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.
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.
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.
