2. ‘Writing Center’ for media assignments & projects
Focus on Conceptual and Aesthetic
1-on-1 and small group 30 minute consultations
What is DesignLab?
7. 1. Research Question
2. Gather Data
3. Organize Data
4. Analyze and Find Relationships
5. Thesis Statement
6. Make Aesthetic Decisions
7. Produce Graphic
8. Sketch Layout
9. Draft & critique
Information
Design
Create an Infographic
8. 1. Research Question
2. Gather Data
3. Organize Data
4. Analyze and Find Relationships
Information
= ≠
Create an Infographic
9. 1. Research Question
2. Gather Data
3. Organize Data
4. Analyze and Find Relationships
5. Thesis Statement
Information
Create an Infographic
11. 1. Research Question
2. Gather Data
3. Organize Data
4. Analyze and Find Relationships
5. Thesis Statement
6. Make Aesthetic Decisions
7. Produce Visual Elements
8. Sketch Layout
9. Draft & critique
Information
Design
Create an Infographic
12. 1. Concept
• Is the thesis statement reinforced visually
2. Aesthetic
• Overall appeal, flow, convey important info
3. Technical
• Did the producer pull off what they were trying to do
Critique
14. • Software Training for Students (STS) offers free classes for
students: http://www.doit.wisc.edu/training/student/.
• Hours of free Lynda.com training videos on a range of
software: http://www.doit.wisc.edu/training/lynda.aspx
• Check out equipment (laptops, audio/video recorders, etc.)
at Infolabs across campus: http://ecs.library.wisc.edu/
Campus Resources
*Class assignments, student orgs, independent projects & professional development
Focus on the “Design” vs Technical Training
Scope the project – organize your thoughts
Design the experience – think about your audience – how do you want them to think, feel about your project
Shape the content – how do you achieve your goals
Make the media – so a lot of thought goes into the process before you go to the software
what do you want your audience to think, feel, learn
Think about user experience before you start sketching!
You have your research Q, maybe you’ve gathered data, now you need to organize your data and lets talk a little bit about analyzing and finding relationships
If they are equal treat them with the same style – font size, color – just like those leaves on that tree
Reinforce same but different with the opposite color (remember the light on dark background and dark on light background)
If you are comparing and contrasting maybe purple is in the center with blue and red on either side – think how you can visually represent the relationships
for your infographic your thesis statement should be obvious
Lets look at a few examples –
Without even reading anything - What is the thesis statement – Africa is huge
Once you’ve got your information then going into the Design portion – make aesthetic decisions –Pick Colors and Fonts based on your message and thesis statement
Produce visual elements – Use fair use images – from Creative Commons
Hand sketch a draft of your infographic before you go into the software
Treat the software like a upload and place (like InDesign) vs trying to manipulate an image (like Photoshop)
Finally Critique
