Week 7- Think Like a Designer

In chapter 5 of Knaflic's book, it is discussed how we should think like designers when we make our infographics. In this chapter, she highlights three main points in terms of what we should be thinking about when we create our infographics. The first point she discusses is the importance of affordances, which are defined by her as the inherent qualities in an object that make it obvious how to use. If the viewer if an infographic does not understand how to analyze or comprehend the infographic, it defeats the purpose of the design. The second point Knaflic emphasizes is accessibility. In order for our infographics to be effective, they must be accessible to everyone. This also means simplifying presented information and utilizing text. The third point discussed by Knaflic is aesthetics. Infographics often times need to be aesthetic and grab the eye of the viewer in order for the creator to get their point across.

In the WSJ article posted, I was intrigued by the interactivity of the infographic. I was mind-blown of the new speeds that 5G data brings, and the WSJ writer did a fantastic job illustrating this to me, the reader.

In viewing this infographic, I was allowed to click a button and watch in real-time how fast 5G is compared to both 4G and 3G. This infographic was accessible to me, and it was easy to understand the data presented. Aesthetically, the infographic at hand caught my eye and had a unique design representing a character in the 'Bird Box' film.

Week 6- Potential Clients

In my previous posts, my infographics were downloaded as PNG files rather than PDF files. After I downloaded my infographic as a PDF, I realized that the image was in a higher resolution. Looking at my previous posts, there is a clear difference when files are posted as a PDF. Here is an example of an infographic posted as a PDF, shared through my google drive infographics folder.


Potential Clients

1) Benedictine Baseball- As a player on the team, I could easily talk to my coaches and help prepare an infographic for recruiting purposes or for fundraising.

2) Milwaukee Lutheran High School- As an alumni, I can reach out to my principal and ask their needs in terms of infographics and other data presentation needs.

3) Driveline Baseball- I could reach out to management at Driveline Baseball in Seattle, WA and offer to make an infographic to present the data that they analyze.

Week 5- Clutter

In my Week 2 infographic, I laid out my five-year plan in terms of my career goals. In this infographic, I planned out what I believe would be an ideal career path in the first five years after I graduate college. I talked about how I hoped to obtain a job with MillerCoors and begin to work up the ranks, going from Sales Representative to Supply Chain Analyst in the first five years. In this original infographic, it is seen that I used an array of colors that seemed to clash and distract the eye of the viewer.

After asking some friends about how to fix this issue, they helped me come up with a color scheme that would better fit my career plan. In this infographic, brighter and more vivid colors are used when presenting this information, allowing for the viewer to not be distracted by any color clashing. In data visualization, it is very important that the eye of the viewer is taken in account for, as they are the sole purpose of the infographic.

Week 4- Data Visualization

In the TED Talk: The beauty of data visualization, David McCandless talks about how visualizing data can be compared to building a landscape. The viewer must be able to read the data presented like a map, with easy directions and guidelines. He also uses the phrase "data is the new soil." He explained that data is a ubiquitous resource that can be used for many types of new information and insights. This data gets irrigated by networks and connectivity. The data visualization and infographics that result from this is compared to flowers blooming.

In the data visualized here, David McCandless explained this balloon-like data. Those at the top of the picture are ingredients in a study that provide conflicting evidence. As the viewers' eyes go lower, they see that the balloons become lighter in color, indicating lesser evidence within the study, based on the size of the ingredients. It was a very unique way to present data, allowing the viewer to clearly understand the visualization.

Week 3

In the video posted on LinkedIn, it highlighted best practices and common mistakes of data visualization. In terms of design best practices, the video showed characteristics of great dashboards/infographics.

The first characteristic of a great dashboard is one that is very well organized. In the infographic below, it is well organized and attracts the eye of the viewer. The second characteristic of a great dashboard is one that is condensed. The infographic below is condensed and presents information in a  short and sweet way. The third characteristic of a great dashboard is one that is audience and objective oriented. This infographic does a great job at targeting its audience and achieving its objective of informing the gaming community. Lastly, the fourth characteristic of a quality infographic is one that uses clear and concise media in communicating its message. This infographic presents clear data graphs and visualization tools to communicate its message to the audience.