1. welcome to
HOW TO MAKE A BEAUTIFUL THESIS
“Impressive Meyers, but let’s stick to your quantitative projections”

2. Hmy name O
ELL is
I AM A

4.  gestalt
 information design principals
 some typographic principals

5.  information design is the study and practice
of bringing clarity and comprehensibility to
visual materials that are meant to direct,
teach, explain, or otherwise inform.
Ronnie Lipton

6. (NOT JUST A DESIGNER THING)

7. CAN BE QUITE IMPORTANT ACTUALLY

9. WHAT’S WRONG WITH THIS INFOGRAPHIC?
Scale 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Skill Development 86% 77% 90% 96% 92% 89% 92%
Goals and Expectations 75% 80% 83% 88% 92% 87% 88%
Examination 74% 62% 72% 77% 79% 80% 78%
Supervision 64% 65% 70% 80% 74% 72% 75%
Infrastructure 52% 44% 60% 68% 67% 65% 74%
Intellectual Climate 45% 34% 49% 54% 56% 55% 59%
Overall Satisfaction 68% 69% 73% 87% 85% 78% 75%

10. ANY BETTER?

11. WE LOOK FOR PATTERNS

12. WE WANT PATTERNS TO MEAN SOMETHING

13. WE WANT CHANGE TO MEAN SOMETHING

14. GESTALT LAWS OF PERCEPTION
(not a nasty infection)

15. SIMILARITY PROXIMITY FIGURE/GROUND

16. SIMILARITY
 more important should be visually ‘louder’

17. PROXIMITY
A label gets lost here
A label goes nicely here
 put stuff next to the thing it refers to

18. PROXIMITY
 always align stuff

19. FIGURE/GROUND
Inctium sinctat voluptatur? Inctium sinctat voluptatur?
Arumquam ellaut aruptam sum Arumquam ellaut aruptam sum
is alit dolores dolore aut es is alit dolores dolore aut es
diaspic aturepe porro comnis- diaspic aturepe porro comnis-
tio conseni musam, sunt officie tio conseni musam, sunt officie
ndicid ndicid
LOW CONTRAST HIGH CONTRAST
 make the content stand out from the background

20.  serif OR sans serif / we read best what we read most
 Typefaces communicate
 contrast between thick and thin strokes is hard to read
 minimal contrast and is easier to read

23. SIGNAL TO NOISE RATIO
 information = signal
 everything else = noise

24. SIGNAL TO NOISE RATIO
 minimize pattern and line thickness
 remember figure/ground

25. LETS SEE WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE

26. there are only five ways
TO ORGANIZE INFORMATION
L ATCH

27. LOCATION
ALPHABETICAL
T IME
CATEGORY
HIERARCHY

28. ALPHABETICAL
 arrange by sequence
 for non linear information
 or no other way to organize it

29. TIME
 arrange by chronological sequence
 timelines, step by step instructions, calendars time tables

30. LOCATION
 arrange by geographical or spatial reference
 for data flow about distance / geography

31. CATEGORY
 arrange by similarity or relatedness
 users looking for information in this form
 library catalog, periodic table

32. HIERARCHY
 compared sequentially by common measures
 highest to lowest, best to worst

33. LET’S TRY IT OUT
make a graphic of “I will survive” using the LATCH method
First I was afraid Go on now go walk out the door It took all the strength I had
I was petrified just turn around now not to fall apart
Kept thinking I could never live ‘cause you’re not welcome anymore kept trying hard to mend
without you by my side weren’t you the one who tried to hurt me the pieces of my broken heart
But I spent so many nights with goodbye and I spent oh so many nights
thinking how you did me wrong you think I’d crumble just feeling sorry for myself
I grew strong you think I’d lay down and die I used to cry
I learned how to carry on Oh no, not I Now I hold my head up high
and so you’re back I will survive and you see me
from outer space as long as I know how to love somebody new
I just walked in to find you here I know I will stay alive I’m not that chained up little person
with that sad look upon your face I’ve got all my life to live still in love with you
I should have changed my stupid lock I’ve got all my love to give and so you felt like dropping in
I should have made you leave your key and I’ll survive and just expect me to be free
If I had known for just one second I will survive now I’m saving all my loving
you’d be back to bother me for someone who’s loving me

34. SURVIVED!
LEARNED TO CARRY ON
GREW STRONG
NIGHTS SPENT FEELING SORRY FOR MYSELF
CRYING & MENDING HEART
AFRAID/PETRIFIED

35. WHAT INFOGRAPHIC SHOULD I USE?
 bivariate (one thing is compared to another)
use a table
 multivariate (more than two variables are
compared) choose a chart
 Quantitative or Qualitative

36. QUANTITATIVE
 show measurements and quantities

37. QUALITATIVE
 show processes and connectedness

38. WHICH CHART SHOULD I USE?
and how can I make it look good?

39. BAR CHARTS
APRIL
MAY
SALES $US
JULY
TROLLS GNOMES BILLYGOATS
 good for comparing numeric quantities
 compares like to like most easily

40. LINE GRAPH
SALES $US
TROLLS
GNOMES
BILLY GOATS
APRIL MAY JULY
 show development / relative position over time
 emphasize the yearly trend instead of comparison

41. PIE CHART
example by Seth Godin
 bar chart implies importance
 pie chart shows extent of the troll problem in proportion

42. DESIGNING TABLES
 one dataset per table!
 notice information, NOT the table structure
 decrease the noise
 make the background behave

43. DESIGNING TABLES
 use dashes or ellipses for missing data
 tints help the eye read across or down
 se fonts with open counters / no serifs
u
 never horizontally scale type

45. DESIGNING BAR CHARTS
 don’t always need a frame or increment marks
 differences of height should be discernible
 type should be in proportion to the data

47. PIE CHARTS
 don’t use an ellipse—it distorts the data
 don’t use busy patterns or 3D effect
 make sure colors are tonally contrasting

48. LINE GRAPHS
 background and labels should not overwhelm the lines
 the scale should allow us to see variation
without exaggerating the data

49. CAN WE MAKE THIS BETTER NOW?

50. 100
SKILL DEVELOPMENT
95
GOALS AND EXPECTATIONS
90
85
EXAMINATION
80
75 SUPERVISION
INFRASTRUCTURE
70
65
60 INTELLECTUAL CLIMATE
55
50
45
40
OVERALL SATISFACTION
35
30
%
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009

51. 
Questions?

52. B YE
GOOD
e]
our name her
[insert y

53. This presentation was created for non-profit educational purposes. These image credits are best guess based on
where they were sourced, some have been passed around the internet a lot and the original is hard to identify. If any
of the copyright holders wish me to remove images please contact me directly on: anitra@anitraland.com
Image Credits:
Page 1: New Yorker Cartoon, by Paul Noth
Page 6: Apple Inc
Page 7: AP
Page 8: AP
Page 11: USGS
Page 12: Yuism.org
Page 13: Education Database Online
Page 14: Wikipedia (Photographer Unknown)
Page 15 L-R: Shutterstock / learning solutions magazine / designer unknown
Page 16: Julian Weidenthaler
Page 17: mrkism.com
Page 18: Megadesign
Page 23: Screen Grab from TV screen, Author Unknown
Page 24: via Presentation Zen, photographer unknown
Page 25: Seth Godin
Page 28: Apple Inc
Page 29: Wikipedia Commons
Page 30: Good Magazine
Page 31: Squidspot.com
Page 32: Designer Unknown
Page 36: Seth Godin
Page 37: GoBeyondweb.com
Page 41: Idea and image by Seth Godin
Page 44: Pew Internet / Designer unknown
Page 45: Bons Design Helsinki
Page 46: Huffpost Politics
Page 47: Seth Godin / Author Unknown
Page 48: AP