project 2 project statement

Background

24 hour fitness is looking to increase the sales of membership in the United States of America. The chain as a whole is requesting an info graphic that shows obesity in the united states in corelation to locations where their gyms are. it will also link reasons why nutritionally some states might have a higher obesity rate than others basied on diet, lifestyle, and race. 

Target Audiences

Men and women age 16 – 45 or people that care about nutrition and body image.

Objective

To create an info graphic that 24 hour fitness can use to inform / inspire customers to buy a membership.

Obstacles

Many people view themselves as not being the majority so they might just choose to ignore the infographic.

Key Benefit

To Increase money flow to 24 hour fitness along with the increase awareness for customers who are unsure of the benefits of eating healthy and regular exercise.

Support Statements / Reasons Why

To increase business and show the benefits of exercising and eating healthy.

Tone

 fun/energetic, clean, sleek, positive

Media

Print (brochure/poster)

Creative Considerations

n/a

In chapter two the author talks about how politics, diplomacy, and consensus all play a role in whether a design will work or not, it plays the outcome of design projects and because of this designers started to develop methodologies that take account for these issues. Developing methodologies however only works to a certain extent because everyone has a different meaning to these issues (politics, diplomacy, and consensus) so what it ultimately comes down to competing departments and what they bring to the table that creates change in a creative way. The biggest of the three issues are politics which are all about peoples interests this can be hard because people with constantly argue amongst each other to define what is of interest to them materially and organizationally, to help make this a little less difficult the author goes through steps on how to wrangle an audience and it's content the first step is to know your audience, then identify and prioritize, and understanding the requirements (emotional and physical). Another thing that plays a role is Plain language, which also fits into how you accomplish the above principles. Writing plan language is not about reformatting and making your sentences shorter to look better, it’s the process of rethinking the whole object you trying to represent. What is it you are trying to say, who are you trying to say it to(target) and what are the reasons. After this the author goes into talking about the creative briefs and personas and scenarios that showed so interesting ways on how to do things that I already knew a lot about.

I am still trying to figure out ideas on what I think you are looking for I think I want to do something with caffeine and how it effects a big group of people, Divorce rates around the world, health of individuals that links to Nutrition and exercise based on geographical location,  or recycling how much people recycle where and how much of that is actually being recycled.  those are a few of my ideas but I still need to find the data so my ideas might change. I have also peeked through some inspiration I think these might be examples of things we are looking for that works for this type of info graphic project. telling a story with data....

Chapter 6 reading

Today I read in chapter six about different case studies by Kim Baer. This chapter basically takes you through the outline of these case studies. I thought they were great examples and I think they even helped me change my mind frame on the way I would go about doing one myself. Some case studies were also obvious just because I have been taught these practices for a while now, I always like to see the process behind a creation to see where someone started and ended up, some of these case studies did great at showing this. I think one thing that I will bring away from this is its important to write down all your ideas even the dumb ones and to draw and draw often.

some related links
http://www.ideabook.com/tutorials/logo_design/stepbystep_logo.html

another really cool link dealing with process and drawing
http://imjustcreative.com/apple-eve-logo-process/2010/06/12/

A Design Toolkit Consists....

Color
Type Styling
Weight and Scale
Structure
Grouping
Graphic Elements
Imagery
Sound and Motion

All of these things help to guide a user and all of it is intentionally thought out. Color helps with isolating elements, directing the eye to a given location, and hierarchy.

Type styling is another method of providing hierarchy you could do this by highlighting, bold font  of playing with different typefaces to clarify varied types of content in a book that is very text heavy. Even things like boldfaced content headers help readers quickly find what they need without having to sort through all the fine detail.

Weight and Scale its all about patterns and as humans we are subconsciously looking for them after reading a word long enough we recognize a pattern and then when we see it we no longer sound it out or actually read it we already know what it is though a recognition process. Thats why sometimes changing these patterns like using all caps can confuse the user and slow down the experience because the design is unrecognizable. Changes in scale and weight can show the importance of certain things compared to others.

Structure deals with the grid. Using a grid  and capitalizing on white space can help the user navigate through complex information, it keeps things organized, and can also create a since of importance/hierarchy.

Grouping is another way of organizing information so that it helps users quickly locate what they are seeking, it can help show importance, create hierarchy, and maximize readability and coherence.

Graphic elements are things like lines, rules, and bullets which are things that designers use to attract the eye (good for showing direction). It can also show attention to detail, give it a since of time, and create visual interest.

Imagery  is a powerful component, it is said that putting images together with words is one of the most powerful ways in having the user retain the information that they have read. You go out of the way to read text if you are interested in a subject, or you are required to do so for a school subject, but only imagery can stop you and make you read something you never intentionally wanted to read just because a photo intrigued you to read it.

Sound and Motion is the last thing that is combined with these tools to convey a clear design message it is another wat to help the user retain information, it is a way of learning something twice, and really allowing the information to sink in, you are hearing it and seeing it at the same time.

Project 1 Project Statement

Background-
I will be creating an info-graphic that shows and talks about different types of meat cuts on the most typically ordered meat in the US (beef, pork, lamb), their nutritional information, and where they are located on the animal. The client is Rain Shadow Meats a small local butcher store in the heart of downtown Seattle. The butcher store prides themselves in friendly service, quality meats, and a nod towards being local, organic and sustainable. The stores mission is to have the customer have the best experience possible they hope to do this by having an info graphic on meat cuts to help educate their customers on different meat choices before their final purchase.

Target Audience

Anyone that wants to know where there meat is coming from, and wants to better educated themselves on the nutritional value of each cut. Health critics, shoppers, cooks,ect.

Objectives

The objective is for the user to be more educated and to better understand the meat that they are about to be ingesting into their bodies. Where it is located,nutritional value, and where it probably came from.

Obstacles

The main obstacles will probably be language barriers, I will need to make sure my images speak for themselves, my diagram will also not include all meat things like chicken that don't have cuts wont be included and so people that want nutritional information on that with have to go somewhere else to find it.

Key Benefits

People will gain a better understanding on the meat they are eating, and possible choose healthier choices.

Support Statement

The benefits of creating this info graphic out weight the obstacles, because it is giving people information, if they don't understand it because of language barriers, they don't understand it and there is no harm done, however people that do understand it will be better informed and more knowledgeable because of it.

Tone

Light and educational tone.

Media

This will be on posters put up at chain supermarkets in the meat section where people purchase there cuts. It could also be on the web for those people that just want to educate themselves on meat cuts.

Creative considerations

The design of the info-graphic will hopefully be able to speak for itself but if it doesn't clarifications will only be in English. For the web there will be additional information because of the ability to hover, and click.

project 1 information sources

http://www.mealsforyou.com/cgi-bin/customize?meatcutsTOC.html

http://culinaryarts.about.com/od/meatpoultryseafood/tp/cutsofmeat.htm

http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/Articles/Cooking-Tips--Techniques-642/beef-cuts.aspx

http://food.unl.edu/web/meatproducts/cuts

project 1 competative analysis

what is out there.....

Project 1 inspiration

Concept-
SOme cool infographics that I found to start inspiring me to do my own info graphic.

1.)http://visual.ly/worst-oil-spills-history

2.)http://www.coolinfographics.com/blog/2009/12/16/free-infographic-holiday-cards.html

3.)http://pinterest.com/pin/171207223304673832/

Ideas for info graphic

1.) smoker info graphic on how you look on the inside and outside for male and female over the time that you smoke.

2.) information on the basic wine types and what they pair well with what foods.

3. information on caffeinated drinks showing the best way to get the most caffeine without drinking too much.

4. a diagram. info graphic on identifying beef and pork cuts in location to where they are anatomically and what it is thats on your actual plate.

5. identifying men's facial hair styles and what it says about them.

6. Info graphic on amotocan symbols.

good resources

http://www.uxbooth.com/blog/complete-beginners-guide-to-interaction-design/ http://www.netmagazine.com/features/10-steps-engaging-interactive-user-experience

chapter readings Information design week 1

Design is powerful, it directs us on where to go, sets down rules, and runs our day to day lives. design is implemented in such a way that we have learned to trust it, whether it is wrong or right. Good design leads us to where we need to go but bad design can cause chaos and sometimes lead to death. Design is implemented to be more than just a tool for the eye, if designed right it can clarify, simplify, lead, inspire loyalty, sell millions and save lives. To be a designer now is great because we have acknowledge design as a useful tool that society has evolved to depend upon. For this reason alone we need to create our design in a way that makes since. When we design we need to create an experience for the individual that can cut through the clutter and get to the idea at hand and to do this you need to be in the zone. The zone means that you as a designer have a passion for asking questions and learning more, a keen eye for detail, respect for the end users time, and the empathy to imagine what others feel doing these things allows you to have a user-centric mindset, and once you have that you will never see the world the same again. The new world you will be seeing is information design and because it is needed everywhere and is so vast that not a single set of designers can cover it, it is broken down into categories. We have information Information Architecture, Interaction designer, User Experience Designer,Usability research and testing specialist , simplification of forms, and way-finding are just a few. One thing we know is that the more complex the information is the greater the need is for information design process. The factors that all play a part in information design are writing, editing, graphics and illustration to help insure the effective communication of information. Information design is ubiquitous, its all around us we see it on the roadway signs as we drive, the map we use to get from place to place, a brochure for a product, websites , and instructions on a prescription bottle are all forms of information design.

We are hit with thousands of adds a day things we see, read, and hear are coming at us 24/7 which can all of a sudden become information overload so to help with this we design in a way that reduces things to an essential relevant and manageable minimum which creates some extra guidance to help sort through the rebel. RObert E. Horn says it right when he says, " what we need is not more information but the ability to present the right information to the right people at the right time, in the most effective and efficient forms, and that is what information design is.