Information Design

What is Information Design? Katrin Becker

overview

fleeting glance at information design

definition

what does an information designer do?

design process

domains of the field

related disciplines

key skills / competencies

a few examples

text

visual

interaction

sonification

bloopers

what’s next?

introductions (a.k.a. my philosophy)

rationalist

knowledge is a product of the mind actively organizing and making sense of experience

realist

there is an existence independent of our perception

empiricist

knowledge must be derived from observation or experience

What is Information Design? Katrin Becker © 2009 Information Design there is no single accepted definition this is a new field (10 – 30 years, depending on who you ask) extent and bounds still evolving diverse skills, applications, body of knowledge Information Design is the defining, planning, and shaping of the contents of a message and the environments in which it is presented, with the intention of satisfying the information needs of the intended recipients. ( source )

What does an Information Designer do? Katrin Becker © 2009 Information Design graphic design scientific writing technical writing book publishing desktop publishing web design and development multimedia production business and professional writing advertising signage documentation cartography

the design process

design is: (Budgen, 1993)

requirements: needs and constraints ( what is needed )

specification ( what will be done )

** design ** ( how it will be done )

implementation ( actually making it )

testing :

verification :are we building the thing right?

validation: are we building the right thing?

( making sure it was the right thing done right )

designing ‘ widgets ’

all of these elements appear in one form or another in every single design process, regardless of the thing being designed.

what do we need?

what will we do?

how will we do it?

DO IT

how did we do?

caution:

widgets aren’t really real.

the common elements of design

are just a starting point

so what’s the answer?

there is NO right answer

at least no single one.

there are many design models.

many models work well in specific instances.

none work reliably in all situations

even within a restricted domain .

Domains of Information Design Katrin Becker © 2009 Information Design Theory & Practice Design Systems Design Message Design Cognitive Strategies User Characteristics Development Print Technologies Audio-Visual Technologies Computer-Based Technologies Integrated Technologies Media Utilization Diffusion of Innovations Implementation & Institutionalization Policies & Regulations Adapted from: Instructional Technology: The Definition and Domains of the Field by Barbara B. Seels and Rita C. Richey ISBN 0-89240-072-2 Utilization Evaluation Problem Analysis Task Analysis Criterion-Referenced Measurement Formative Evaluation Summative Evaluation Management Project Management Resource Management Delivery System Management Information Management

what fields / disciplines are related? Katrin Becker © 2009 Information Design graphic design web development information architecture interaction design multimedia psychology software development usability user experience user interface design writing and editing instructional design computer science art information visualization sonification cognitive science industrial design new media data architecture epistemology ontology typography linguistics political science policy studies policy studies

what are key skills / competencies? Katrin Becker © 2009 Information Design teamwork audience analysis communication digital asset creating & management task analysis structured approaches interaction design research outcome analysis creativity human factors technology project management cost analysis life-long learning

information architecture Katrin Becker © 2009 Information Design Brad Paley’s Text Arc Averaging helps show the viewer where a word is used. "Gryphon" appears near 9:00, pulled close to his episode in the story by the rubber band-like action of the averaging.