INFORMATION DESIGN - PROJECT 1 & 2

21.01.20 - 07.02.20 (Week 3 - Week 8)
Piyaphon Inthavong (0337589)
Information Design
Project 1 & 2

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INSTRUCTIONS

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LECTURES

Week 3:

January 21st, 2020

Chunking is a method in which allows contents of applications to be divided into groups of bite-size information for the brain to digest the information efficiently by tricking it into thinking there is "lesser to process" than usual. The presented slides are below:

Week 4:

January 28th, 2020

In FLIP 4 & 5, we were introduced to online infographic tools, different types of infographic and explored its use in the real world. The presentation slides are presented below:

PROJECT 1

Week 3:

January 21st, 2020

Project one's task is to create an A3 size infographic poster of the food process from a recipe of our choice. We are to show a clear process of how the selected recipe was made by incorporating the principle of chunking into the poster.

The following are the initial ideas and drafts on how I came upon my final selection.

Figure 1.1. Recipe brainstorming.

I quickly confirmed my recipe after a few thoughts on the recipe list I made. Tom Yum was the most intriguing option among due to its uniqueness, and my personal understanding towards the recipe itself.

Figure 1.2. Notes on Tom Yum recipe.

Figure 1.3. Notes on the look & feel of the infographic.

Figure 1.4. One of the chosen examples for poster look and feel inspiration.

Week 4:

January 28th, 2020

I followed up with simple sketches on the layout of the recipe. I drew a few things that came to my mind before and after browsing for inspirations so that I could keep a few things from my original ideas.

Figure 1.4. Sketch 1.

Figure 1.5. Sketch 2.

Figure 1.6. Sketch 3.

Figure 1.7. Sketch 4.

Figure 1.10. Final layout.

After quick sketches, I went through the research phase and jot down notes on the color and feel of the outcome according to the significant color of the food, its culture and color complementary for the main color scheme.

Mood board on the Tom Yum Goong infographic

Week 6:

February 7th, 2020

By undergoing through another process of sketching and planning after a huge feedback session, I was finally happy about the final layout ideas and its narrative structure. This was when I decided that it time for the digitization process.

Figure 1.11 Tracing the path of the sketch and adding some of the drawn objects.

Figure 1.12 Continued digitization.

Figure 1.13 First attempt on coloring.

Choosing a color palette correctly has always been difficult for me. Even after sampling all the chosen color palette from the color board, I still find myself disliking it and demotivated from moving on. My friends also mentioned that the poster looks too simple, blank. Many finds the color palette as boring and not suitable for the Tom Yum recipe.

Figure 1.14 Color changes after a few trial and errors.

Figure 1.15. Reference of Thai color palette.

Irritation starts to rise after quite a few attempts on choosing a background color for the infographic, so the solution to the problem was to add some texture. I suddenly thought of patterns the moment I think back about what Thailand is known for.

Figure 1.16. Thai patterns was chosen as the background of the infographic.

Through feedback and critiques from many people, they all have mentioned that the information from the infographic is not easily digestible which defeats the purpose of having an infographic. I solved this issue by clearing all the assets I have into a blank canvas. This helps eliminate all distractions while allowing me to start off fresh after a few days of creative blocks.

Figure 1.17. Trying new layout, a simplified version from the previous.

The simplified version didn't quite work the way I want it to be so I switched back to the previous layout and replaced all texts with icons.

Figure 1.18. A simplified layout without too many texts.

By collecting a few more feedback, I figured that most of the people disliked the instructions from the first draft. The instruction was not only inaccurate but the content was way too dull, just not interesting to read. 

My attempt in fixing that problem involves turning boring texts into graphics because humans in general read image faster than texts. The instructions were also moved to one side only to prevent readers from having difficulties in looking for connections in the text and hence spending unnecessary time looking for steps. Each steps within the instructions now include a title with interesting but relating meaning to the specific steps. Information was separated in a way that can be understood in the simplest way by chunking the instructions from the ingredients.

Figure 1.19. A fixed version from the previous layout.

Figure 1.20. Enhanced versions of the smoke graphics.

Figure 1.21. A huge color change was made in this progression. The overall color scheme was saturated to increase food appetite (desaturated food just doesn't look appealing in general). The Tom Yum bowl was also enhanced by drawing more ingredients in it as a decoration which is done in almost all of the authentic restaurants.

As a final touch of the poster, I changed the typography to suit the ones planned in the mood board. The round typeface creates a friendly approach to the audience while its playfulness shapes suit the informal language especially for the titles of the instructions.

The "tuk tuk" was added to the poster as a symbolic hint of Thailand. The mini fact below it helps introduce the dish to the audience before getting into the recipe itself.

Final outcome of the recipe infographic poster (project 1).

PROJECT 2

Week 7:

February 18th, 2020

Once the infographic poster was digitally finalised, I decided to finish off its final animation in a form of looping GIF animation. I wanted to animate each of the graphical objects from every layers to move along its functions.

Figure 2.1. Animating the smoke in individual layer in Adobe After Effects.

Figure 2.2. A few notes on the GIF animation planning.

Final video animation of the Tom Yum Infographic.