Visual Data Research Project

In Year 3 of my college program (Honours Bachelor of Interaction Design), I was tasked with planning and designing an original infographic based on an object that I owned in my house. It was a very fun project to do since I had to apply both my illustration skills and my writing skills. In my opinion...I think it turned out pretty neat!

Task: Create an easy to understand infographic based on an item around my house using Adobe products.

Platforms Used: Traditional pen and paper, Adobe Illustrator.

First Approach

To begin, I had to choose an item that had more than 6 components to it, both internally and externally. Luckily, first thing I looked at was my microphone stand.

Once that decision was made, the next step I took was actually a deep dive into understanding the mindset behind my target audience in the form of an empathy map (as shown below.)

Empathy Map

I had to focus on how my target audience thought, saw the world, heard the world, smelt the world, tasted the world...all the senses. Especially their inner most feelings.

To summarize, the empathy chart gave insight into who the target audience would have been if my "product" were to be equal to that of a mass produced commodity. Specifically, I would be designing an instructional infographic for an assortment of individuals that are in some way connected with audio recording - podcasters, voice actors, vocal artists, etc.

The Written Part

Due to the large scale of an audience, it would mean that the language of the infographic must be understandable and simple, with a tone similar to that of a friend that is instructing the reader on how to use the microphone stand.

As seen above, the rough version of the steps was written pretty much at the same time as when the graphics were being translated from the physical plane into the digital (using Photoshop.)

Later, in some of the variations of the final drafts, you will notice these steps being simplified into the aforementioned simplified language that can appeal and be understood by pretty much any audio-recorder that is looking to hold up their microphone.

The Visual Part

The final version of this project, according to the directions of the school professor, must be done on a digital platform. However, my preference is to first draw out the visuals on traditional paper before I convert them into the digital world.

As shown below, physically drawing out the graphics not only solidifies what I want the visuals to look like, but it also is a part of the "brainstorming" portion of my process, making it easier for me to understand on an intimate level what my product can actually do/what are its components.

I took a picture of the physically drawn pages (as shown above) and imported it into Adobe Illustrator. Using a simple, black pen tool, I traced over my physical drawings on separate layers to make the exporting process easier. The most difficult part, from when I partook in this part of the process, had to be keeping the line thickness visually interesting, while also maintaining a consistent style.

Although I have lost the file, I did take a picture of the object itself and used the same pen tool to draw out the far more detailed illustration that will be shown within the rest of the images below.

The Drafts

In terms of the layout, I was inspired by some visually fun yet basic infographics that I had researched online, especially instructional graphs that are professionally produced.

My first thoughts during the process of making these drafts were, 'I need to show as much as I can while making it look simple and informative.' As I went on, however, I gained some feedback from some of my peers mentioning how crowded the layout had become with the added list in between the steps and the stand image. As well, the grey palette was the most favoured, followed by green, then orange.

The Finals

Some major changes that you might see in between the drafts and the final includes a change in labelling format, reduction of colour variants, simplification of text for the steps themselves, and some minor resizing for better visual coherence.

The final version of the infographic is what I presented within class, with the grey colour palette being the one that appealed to the most users. There even is enough space at some of the corners to add copywrite and warnings that are legally required to be presented from a brand like this.

Note: the name present above the image of the stand is not the real name of the product itself - it is instead a rename for the purpose of simply making the graphic a little more original.