This assignment was to create an infographic using pie charts, bar charts, scatterplots, or line charts. We were asked to find something about our life that we could quantify and present the data in the form of creative graphs. The project was very open ended, as the only requirements were for there to be legible graphs depicting data and text that coincided with the visuals.
I created an infographic for St. Edward’s, complete with pie charts, a bar chart, line chart, and other creative data representation. My completed project was 11×17 poster board and included text along with graphs.
My first step in completing this project was to determine the data I wanted to present. I debated the options of using the amount of sugar consumed by humans, data surrounding the human right to water, or daily social media usage of St. Edward’s students. I decided to go with St. Edward’s demographics breakdown. I knew this was data I could find easily and I wouldn’t have to spend a majority of my time collecting, much like my chloropleth map where I spent almost the entire time gathering data. Once I had an idea of what data I wanted to present, I began categorizing what would work best with what graphs. I understand data like population percentages would work best in a pie chart, whereas the progression of undergraduate applicants over the years would best be presented in a timeline. I created all of the maps in Illustrator, and then began to manipulate and modify them so they were not just generic graphs. I found colors that worked well together and kept the color consistent throughout the entire page. I focused on hierarchy and placement of graphs because I wanted to guide the reader throughout the layout. Then I wrote the text and determined the best locations for the text and graphs.
The first decision I made was to decide what data to present in my infographic. Once I had that, I was able to determine which components of the data I wanted to use. I then decided which graphs to use, how to modify the graphs, and what colors to use. I followed no real path throughout this process, but it was more of an experimental phase where I would try one thing and then another. I decided to use Garamond font because it is the St. Edward’s font used in all marketing exposures, and Ostrich Sans as a header font because it was light and airy.
My design embodies the idea of St. Edward’s demographics in the sense that the data is presented in a professional, clean, and legible way. Infographics are always interesting because they present data in a way that is much more interesting to read than generic graphs. The spreadsheet I gathered my data from was solely black and white, and did not supply any creative outlets. The way my data is portrayed on the colorful charts entices the reader to look intensively, specifically due to the use of multiple colors and hierarchy of the text.
