Final Project

Design Rationale

We’ve designed a creative project in order to present what Visual Communication has taught us this semester, which is graphical excellence. Graphical excellence gives the viewer the greatest number of ideas in the shortest time with the least ink in the smallest places. The basis of our project is the state of Rhode Island. We outlined the state on a big white foam board. We utilized fundamental models that we have learned and have been practicing throughout the semester to fill in the state. Six devices were used, each to describe a city/town in Rhode Island. We used collages, a concept map, pie graph, mind map, location map, and a bar graph.

Samantha was in charge of the towns Bristol and Narragansett, RI. Bristol was represented as a collage that incorporated all the special elements of the town. The collage is very linear which makes it clear and easy to see all the pieces. Although collages can be somewhat overwhelming with ideas, this one has low level of cognitive load since it is organized very neatly. Bigger words/images stand out in the collage, similarly to a TweetCloud. Attention first goes to the words ‘Bristol Pheonix,’ ‘Hawks,’ ‘1776 Liquors’, etc.  The origional collage made was 8.5” by 11”, however did not fit inside the area of the state on the poster board.  We had to cut the collage up in order to arrange it in the physical shape necessary.   

Samantha represented Narragansett as a concept map. This was very effective in showing the main aspect of the town (beaches) as well as all the associations one can make, for example, the beer, Narragansett. The concept map is simple in that it doesn’t include images or color (other than the title Narragansett). The concept map is a diagram showing the relationships among concepts. This graphical tool organizes and represents the knowledge of Narragansett clearly and effectively.

Diandra was responsible for the towns of Newport and Warwick. Newport was presented as a bar graph showing some brief history for five local mansions in the town. Along with creating a bar graph, using excel, a chart was also necessary to explain the information given. The data provided the names of each mansion along with the year each was built in, the architecture style/and or architect and
lastly the overall price for constructing the mansions during that time period.

Diandra created a mind map for the representation of Warwick. The mind map was revolved around the main airport in Rhode Island, T.F. Green. Although T.F. Green is normally referred to be located in Providence, it is actually located in Warwick, R.I. The mind map was constructed with the center as an airplane and showed all the necessary steps one needs to do in order to fly. The theme of the mind map was the process of booking a flight following the instructions of check in and locating the proper flight.

Ryan designed a Pie Graph for his first visual that depictefter d the percentage of the Race variety from Woonsocket, Rhode Island. Using five different colors, one color for each race, it is easily visible that Woonsocket is made up of mostly Caucasians, with a small mix of Black, Asian and Hispanic/Latinos that reside all over the city.

The second visual that Ryan designed consisted of mapping out the hot spots of Providence, Rhode Island. Researching mainly around the city, the map uses color coded symbols to display where things are such as restaurants, shopping areas and hotels for when you have to spend a night. The map is split by the canal which runs all the way through Providence, acting as a divider between some of the shopping areas and colleges of Providence.

After the six towns were placed in the correct locations inside the state of Rhode Island, we created a holistic collage to identify more specific areas and characteristics of the state of RI.

Personal Response

After finishing our final visual project, I think our group was extremely successful at designing and carrying out our plan of creating a visual that explained what we learned during this semester. Everyone in the group did exceptional amounts of work and we never had a problem with meeting up to discuss the work loads. All in all I' m very happy with our final presentation and I think ours will stand out among others in the class.  

Multivariate Display

For my multivariate display I chose to research some information on my home town in Massachusetts and design a graph around this information that would allow for an easy understanding. The graph is shows the amount of homes sold quarterly from the years of 2005-2010 and the price that they sold for. The multivariate graphs that we were shown in class during the Great Depression were said to be "too complex", so I kept the variable number to two, hopefully allowing for a simple understanding. 

One thing that could have been introduced was color, to show a difference between the two forms of information that are being given. Maybe just a red line along the line graph could have added a pleasing design, although the bar graphs I think should be left white so ones eye is not drawn directly to them. Also, One more variable could of been included, like a population display along the top part of the chart, thus showing the population levels while house sales increased and decreased. All in all I enjoyed doing this because I found out some info about my town I didn't know and actually realized how small it is too. 

Storyboard

Sketch #8 Simple Tables and Graphs

 

The information I pulled off of RWU's website included the Undergraduate Applications and Admissions percentages from 2003 to 2008. At first I struggled with transporting the information from the PDF file to Excel because I haven't had much experience with the program in past years. I began plugging in the years and categories that were going to be tested, followed by the recorded information that would express the common trend.

 

 

When I created my graph, the numbers traveling on the Y and X axis' were incorrect to the ones that I had plugged into the table on the corresponding side. Fortunately the bars kept their form which helped show the trend line of a clear increase in applicants and acceptance percentages in the five years recorded.

All in all the process of this exploration was very tricky because of my lacking Excel skills. The options for graphs were endless and I wanted to keep myself safe, so I chose a simple 3-D version of a bar graph that I think works visually. The increase of undergrads through a five year span is clear with the aid of the color coded table including all the recorded information.

Explanation Graphic Blurb

The first graph is the visual that I chose to correct. It was created for several Police Departments in Ohio to show the redundancy of robberies from 2007-2009. There are three different color combination's for the three different years that each have twelve points, one for each month of the year. The second graph is my interpretation, which is based off the first but corrected in areas such as color and text clarity to establish a smoother navigation while reading. The color palette is reduced to two colors instead of three which creates a background and foreground to establish a clear way to distinguish the difference in the years. The numbers are also a little simplified to create space between each other which allows for ones eye not to struggle when looking for a number. 

Explanation Graphic

Google.com Flow Chart

 

My  flowchart for researching Dual Coding and Cognitive Load is a simple design that explains how to use google.com and dogpile.com to surf the world wide web. It uses arrows and shapes to help one navigate through the steps of the chart, ovals to indicate the start and beginning, squares to represent process, and diamonds ti signify a question. There are several other shapes that stand for other steps that might be included in another type of  process of steps. There are two in the beginning that include entering a url address and then entering a search topic. After searching, a question asks if your search was successful. If yes then you continue and click on that link but if your search is not successful, then you are told to click on the back button where you then can specify your search and then re-enter the new search in the search bar, while cycling you back towards the beginning. After you're able to find a site that fits your needs you can navigate that web page until satisfied, bring you to the end.I found that using flow charts makes everyday things seem stretched out but I can't imagine having to explain large amounts of information, it would become a puzzle to navigate.

Amazon.com Flow Chart

The Amazon.com flow chart was a very strenuous process because of membership restraints. I ended up having to make an account which was included in a few of my process squares. This was a very linear design because of all the process steps of Amazon's search capabilities, but in all it was not that difficult. After being able to log in to your account let the searching fun begin, because your can search through several different categories or if your already know what you want you can enter the title and search the site. The purchasing process takes little longer because of all the payment and billing information that you might have to enter depending on your method of payment. The finishing step is just a click away and your order is being processed in Amazon's databases.

"How to" Spaghetti Dinner

The instructional "how to" spaghetti dinner chart was initially a simple process when I thought it out in my head, but as I started sketching I realized that the process had a lot more steps when being put down on paper. I began with boiling the water and warming the tomato sauce. Naturally I designed the chart to be read top to bottom and left to right, but I think aesthetically it is correct. Step 3 shows the pasta being added to the boiling water and then stirred shortly after. The center of the chart contains a dinner table that symbolizes the step of setting the table while the spaghetti cooks. After draining the spaghetti, divide it on the plates along with the tomato sauce, and enjoy!
As a total design I think it's successful in instructing someone to make a spaghetti dinner with only using visual elements. At first I thought it would be easy but instead it became a visual puzzle that I had to put together.

Lawncare Chart

The Botts fertilizer sketch was an interesting way of trying to explain an amount of information without using any actual words and only visual elements. I began with the arrows which distinguish the difference between above ninety degrees and below ninety degrees, using green and red to show a difference.  I sketched a sun icon to represent the dry conditions, thus applying the A-1 fertilizer to the lawn. Fertilizer A-1-1 is shown with an insect icon to represent the insect repellent added in this separate fertilizer mixture. Wet conditions are shown with the rain clouds which comes with or without insect treatment.

Designing this chart was difficult at first because I wanted to show the information in an ordered form while having colorful icons to help represent the conditions for applying the fertilizer. Keeping a simple design that enabled someone to read and understand the information quickly was the main goal in order to be successful.

Collage

When I first started cutting out pictures I didn't know we were trying to design a collage. I began trying to find something to fill the middle which was the UV advertisement. I cut out a couple weird pictures of characters that are in the media today that might have an alcohol influence to their work, for example lady gaga.

I noticed that with a lot of the others they were successful in creating a interesting collage and I don't think I truly did. It's too empty and the white space breaks it up even more that I expected. If I were to change it I would focus on a theme and explore that so the collage would have a structured appearance.

Affinity Map 2

I chose to create a affinity map to explore what vehicles are popular within gender guidelines. I decided to choose vehicle popularity because of the range of vehicles that we have on the market today is endless. Whether it's an SUV or sports car, people have associated certain vehicles with certain genders for a long time and i thought it would be interesting to explore my outlook on gender/vehicle relationships.

I began with a simple X/Y axis labeled by popularity and gender. I then began to make a list of all the car companies that I could think of on a separate sheet of paper, which started to compile quickly. Next I placed the list and axis' together, allowing me to arrange the companies where I thought they best fit.

When I sat back and looked at my affinity map I felt it looked a little empty but i realized I had written very small. The simplicity felt correct though because if there were too many companies squished together the point of the map would become unclear.

   

Mind Map 1

 Map 1: I began with the idea of mapping out my major, which is Graphic Design. I figured there would be a lot to include with the depth of Design and all of its components. Naturally I started in the middle constructing the foundation of my mind map, carefully planning the location of each branch. In past years of school i've noticed I'm able to learn things much faster with visual cues so I tried drawing in as much of the context on my mind map.  But then I thought, AHA! Graphic Design is formed around visual communication and the recreation of ones own creativity.

Map 2: As I approached the second map I decided that exploring the elements of Graphic Design would be a good choice. Line, color, shape, type and illustration would be my main points included in the map. But I wanted the second mind map to be clear about the personality of the elements because it needed to be visually defined. So I gave each point its own personality in the sense of what defined the element. As I began to sketch again I figured I could incorporate a definition or sub element that would allow for one to understand my mind map a little better.

Conclusion: All in all I think using these mind maps is very interesting because I enjoy using visuals for a learning tool. I sketch a lot so I'm very comfortable when working in a sketchbook, because it's overwhelming to some people when having to start with a blank canvas. Both of my mind maps are very simple but they display a message that is easily seen throughout both. I think the idea of designing these mind maps is very clever because while designing and creating the information, your brain is soaking up what you're writing, and when displaying your map, ones observing it are able to visually understand what the content is.