This document summarizes a Beer & Brainstorming session hosted by Emily Lee at Big Studio Consulting where designers explored principles of design thinking. The session included exercises translating words to icons, discussing what makes compelling infographics, and splitting into teams to create infographics on assigned topics. Team A created a graph of designers' work styles, while Team B used a map of Boston along with colors and icons to show designers' commutes. Both teams effectively conveyed information visually in their infographics.

1. www.bigstudioconsulting.com
1 Broadway. 14th floor
Cambridge MA 02142
info@thebig-studio.com
Big Studio Beer & Brainstorming Session
Facilitated by Emily Lee
Infographics Creation Guide

2. About the
Session
What is Beer & Brainstorming?
Beer & Brainstorming is an
opportunity for the Big Studio team
to explore design thinking principles
and use rapid brainstorming
exercises to get to unique solutions.
Oh, we also sample delicious beers
from around the world.
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3. Overview
The goal of this session is to understand
what makes a compelling infographic.
• Our warm-up exercise featured
translating common and unusual words
into self-explanatory icons.
• We split into teams to create infographics
on different subjects.
• Each team pitched their ideas and voted
on a winner.
WARM-­‐UP
EXERCISES
WHAT
ARE
INFOGRAPHICS?
CREATE
AN
INFOGRAPHIC
TEAM
PITCHES
10
min.
10
min.
25
min.
10
min.

4. Warm Up Exercise (10 min.)
Translating words into unique icons
Idea
1st word
Marriage
2nd word
Observe
3rd word
Caregiving
4th word
Mental Exercise
5th word
Grandparenting
6th word
Renewable Energy
7th word
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5. Rapid Listing of Icons
5

6. What are infographics?
Visual Storytelling
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7. 1. Gather Data
Read through the data. Once you understand it, prioritize the most important and
interesting facts to craft a great story.
2. Find Inspiration and Sketch It Out
With a written story at hand, sketch ideas that best describe your story in a graphical way.
Find inspiration on the internet or in magazines.
3. Create a Stellar Infographic
Infographics come in all shapes and sizes. There are infographics that use graphics,
animation, and physical objects. What is the ideal medium to tell your story?
3 Steps to a Compelling Infographic
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8. 3 Examples of Infographics
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Using Icons Using Physical Objects Using 3D Models

9. Team Challenge (25 min.)
Each team randomly selected a subject for their infographic
Designers’ Work Styles
Team A
Designers' Commute to Work
Team B
Predetermined Subject A
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Predetermined Subject B

10. Team A: Designers’ Work Styles
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11. Result:
Team A examined each
designer’s profiles. They found
and mapped core similarities
among Big Studio folks.
The infographic featured
people’s work styles plotted on a
graph with the x-axis measuring
introvert and extrovert
personalities and the y-axis
measuring specialties in data-
driven and feeling-driven
designs.
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Team A: Designers’ Work Styles

12. Team B: Designers' Commute to Work
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13. Result:
Team B examined information on each
designer’s commute to work. There
were 4 factors to note: how far people
are from Big Studio, how people
commute, how long the commute
takes, and finally how the commute
feels.
The infographic featured the commute
on a map. They identified each of the
factors by distance, iconography,
numbers, and thickness of the line
respectively.
The challenge was to graphically
demonstrate each factor, relative to,
and independent of one another.
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Team B: Designers' Commute to Work

14. Key Takeaways
• Explore new visuals for common icons and unusual words
• Understand what creates a compelling infographic
• Create infographics about Big Studio designers
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Team A Conclusion:
The content displayed was revealing about
perceptions of colleagues’ work styles from
within members of Team A. By quantifying
and graphing these perceptions, Team A
established a baseline upon which we could
understand our work styles relative to one-
another.
Team B Conclusion:
Team B did well to display the information
gathered in a creative format. Using a map
of Boston, color coding, iconography, and
line density, they were able to convey a
great deal of information about each
designer’s commute in a format effective for
at-a-glance understanding.

15. 15

16. Join
us
for
our
next
session
info@thebig-­‐studio.com