#IXD104 – Infographics Visual Research

Firstly, I decided to create a mind map on Miro of different topics that I can do. I want to look at more serious topics for my infographic.

I decided to pick malaria for my topic. I want to try and outline the seriousness of this preventable disease.

I decided to create another mind map outlining what I can contain in the infographic.

To begin my research I decided to create an unstructured Pinterest board to collect a broad range of different infographics and explore how they display data, structure their information and develop their infographics. I found it really interesting at the various techniques and different creative approaches which went into a lot of infographics.

For infographics colour can play an important role in conveying emotion to the reader. I decided to sort and arrange different Pinterest boards based on their colour and what they are trying to convey.

Happy

These infographics usually rely on their bright, diverse and colourful colour scheme to convey a sense of happiness and playfulness. Topics are positive such as green energy, environment, etc.

Neutral

These infographics usually don’t rely on colour to convey emotion but rather convey it through information and typographic elements. These infographics are usually presented in a monochromatic or mute colour scheme. Subjects can range from business to marketing or anything formal.

Bad

These are usually topics involving death, diseases and unfortunate events. They mostly use darker and harsher tones such as black, red or amber to create a sense of fear and dismay amongst the reader.

 

A better example of this would be looking at the topics that I intend to do. On the left shows the devastation of malaria which presents itself in a black and red colour scheme which represents death. On the right it uses blue to represent safety and comfort.

For my topic I want to represent and highlight the death and destruction malaria has caused. I will be picking harsher tones such as reds and blacks confirming the seriousness of my infographic.

After looking at many other infographics on this similar topic I will be choosing a tertiary colour scheme; red, black and white – all significant ties to death with white also outlining both the red and black to further the impact and focus on the topic.

I also noticed almost every infographic uses sans serif fonts, this creates lasting impact and catches the readers attention. I will be using a bold ‘intimidating’ sans serif for my headings to capture the seriousness of the infographic.

For my infographics I want to show data in innovative ways to show the seriousness of malaria, I want to display data through the use of distorting maps. I decided to research many different ways data can be displayed through maps:

 

What have I learned?

After analysing and categorising different infographics on Pinterest it has gave me a better understanding on the impact of colour and how I can use it to create emotions such as fear in my infographics. I have also looked at how data can be displayed in numerous amount of ways which has gave me plenty of inspiration on creating my own. I will now begin to create sketches and wireframes of my infographics.

 

 

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