midnight Runners Dusty Springfield
Moby Neil Diamond Nina Simone Otis Redding Patti Smith Group Pixies Prince REM Roberta Flack Ry Cooder Simon & Garfunkel Steely Dan Stevie Wonder The Beach Boys The Blues Brothers The Byrds The Doors The Drifters The Eagles The Jacksons Tom Petty Whitney Houston RUSSIA Tchaikovsky
2/2 East 17 Frank Sinatra Gabrielle George Michael Justin Timberlake Lauryn Hill Madonna Michael Jackson Michael McDonald Nicole Appleton Pet Shop Boys Robbie Williams Rod Stewart Seal Spice Girls Squeeze Sugababes The Housemartins The Jacksons UB40 Whitney Houston
RAGGAE
Bob Marley Bunny Wailer Dennis Brown Ernest Ranglin Jimmy Cliff John Holt Peter Tosh
ROCK
Belly Billy Bragg Billy Joel Blondie Bob Dylan Bob Seger Boz Scaggs Bruce Springsteen Buffalo Springfield Cat Stevens Coldplay David Bowie Dean Martin Debbie Harry Donal Fagen Dobie Brothers Electric Light Orchestra Elvis Costello Elvis Presley Fleetwood Mac Frank Zappa Fun Lovin’ Criminals Genesis Jackson Browne Jackson Teagarden Jefferson Airplane Joan Armatrading John Coltrane John Lee Hooker John Lennon Kaiser Chiefs Led Zeppelin
Leonard Cohen Madness Mamas and the Papas Martha Wainwright Miles Davis Neil Diamond Neil Young Nick Drake Nina Simone Oasis Otis Redding Peter Gabriel Phil Collins Pink Floyd Pixies Primal Scream Prince Pulp Redskins REM Ry Cooder Simon And Garfunkel Sinéad O’Connor Sketch Steely Dan Supertramp The Band The Beach Boys The Beatles The Blues Brothers The Byrds The Clash The Doors The Drifters The Eagles The Kinks The Rolling Stones The The The Undertones The Verve The Who Tom Petty Van Morrisson
SOUL
Al Green Amy Winehouse Barry White Betty Wright Bill Withers Bobby Womack Donna Summer Elkie Brooks Gladys Knight Gwen McCrae Isley Brothers Joss Stone Judy Collins Labi Siffre Marvin Gaye Stevie Wonder
1% Of Artists came to fame in the 1920s.
3% of Artists came to fame in the 1930s or 40s
7% of Artists came to fame in the 1950s
27% of Artists came to fame in the 1960s
25% of Artists came to fame in the 1970s
11% of Artists came to fame in the 1980s
19% of Artists came to fame in the 1990s
6% of Artists came to fame after the year 2000
1% of Artists came to fame before the year 1900
45
MAGAZINE COMPARISON For this graphic I looked at how something physically awkward to see (the ratio of adverts to content in a magazine) could be shown simply using graphics. I compared two magazines, WIRED and Grafik. I also laid out WIRED magazine pages as 3D rectangles on an isometric grid, to give the graphic depth.
WIRED and GRAFIK MAGAZINE How Much Is Adverts and How Much Is Content
WIRED - 174 pages (including front and back cover) 114 CONTENT PAGES 60 ADVERT PAGES
1 - 58
59 - 117
117 - 175
Content: 66%
Adverts: 44%
GRAFIK - 108 pages (including front and back cover). 86 CONTENT PAGES 22 ADVERT PAGES
1 - 58
59 - 108
Adverts: 20%
Content: 80%
INFLUENCE ON INFORMATION I wanted to experiment with showing the same data but with different backgrounds, to see how much the image influenced the ‘tone’ the information was communicated in. I took statistics from the Iraq war as a starting point.
1790 MILLION rounds used in 2005
1790 MILLION rounds used in 2005
19,000 insurgents killed
500,000 tonnes of ordnance used
94,008
500,000
civilians killed
tonnes of ordnance used
4,362 139 other
179 UK
USA
ANALYSING INFO-GRAPHICS I began to analyze lots of different examples of infographics, to try and determine if there were any similarities between them and also how they worked. I looked at different reseources for these graphics; the web, books, magazines and also ones I found myself on my travels. By looking at the information being shown and in what style I began to see how info-graphics were being constructed and how beneath the style or media there seemed to be recurring modes of communicating that information. For instance, a city scape rendered to include the world’s top five tallest buildings is far more sophisticated than a bar chart, but both graphics operate on the same principles. By looking and analyzing info-graphics and looking for these underlying modes of communicating information I began to gather together different examples in groups of similarity.
RESOURCES WEB: The internet has a number of high quality blogs and sites dedicated to information graphics. They can also be commonly seen as editorial content, though not usually very creative. I looked at a number of websites and blogs not only to gather examples but also as research for other resources, like sourcing books on info-graphics etc. www.informationisbeautiful.net www.visualcomplexity.com www.good.is www.feltron.com www.guardian.co.uk The web also opens up further possibilities of interactivity with info-graphics, or info-graphics that react to data from RSS feeds etc. These interactive graphics are updateble and can provide information that is far more up to date.
RESOURCES BOOKS and MAGAZINES: I looked at a number of books to read up on theory of info-graphics and also to collect examples. Magazines like Grafik and Creative Review had articles and reports on info-graphics that also helped my research. I looked at books such as Data Flow, Envisioning Information by Edward Tufte, Information is Beautiful, David McCandless.
ANALYSIS I gathered the examples together and grouped them according to similarity, like if they were constructed with photos then these examples would go together, or if the graphic was based on a circle then these would be grouped. I took note of the type of information or what was being communicated and wrote down notes in a scrapbook.
PHOTOS
Photos in infographics Photos have the benefit of being strong visuals but I think are much harder to derive information from, opposed to straight up and simple vectors and areas of colour/size etc.
With a photo you have way more connotations and might run the risk of obscuring the information or offending someone, even fickle things like the men in the pic below look out of place. Also, is that an Ocean? Why is Los Angeles so dull?
Photos can make images more engaging and input a human element, which in turn could raise ethical questions of manipulation etc...
The photos don’t make immediate sense to me, do they represent people... Not really helping the graphic, if there was a better link between the info and the photos maybe it would be more engaging.
This is pretty engaging and humourous, although the infographic would function well without the photo.
This one is to show where you are most likely to be stabbed, but the info has come second to the photo, there is no structure or mapping to aid communication, also some might find the photo offensive or distasteful...
The info is in the photo, the viewer engages the photo to get the info, unlike the religion one where the info and photo are seperate but related. Not sure if it’s very good for the casual reader, but it could be entertaining to people conducting laborious research.
I noted what information was being shown by the graphics and how I thought the graphics worked. I began to group together similar graphics in PDF files.
CIRCLES
Example of grouping info-graphics based around circles. I gathered the examples together in a PDF and wrote up a short analysis on each one. I did this until I had a number of headings to organise my found examples by.
Graphics that use circles to structure info The circle is used often to represent differences in area, volume, mass etc... It is also used to arrange information, especially for the purpose of have a circular area blank to link different points of
information, like in the examples directly below. The circle also is a pie chart or an arrow that loops onto itself, a plotting point in a map. Composition wise the circle in the middle of the page acts as a focus for the eye, harder for the eye to
escape from. Usually the information or statistic is inside the circle, at its center. Or the information is set around the circumference, useful because the eye leaves the focus point of the circle and passes along the circumference.
This info-graphic shows how the sub-prime mortgage situation came about. It uses a flowchart to guide the viewer through the explanation, giving the information in small digestible chunks that is aided by visuals and icons.
Using typography to highlight the most prominent countries in relation to HIV infection due to drug use. It shows information on a map, the familiarity people have with maps aids the communication and impact.
A diagram that shows various facets of information on refugees and their status. The layout and graphics make the information digestible and clear.
A chart of hierarchial information giving deatils of a fantastical society. The image gives a context to what the information (type) is referring to, giving the over all piece an extra layer of depth.
GROUPING AND RECOGNISING TYPES OF INFO I continued to group the examples I collected and analysed. This led me to creating new headings as I found out that the ones I had before were too broad and based on aesthetics (ie, circles, photos, illustrations). I began to look at the examples and note down what types of information were shown. I did this with a lot of examples and wrote the types down on post-its. I grouped similar types together and refined the groups until I was left with five, each being a different type of information. Grouping the examples based on what I saw in them led me onto the next step of my project and gave me a focus as to what to do.
TYPES AND TECHNIQUES Up to this point I had been grouping based on the types of data. I began to look closer at the types of data and the way they were constructed. I made a list of different techniques commonly used to construct data (identified by me) and saw that these overlapped across the types of data. These techniques varied in how they were applied across different types of information but generally worked in the same way.
TYPES OF INFORMATION
TECHNIQUES
++++++ ++++++ ++++++ Change over time
Image Repetition
Graphs
JA’NA’MEAN?
!@£
N W
YES
NO
S
Symbols
Venn Diagram
Flow Chart
Mapping
Area
Bar Chart
Change in colour
Cloud
=
E
%
HOTEL
Pie Chart
Key/Legend
Percentage
Circles
AMOUNT Amount can show the size, volume, area of something. A circle of differ- ent sizes can be shown so that the amount of unemployment can be visu- alised, or the area of land wastage... Amount can be visualised in many dif- ferent ways and is often used in con- junction with other types to produced a layered and informational graphic.
CLOUD The cloud can be used to show amount by representing each unit of measurement as a graphic clustered together. When people use the cloud to construct info-graphics they often show the interconnectivity between the units of what they are showing, like website users (amount) and their relation to eachother (connections).
CIRCLES Circles are often used to represent amount in a number of ways. One way is by using the circle to highlight the (amount of) area effected, like a blast radius for example. Or to highlight the area that a service covers. Another way circles are used is that their relative size is related to amount - the bigger the circle the bigger the amount.
PERCENTAGE Placing a percentage into an info-graphic (on a map for example) is a simple way of telling the viewer how much of something there is (or isn’t).
BAR CHARTS Bar charts are an effective way of communicating the aount of something by placing similar shaped objects next to each other and relying on their relative size to eachother to express the measurements. The objects don’t have to be bars, but need to follow the same principles of a bar chart.
PIE CHART Pie charts are another trusted way of expressing amount. They work by using an object to represent the whole and portions of that to represent portions of the whole.
CHANGE IN COLOUR Change in colour can be used to show amount, especially change in amount. One colour could represent the maximum value and the other the minimum, change in colour from one to the other can show the change in amount.
AREA Area is used to show things like acres of land, land usage, the size of an area. Area covered could also relate to the amount of something, similar in working to the pie chart. For example an area of one meter squared might be 100% and other smaller areas act as portions of this.
TREND Trends show the movements of peo- ple, animals, elements etc. It shows generally their behaviour - this could be buying habits, routes to work, what sort of food is eaten when eating out etc. I think the main thing about trends is that they often need to show a type of information but over time, so that behaviour can be cross referenced or compared to another point in tim. Trends could forgo the element of time though if they become decriptive of something. A graphic could show that people from urban areas are more savvy than rural dwellers, which would support a trend but not neccesarly show it’s effect over time.
CLOUD The cloud can be used to show how different users (nodes) behave. These sort of clouds are formed by showing how numerous different users behave, where they visit etc, and the cross overs in their paths provide further trend data.
CIRCLES Circles can be used to show trend. By overlaying circles that represent different statistics over time you can visualise the growth or reduction of something.
MAPPING By visualising a trend by mapping data to a map or diagram it can be easier to see how the trend is occurring, or where. For example, you could see the trend of a clique of people on a Saturday about town, or the patterns of movement of wild animals across an area of land.
PERCENTAGES Can be used to to show the percentage of people doing one thing in relation to the percentage of those who don’t do it. A clear and simple way of showing the trends of a group, especially for something like showing popularity or fashions.
BAR CHART A bar chart is a simple way of showing how a trend develops over time. It could be the sales of a product over time or the amount of people emigrating.
PIE CHART A pie chart can be used to show a trend, especially if numerous charts were used in conjunction to show development over time.
TREND cont. REPETITION OF SYMBOL Repetition of a symbol can be used to show a trend, the symbols representing something like females vs males.
CHANGE IN COLOUR Change in colour shows, over time, a trend. A simple example would be red to blue to show the losing of a teams support over time. Change in colour may also show a peak in a trend or a low point.
CHANGE OVER TIME A time line could be used to mark events in a trends history, or be used in conjunction with a simple graph to show different statistics during the course of a trend’s development.
MAPPING This type is often used with a map to show geographically affected areas, the where and how much. It can show where exactly tourists are going or what area of a town they are visiting. It can often be used in conjunction with AMOUNT, like if it is necessary to show where something is but also it’s size. Mapping could also be seen as indicating where something is, possi- bly in a graphic of the anatomy.
CIRCLES Circles are commonly used to denote points on a map/diagram or areas of interest. They could be used to point out an affected area on a map.
AREA Much the same principle as circles, showing area is another way of communicating the location of something on a map/diagram.
MAPPING Marking points on a map to show where something is. Can be used easily in conjunction with trends to show both the location of something and it’s behaviour.
CHANGE OVER TIME Plot the place of something over time and show it’s movements by constructing a graphic that can show the previous and present locations.
CONNECTIONS This kind is based on how things relate to eachother, under many forms (geographically, socially etc). Intersections of things are commonly shown, such as the overlap of ethnicities in an area or the relationships of different people in a network. It is useful for visualizing the effects things or people have on eachother. A common example is a venn diagram where the intersection of two areas means that their interaction changes what they are or do.
CLOUD Showing the interconnections of things can be done with a cloud, where the criss-crossing lines represent the connections.
MAPPING Using a map you can track how different subjects travel (for example) and how they connect to eachother over a period of time. An example would be the cliche of strings on a map used by police to track a criminal.
GRAPHS Graphs with multiple curves can show how two things connect and react to eachother.
LEGEND Icons and symbols can link things together and aid navigation, the icons and symbols being decipherable by way of a legend or key.
VENN DIAGRAM The connections between things can be succinctly shown using venn diagrams, where the overlaps are the connections.
PROCESS Process is commonly used in the form of flowcharts and use to explain hierarchy or how different parts of a whole work together.Things such as a military chain of command are simply explained. Some are more “interactive” in that the process can allow for a personal reading by offering different “paths” based on the viewers choices. Process is useful as it can explain quickly complex systems by showing the viewer how it works step by step.
FLOWCHART Flowcharts are used to show how a process works. They can be used to show decision making, or the steps in a system/way of doing things. They show the viewer a step by step guide that can break down complex processes into something clearer.
CHANGE OVER TIME Process can be shown by visualising how it works over time, for instance steps on a time line. Showing how a process works over time can give a better understanding of how it works.
PROCESSING I experimented briefly with the program Processing. Processing allows the user to input code which is then interpreted visually by the program based on values set by the user. It accepts data from spreadsheets etc and can then output this as graphics. Processing is a very versatile program that can make use of many technologies and is user developed. Processing is used in conjunction with data to produce images that are abstract and aesthetically pleasing, the aesthetics being decided by values inputted by the user and also the variables of the data. The artwork is a visual of the data. Processing can output graphics as eps line drawings so that they can be further edited.
Processing “sketch� gotten from input of basic code.
COLLECTED IMAGES
Throughout the project I took snapshots of graphics I saw out and about that I thought had relevance to the graphic communication of information.