INFOGRAPHIC: PROGRESS...

Progress? Or am I moving backwards?
Personally, I don't like this current version at all. The very different styles and colors of each collaged piece of paper makes the inforgraphic very cluttered and far from consistent. They just looked slapped into my map for not apparent reason. I'm going to have to go back in and re address these issues.

Also, the connector lines are unnecessary, especially if I change the "Scandinavia, 1200s" above the body text to the actual name of the object (bundt pan) then the line becomes completely unnecessary.

Some more left aligning of text, and font options need to be looked at, and minimizing colors along the bars on the sides. Also returning to my original icons and losing the white doilies around my objects, and grounding my infographic on some sort of background.

INFOGRAPHIC: FIRST DRAFT DIGITIZED

My infographic as of today...

The large text boxes aren't working... so maybe just keep the portion "UNITED STATES, 1927" within the map, kind of how they are now, and pull out the subtext to the sides of the map, so they curve around the edge of the globe, connected to each corresponding icon with a line or cross stitch dotted element or something.

The floral pattern I have in the background is too contained and bland right now, it's losing the 'real' quality when it was brought into the digital realm. To start, helping it by getting rid of all my vectored line work would make it feel incredibly less 'digitized'.

Instead of vectored outlines, I'm thinking of doing a cross stitch pattern by hand, and scanning it in to apply it to my infographic, including all of the doors and window elements I had in my paper prototype. I'm thinking that would soften up all those hard lines I had with the vectors, and make it feel ultimately grandma.

Then I think I need to add more contrast somehow to my icons, since they are being lost in my map at the moment. Either bring in some white into the icons somehow, or or allow the map portion to become a new and different color palette, like blue, to add a differentiation against my icons.

I'm also thinking about adding in more collage elements into each room, like furniture, rugs, etc, and bringing in pattern into the "yard" areas of the map. I really need to be working more by hand at this moment, and allow myself to have fun and experiment, so I arrive at something more comprehensive.

INFOGRAPHIC: PAPER PROTOTYPE

Refining the shape of my map- trying to find the right median between a map of the world and a map of grandma's house.

My final paper prototype of my infographic: The colors help to define the fact that it is an infographic referencing old ladies (the white in the image is actually a powdery pink on paper). I was originally going to use collage elements of actual furniture from an aerial viewpoint, and mix in old lady patterns and hints of actual map material, but it would have been extremely cluttered and impossible to read. So instead I kept it simple, and perhaps when I move into the computer, I will retain the subtle pattern and texture of the cut paper it was made out of, to keep in line with the crafty/scrapbook-y nature of grandmas.

Design devices?... I employed aspects of blueprint language into my map, such as doors, windows, and stroke weight to show (simply) that it was a map of a home. Color was used to go along with my original theme, and I brought in distinct features of old vintage-y maps to draw the idea that you could possibly find this exact map tucked away somewhere in grandma's house (like the scroll heading, and antique faded coloring). Angular shapes and irregularity in proportions of the map of the world suggest that it needs to be looked at closer, drawing the viewer in to realize that it doubles as a home on the smaller read. Flags of pertinent information flanking each icon on the map, outlined in a brighter color emphasizes that the icons are the most important aspect of the map, with the same bright color being brought in on the secondary material, to draw the eye downward, to the even closer read.

Other design devices that could be employed?... transparency overlays in each room of the house with subtle hints at grandma furniture/rugs/etc within the home may make this less clean and sterile, and more grandma... but the transparency would help to keep it from being too overpowering. Perhaps look at asymmetry? Make it more interesting by not having everything centered on the page? I'm not sure if this is a problem, but maybe incorporating my secondary information more in with the actual map... maybe it would look too cluttered though?

INFOGRAPHIC DRAFTING

Where would you find the bundt pan in grandma's house?... or the virginia slims?



Thinking of ideas to go with... looking at the initial relationships between a house and a map of the world. How could they tie together and be cohesive?


My first stab at tying the world map and the grandmother's home together- finding the relationship between a blueprint of a home and a map- similar shapes/sizes?... layout?... How can the layout of the icons match up between both maps? (As in their country of origin as well as where they would generally be located in an old woman's home?)


Here I tried taking a break from my map idea... looking at a timeline instead, to emphasize time period over location. I found this very boring and stale, not tying into my theme or article at all, and too overdone.


blueprint ideas


Look! Grandma's house!!


world map inspiration


So then going back to my original idea, I expanded my ideas, creating my own blueprint of a home that would fit in better with the layout of the countries of the world. I like the idea of juxtaposing two different locations of each of my icons on top of each other, being in the exact same place on the page, but meaning two completely separate things... the 'micro/macro' views of my icon set.


I used a transparency here to help me map out my blueprint so it would fit nicely and proportionately into my world map.

So after this exercise, I am understanding the links between old lady's home and the world origins within the context of my set better, and that is what I really want to focus on in my infographic...
Right now, I have the dates of when each of my objects were invented just over-layed on top of my icons or next to them on my maps, but I'm not sure if that's the right answer yet. I am thinking that if it doesn't get too complicated, to somehow render my map in 3-D, so that I can make the vertical axis time frame; kind of like 3-D bars in a bar graph rising from each icon on my map... we'll see how that goes.

INFORMATION GRAPHIC INITIAL RESEARCH

In this initial stage of research for project 3, I had a really difficult time getting started on anything... there was nothing I could find as far as "real" information goes for my topic. And beyond that, I had the job of tying together objects from a grandmother's home with the theme of "last will", and having it work with the infographic requirements. So I decided to work on my infographic research and finding my type class article hand-in-hand, since that way, I wouldn't be completely lost or stuck moving on to one or the other. I researched ideas in regards to the cost of each item, or the materials that they were made out of, but it was all waaay too stale or boring to go anywhere with without falling asleep. I wanted something that would compliment old people stuff in a good way... not make it more boring than it already is.

I came up with how these items came about, as in where and when... and found some interesting bits of information, so I decided that this may be a good route. So then I focused on the article I needed for type class, and started investigating topics on actual last wills, or statistics on deaths in the elderly, and moved on to assisted elderly suicide...... and it made me depressed. Not only because of the subject matter, but because there was no way I could tie an article about 'old people feeling so terrible about themselves that they want to end their life' and 'the country of origin of objects from their home' together nicely. So I brainstormed, and came up with a breakthrough idea of making the article more about antiques and where they generally come from.

Antiques or thrift generally come from people who have passed away, so I thought that was a great juxtaposition of a micro and macro view of my objects, and also fitting in with my title for my set. It works with my infographic research since I'm looking at where the objects come from on a larger scale (country and time period), and the article looks at where objects come from on a smaller scale (tag sales from old lady deaths). But finding an article that will fit my requirements may be a feat... we'll see!