Week 7 Day 1 (Feb 27) - Homework

1. Find at least 3 examples of effective information design (must not be identical to examples shown in class; preferably examples not found online; must not be considered infographics).

Photocopy and/or scan each of your three chosen designs, then write up 1-2 paragraphs, for each design, that clearly explain and analyze the following topics .

1)What is the purpose of the information design. What did you learn from the information?


2) What specific characteristics made the information design successful?


3) Where there any failing characteristics of the information design [chart junk? aesthetic issues? lack of information]? If so why did they hinder the clarification of understanding the facts?

Post reflection question responses and scans of three information designs to blog post titled "Effective Information Design Examples"

Be sure to consult previous lecture notes and use appropriate terminology. Be prepared to discuss your finding in groups next class session, Wednesday, Feb 29.

2. Burn CD will all exercise work (process and designs) completed so far in the semester; Exercises should include of the following:

• 10x10 (Energy Drink Product Design)
• Cropping Exercise (L shapped crop marks)
• Ken Burns Slideshow
• Letter Action Verb
• Farmers Market Icon (final and revised)
• Produce Process Animation
• Designer Case Study Research Presentation

3. Part of wednesday class will be devoted to continued research for Timeline of Visual Communication/Writing/Typography project. Bring materials to work on project progress.

Information Design

Recommended Resources:

Envisioning Information (Edward Tufte)

Visual Explanations (Edward Tufte)

The Visual Display of Quantitative Information (Edward Tufte)

Beautiful Evidence (Edward Tufte)

Else/Where: Mapping — New Cartographies of Networks and Territories (Janet Abrams, Peter Hall)

Data Flow: Visualising Information in Graphic Design (Robert Klanten)

Visual complexity : mapping patterns of information (Manuel Lima)

Visualize This: The FlowingData Guide to Design, Visualization, and Statistics (Nathan Yau)

The Information Design Handbook (Jenn Visocky O'Grady)

You Are Here: Personal Geographies and Other Maps of the Imagination (Katharine Harmon)

Information Design Workbook: Graphic approaches, solutions, and inspiration plus 30 case studies (Kim Baer)

Maps of the Imagination: The Writer as Cartographer (Peter Turchi)

Cartographies of Time: A History of the Timeline (Anthony Grafton + Daniel Rosenberg)

Week 6 Day 2 (Feb 22) - Homework

1. Continue Visual Journal blog daily entries. 


2. Continue research for History of Communication project. Creation process will begin after Spring Break.

Week 6 Day 1 (Feb 20) - Homework

1. Continue animation for Produce Process Exercise. Final renders due at the end of the next class session (12:30/4:30) Wednesday, Feb 22. Upload mind map, storyboards and final h.264 quicktime to blog post titled Produce Process Exercise by 12:30/4:30pm.


Will be graded based on: design + composition aesthetic, consistency in graphically reduced icon visual style, rhythm and pacing, technique with transformation animations.

Week 5 Day 2 (Feb 15) - Homework

1. Digital presentation for the Research Project: Designer Case Studies due next class. Final PDF must be transferred to instructor's station in the "Case Study Presentations" folder at least 10 minutes prior to the start of class (9:20am/1:20pm). Presentations should run between 10-12 minutes in duration.


View presentation schedule for morning class
View presentation schedule for afternoon class



2. Continue animation for Produce Process Exercise. Final renders due at the start of class   end of class (12:30/4:30) next week Wednesday, Feb 22. 

Week 5 Day 1 (Feb 13) - Homework

1. Continue producing your digital presentation in InDesign for the Research Project: Designer Case Studies. Final presentations due in 1 week, Monday, Feb 20.


2. Work on Produce Process animation. Storyboards must be reviewed before moving forward with animation. Vector graphics should be created, prepared and imported into AE by next class session.

Produce Process Animation Exercise

Using at least one of your graphically reduced icons from the Farmer's Market exercise, you must create an animation that visualizes the process of growth, harvest/sale or culinary preparation of a particular farm raised piece of produce.

1. Begin with Mind Mapping (10 minutes). Explore related objects, environment of process, colors relevant to produce process.

2. Next storyboard compositional views of your animation (at least 8 different frames). Consider transformation properties to be animated, as well as design elements + principles used to structure visual narrative.

3. Use After Effects to create your visual narrative. (Comp settings NTSC DV, 30-60 seconds in duration)

Only simplified vector form and shapes (icons, indexes, symbols) should be used.

NO use of type is allowed.

May animate basics transformation properties and masks. NO use of effects and/or cameras allowed.

4. Render animation as H.264 format and post to blog by start of class, next Wednesday, Feb 22.

Week 4 Day 2 (Feb 8) - Homework

1. Make refinements and changes to Farmer's Market Icons, post version 2.0 large and small format jogs on blog post titled "Farmer's Market Icons V2".


2. Continue Visual Journal blog daily entries. 

3. Begin creating your digital presentation in InDesign for the Research Project: Designer Case Studies. Review of rough template to be checked next class session, Feb 13.

Week 4 Day 1 (Feb 6) - Homework

Continue Part III for the Graphic Reduction: Farmers Market Icons exercise

Begin the digital translation process of your 3 chosen pieces of produce.  Get started by digitizing at least 3 of the best rough sketches created for each chosen piece of produce. Then pick the best drawing from each three pieces of produce to further refine into a final "drawing" (roughly 8x8" in size). Print each large format piece of produce separately onto a letter size sheet of paper (8.5" x 11'"), as well as print a small format version (all three 1.5" x 1.5" pieces of produce on a single sheet of paper). 


Keep in mind the style and visual language applied to your graphically reduced imagery should be consistent and cohesive throughout. Consider the purpose and characteristics of graphic signs as discussed in the lecture last week.

All exercise work must be pinned up on wall and added to blog by the start of class Web, Feb 8.


Be prepared to discuss the following reflection questions during your critique:


Does the final simplified image maintain the essence of the original object? Why or why not?
What did you learn about the object from the physical analysis?
What did you find most challenging about this exercise?
What pleases you most about the final image?

Week 3 Day 2 (Feb 1) - Homework

1. Complete part II of the Graphic Reduction exercise. Upload work completed for part I and II by the start of Monday's class.

2. Continue Visual Journal blog daily entries.

3. Be prepared to show me your research progress made for the Designer Case Study presentations, as well as what project you intend to cover as a detailed case study for your research project by the start of Monday's class.

Graphic Reduction: Farmers Market Icons

Part I


1. Choose 3 different types of produce (vegetable or fruit) you would find at a Farmer's Market. Consider seasonal and/or regional availability, as well as the type/category of fruit (dry vs fleshy) or vegetable (root, leafstalk, flower, bulb). Research its physical characteristics, anatomy and culinary usage.

2. Create a diagrammatic drawing highlighting and describing the various features and anatomical parts for your three chosen piece of produce.

Due by the end of class today, Feb 1.

Part II 


3. Acquire/purchase and photograph each your three chosen vegetables/fruits. Do a physical analysis and study of each chosen fruit/vegetable. Study each piece of produce from a variety of angles and viewpoints. Then photograph your produce individually from different angles, lighting conditions, and viewpoints. Take at least 8 different photographs of each fruit/vegetable.

Next do a series of ten to fifteen rough sketches (4" in size) for your graphic reduction study of each original piece of produce. Keep only the essential attributes that best describe the object. Upload all content from Part I and Part II to your blog.

Due by the start of class Monday, Feb 6.

Part III


4. Refine and translate your final drawings (8x8" in size) of all three pieces of produce into a final black-and-white study. Your final drawings must be created digitally.

Due by the start of class Web, Feb 8.


Recommended Research Resources
http://www.britannica.com.ezproxy.lib.ou.edu/
http://www.accessscience.com.ezproxy.lib.ou.edu/
OU Library Resources