Information Design - Exercises
03/02/2025 - 20/02/2025 | Week 01 - Week 03
Koh Sher Wei | 0353816
Information Design | Bachelor of Design in Creative Media
List of Contents:
MIB (Instructions) :
Exercise 01: Quantifiable Information
For this exercise, we were given the task of gathering a set of
objects. Then sorting the objects into categories of quantifiable
factors. (I.e, colour, pattern, shapes). Once everything is sorted, we
need to arrange them into a presentable layout or chart.
Selected object
I chose to use paper clips of different colours; white, pink, green,
yellow, red, blue
Then, I sorted them in different ways according to colour. I tried
multiple ways, sorting in simple/basic form, as well as being
creative and making different shapes. However, Mr. Shamsul suggested
I should be more creative.
Final Presentation
While I was searching for different infographic presentations and
posters. I got the idea of arranging the paperclips into a
beehive/honeycomb shape. Which is what I ended up using for my final
presentable layout. After sorting the paperclips, I acquired 1
additional paperclip for each colour to label the data.
Exercise 02: L.A.T.C.H Infographic Poster
For this exercise, we are required to design an infographic poster
using at least four of the five LATCH principles (Location,
Alphabet, Time, Category, Hierarchy). The poster should visually
organise a group of information using digital photo editing or
illustration software. We can reuse some images but must also create
other visuals to complete the design.
Size requirements: 1240 × 1750 pixels or 2048 × 2048 pixels.
Idea
I searched for topics that may fit this exercise's requirements,
and ended up settling with "Endangered Species in Malaysia". I did
some researched and separated the information into 4 of the LATCH
principles:
1. Conservation Status (Hierarchy)
2. Habitat (Location)
3. Population Decline over x amount of years (Time)
4. Alphabetically ordered
Below are the information I compiled about the 9 Endangered Species in
Malaysia
Inspiration
Then, I looked for some references/inspiration from Pinterest on how to
organise an infographic poster. I was mostly looking at how certain data was
presented and data about endangered animals.
Digitisation
Initially, I used actual photos of the species and arranged them in hierarchy as well as alphabetical order. I illustrated paw prints for the indication of population decline over time. Then I added some graphics in the background due to the lack of contrast with all the information. I also categorised the Hierarchy by using different lengths of bars in dark to light red to indicate the significance of conservation status.
However, Sir gave me some feedback and pointed out that the overall design lacks connection to the purpose of the infographic. The colours and placement of the items are all over the place and generally not a well-arranged poster. He also commented on the title, where "Malaysia" should not be the focus of the poster as I'm aiming to present "Endangered Species".
Refinement
After receiving feedback, I tried a completely different design approach. Instead of using actual photos of the animals, I image traced them into grey silhouettes. Them I used rectangular boxes in different shapes and sizes to represent hierarchy, where I placed the animal silhouettes and information. As for the "Time" principle, I used a straight line to illustrate the amount of time with a brief description of the population decline of each animal.
As for the background, I felt as though the previous yellow wasn't suitable for the topic of "Endangered Animals" hence, I took a photo of dead leaves from Pinterest, overlayed it with a grey tone and adjusted the transparency according to my liking. I also tried two different fonts, to see which one fits better with the infographic.
In the previous two versions, I added arrows to indicate the direction of which the animals were arranged in alphabetical order. Despite my efforts of trying to make it co-ordinate, I realised that the arrows just added confusion due to them being pointed in multiple different directions. So instead, I removed the arrows and changed them match the colours of the hierarchy with numbered titles for indication of what each hierarchy is.
Final
For my final version, I just adjusted the spacing and transparency of the background to make the information stand out more.
Reflection
First exercise was sort of like a breather, being required to go back to the basics of arranging information. It was actually quite fun to play around with items and arrangements. However, I would say that exercise 2 is definitely more challenging, as we are required to digitalise and illustrate. The frustrating part was that we HAD to have at least 4/5 of the LATCH principle, which made it difficult to arrange our topic without messing with either one of the principles.
