After consulting with my group before Thanksgiving break, we determined what needed to be done in order to finalize our storybook infographic. Following the in class critique, this is what we came up with:
This version is very much improved from our previous draft for a number of reasons. The fonts, to start, are very fitting in terms of this being a storybook themed infographic. They are also eye catching and easy to read, as the spacing makes for a quick read and the contrast between the black text and the white clouds is also more appealing to the eye. We also utilized the space on the truck and the smog behind both the truck and plane which added a creative element. In order to clarify the elements on the right of the infographic, we added signs indicating the skyscrapers are representing Boston (where our audience is located) and that the crops are supposed to be a community garden. In addition, we reworded some of our facts and statistics to make them easier to read and more cohesive when read all together. For example, now both clouds of smog have units in pounds of CO2 as well as the cloud above the tree and the city. This will help with the flow of the infographic when it is read. Finally, we changed the trajectory of the plane!
This version is very much improved from our previous draft for a number of reasons. The fonts, to start, are very fitting in terms of this being a storybook themed infographic. They are also eye catching and easy to read, as the spacing makes for a quick read and the contrast between the black text and the white clouds is also more appealing to the eye. We also utilized the space on the truck and the smog behind both the truck and plane which added a creative element. In order to clarify the elements on the right of the infographic, we added signs indicating the skyscrapers are representing Boston (where our audience is located) and that the crops are supposed to be a community garden. In addition, we reworded some of our facts and statistics to make them easier to read and more cohesive when read all together. For example, now both clouds of smog have units in pounds of CO2 as well as the cloud above the tree and the city. This will help with the flow of the infographic when it is read. Finally, we changed the trajectory of the plane!
I think this is vastly improved, and the removal of the map data really freed up what would have been otherwise cluttered space. However, in terms of clutter, I think the small blurb on how trees can absorb CO2 is cool, but I don't see how it connects to the larger theme of farm to fork, it is related to the overal CO2 issue, but not specifically to the issues with transporting food. One other note (I'm not trashing your graphic, I really like it), but perhaps shortening the amount of words you use to say how much gas the truck uses in a trip would be useful for decluttering.
ReplyDeleteI like your story book fonts, but the ones for the signs are a little hard to read with the spacing in between letters, and I'm not sure how well they'd read at a distance.
This is great! (Also thank you for changing the plane's path, haha)
I see what you mean by the small blurb about the tree not relating to our main purpose of the infographic - I think we added that to fill a gap and make the text clouds flow better. I'm also realizing that there's a grammatical mistake in that sentence ("trees can absorbs")! I agree with your constructive criticism of the clutter; we struggled to make sentences with statistics more concise. Thanks for your feedback and yes, changing the trajectory of the plane was one of the first changes we made!
DeleteI like this a lot. I also appreciate the fact that you took criticism and didn't change everything but did change errors and changed things that would only improve the visual. I agree with Ryan and how some blurbs are a little long and can make it seem cluttered, but i definitely think that it is a good amount of information. I don't, however, agree with what he said about how the trees absorb CO2. From what I can tell, it is an example of a direct effect of the CO2 emissions on the environment.
ReplyDeleteA minor thing that I think should really be changed is the usage of lower case vs upper case letters in the signs. I immediately knew that was going to read "Boston" but the capital letters made it very hard to read. It also took me a while to be able to read "Community Garden" but it would have been easier if the letters were simply lower case! That's all. Great job! (P.s. I love the clouds with the writing)
I agree with your advice on making the community garden and Boston not all uppercase in terms of it being difficult to read, especially if people are reading it quickly on an infographic. Because we are trying to communicate a lot of information to an audience that isn't aware of this issue, it is so important to present it in a readable, engaging way. Thanks for your comment!
DeleteThe whimsical style makes the content, a serious climate issue in the modern world, much more approachable and easy to understand.
ReplyDeleteWith all the text being in clouds, it ties everything together and makes the graphic more cohesive. I can immediately find where the information is supposed to be, and each time it's relevant to that specific part of the image, such as the cow talking about beef, the plane and truck talking about the fuel usage, and the exhaust talking about the amount of CO2 being produced per trip. The comparability allows you to see which method of transportation is better overall.
Great job!
Thank you! We definitely did this on purpose in order to create a juxtaposition between peoples’ naive assumptions about food and the stark realities. The format of the infographic definitely seems to make such a daunting issue seem much more approachable. I'm glad you appreciate the cohesiveness and flow of the infographic!
DeleteAs part of your group, I can see that we utilized their feedback and changed the font on our signs. I think the new fonts are Boston and Community Garden specific. I think our group truly used most of the suggestions we received to improve our infographic. I think hearing the perspective of people who had not been constantly looking at the same infographic shed light on it was a valuable asset to us during the design process. I agree with Sahil about where we placed information because I think by putting so much care into where everything was placed allowed us to convey the information in an effective and yet implicit manner.
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