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.