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.