The InfoGraphic Design (ID) project asks you to produce a 5-panel infographic focused on a data-driven story that you find worthy of telling. The ID project is challenging because it too requires you to harness knowledge of design, genre, media, professionalism, and audience expectations in the production of a data-driven visual experience.
This project requires prototype and final submissions (Version 1, Version 2). All files are submitted to an InfoGraphic Design folder in your shared course space on Dropbox.com.
For each submission stage, you'll post the following documents:
By your final submission stage, your project folder should contain 5 files for my review. For the full list of core and supporting documents/files, see Submission Requirements.
Like other assignments this semester, the InfoGraphic Design project brings together elements of research, design thinking, and information design into the construction of a document that is interpreted by creators in a variety of ways. We focus our creative energy on the classical definition of infographic as a data-driven story about a particular topic.
Consider our encounters with infographics so far. Infographics demonstrate all of the following qualities and characteristics.
An informative poster communicates meaningful information, but may not be data driven. That is, if it does not rely on gathered or measured evidence in any meaningful way, it is not an infographic. Another way to think of this is that infographics share data to develop and contextualize their subjects, and informative posters present details without evidence.
Images offer us ways of communicating ideas realistically, metaphorically, and everywhere in between. Words and images both are symbols that stand in for the things we attempt to communicate. The most effective infographics are built upon visual and textual content that both contribute meaning to the document. Thus, infographic design offers a context for expanding the strategies we use to present concepts and details.
If this kind of work comes easily to you, extend yourself. Rise to that challenge. If this kind of work is difficult for you, begin (and perhaps remain) in the realm of the concrete and obvious. However, whether or not you become proficient and facile with infographic design yourself, you will likely find yourself in a position to assess the quality and effectiveness of such content that has been created by others. For that reason (at least), focus on understanding what constitutes good design for these documents.
Document type: memo, infographic
Document length: 150 words (memo), 5 panels (Infographic)
Project value: 250 points (50 for prototype; 200 for final)
Evaluation rubric: _Eval_InfoGraphic.pdf
Recommended tool(s): Adobe InDesign/Canva (including Canva.com), Adobe Photoshop, scanning device/app, digital camera
The Infographic project requires you to construct a 5-panel infographic that presents a data-driven visual story about a topic of your choosing. Your infographic should present its content in a coherent, well-crafted document that relies primarily on images, but that implements meaningful text and explanations when appropriate and necessary.
To tell a data-driven story, you must have a subject to examine and discuss. Think of this process as writing an article about your topic, but with more images than text. If I were to complete this project, I'd lean toward topics that would be interesting and perhaps even entertaining to explore: board games, coaching high school sports, podcasting, homebrewing, or 3D printing. Past students have developed infographics that focus on a variety of topics:
People compile data on pretty much everything you could think of and share that information in a variety of ways: web sites, videos, articles. You need a subject that is popular enough to matter so that the likelihood of locating data sources is greater. However, you also need a subject that can be conveyed visually through realistic or abstract images, or a combination of these.
If you begin with a direction in mind for the story you want to tell about your topic, then you may be able to perform a more targeted inquiry to gather specific details. However, you may also be in the position of not knowing what kind of data-driven story you might tell, which means you'll need to explore the information available about your topic to determine what kind of data you might need and use.
I recommend that you begin with the Census Bureau website, regardless of your topic. That site curates a vast and diverse array of demographic data that will likely prove useful for your work. If your focus is any commercially available or commonly used product or service, or any popular activity, chances are there is data available on the site about your topic. Explore to determine what is available, and whether or not you have enough to begin developing your document. Note that the Census Bureau site hosts an entire section devoted to infographics. The device is useful for presenting data stories (obviously), and the government makes frequent use of it to tell the stories it finds meaningful. Although you might draw from the same source material as those infographic authors, of course you'll want to avoid following in their footsteps too closely to avoid plagiarism.
When you venture out in search of other data sources, consider using a combination of targeted internet searches with your preferred search engine (e.g., Google, Edge) and AI-driven searches using an app such as OpenAI ChatGPT, Anthropic Claude, or Perplexity AI Perplexity. With both of these tool options, emphasize words and phrases that will connect you with data: data, demographic data, qualitative data, quantitative data, sales/annual sales, popular. These examples might draw out data about purchasing and use trends. If you choose a topic that is less commercial and more about cultural or scientific phenomenon (e.g., climate change, waste management, epidemiology, poverty), then you might experiment with other words and phrases: impact of, solutions for, facts, myths, misconceptions. If you invest in gathering data from several sources, the process of constructing an infographic becomes easier.
Before you can begin to construct your infographic in a design package, you must figure out what story you are going to tell about your focus topic, and how that story might unfold. Although you may be able to begin with the title panel, it is more likely that you need to plan the 3 core storytelling panels first. With that in mind, refer to the framing & planning documents that I shared through SVSU Canvas (and that are also linked here: Williamson - InfoGraphicFramingDoc.pdf; Williamson - InfoGraphicPlanningDoc.pdf) Beyond the structure, think of what kind of story you want to tell: comparison/contrast, chronology of events, impact-action, overview, for example.
I strongly recommend that you begin the design process with the 2 docs linked above, some graph paper, and a pencil (whether physically or in a digital sketch app). Your infographic needs 3 panels, each of which draws on a minimum of 3 to 5 data sources. As we know from our class discussions of this genre of documents, many infographic panels draw on signficantly more sources than that. Look for patterns in your data, for moments in the story of your topic where multiple pieces of data might come together to tell an important part of the larger story. Plan the 3 panels around convergences of complementary details.
Remember that every effective, well-designed infographic tells a coherent story about its subject. With that in mind, the panels each serve a specific purpose. Plan with the end goal in mind. That means looking ahead to the next section, where you'll find details about the content of the infographic itself.
As you have done in the workshops that lead you into this project, experiment with multiple strategies for presenting data visually. When might a concrete, realistic interpretation of the data be most effective? When might it be more appropriate to use symbolic iconography? When might charts, or tables, or graphs be effective, and how might those containers be rendered thematically or creatively? Begin imagining the possibilities, & record those ideas in your planning doc. Then play out several possibilities for how to present each data point, or to present data points in concert with one another. Assess the effectiveness of each. Implement the best strategies in your document.
You've had access to a diverse array of example infographics that implement a variety of strategies for presenting content. Draw inspiration for your work from those examples.
Design your infographic to tell a coherent data-driven story about your topic in 5-panels. Textual and visual should both contribute meaningful information, with the visual providing as much core content as possible. In addition to the specifications provided here, use the sample documents I provided through SVSU Canvas (including the teaching document) to guide and inspire your own data story.
Your infographic should incorporate all of the following content elements.
Note. This panel need not have visual content in it, but title panels often do.
Hint. Consider the way the samples you have viewed combine multiple data points or threads within panels to make a coherent statement about the subject. This is your goal for each panel.
Hint. Many infographic panels use the title panel and a series of content panels to set up the final panel, where the author offers some summative or concluding collection of data, or where they offer recommendations for meaningful action.
Consult the supporting materials, including articles and sample documents from workshops and for this assignment (see SVSU Canvas Pages and Files: Workshop Support and Project Support) for additional inspiration and guidance.
A memo of transmittal introduces the document it accompanies, providing context for its audience(s). You will craft such a memo for each submission stage of the InfoGraphic project. Your memo should be addressed from you to me.
Your prototype-stage memo should incorporate the following content and design elements.
Your final-stage memo should incorporate the following content and design elements.
Consult the sample documents (refer to SVSU Canvas Files: Project Support) for additional guidance.
This section is designed to help you anticipate and avoid problems as you work on this project. Therefore, as you work, consider the following hints and tips.
Approach this project as a design strategist. Consider how audience needs and expectations for documents of this type, and how all of the design components coordinate and complement one another. Look at ways that data is presented in published infographics. When does it work? When is it confusing? What can you learn from these observations?
The heading says it clearly. Do not invest time in a project without also investing in the professional tools and technologies necessary for producing quality work. Take advantage of the university's resources and of the open-source tools that complement them. Part of your bigger goal for the semester is to learn how and when you can incorporate tools such as your personal technologies into your professional development processes.
Use Canva to construct individual data panels if you are new to design. Use Adobe InDesign to assemble your complete infographic. Canva is too clunky and clumsy to assemble the kind of infographic required of you for this project.
Although my experience with asking smart tools to create infographics for me have been deeply disappointing (as in, nothing usable has resulted), there are definitely ways that AI can assist you with this project.
Use Claude, Perplexity, and ChatGPT to track down data that might fit your story. Use ChatGPT, Ideogram, & Canva (if you have a paid account) to generate ideas for individual panels for your infrographic. This is where your play with prompt engineering for smart tools can come in handy. Feed the tool some data (or a data source), and ask it to generate an infographic. You can even prod it to use specific styles if you want to explore such possibilities.
However, do not expect too much from the tools. The results might offer you ideas for visualization that you can refine & rebuild, or even give you individual elements that you can grab & integrate into your own design. What you won't get is a viable, effective, professional infographic that meets specifications for the assignment (or any other application for that matter).
I assume that you will encounter design processes for tools this semester that are new to you. When that happens, do the research to locate support through web spaces (i.e., for companies that provide the tool) or video services (e.g., YouTube). Doing so puts you in charge of your knowledge acquisition and supports you in the use of the tools and technologies that you have access to.
Remember that communication in professional and technical contexts values highly the ability to write and speak with economy, directness, and professionalism. Another way of saying this is to make every word count. Stay focused on the details necessary to communicate effectively with your audience(s). Write and rewrite until your description and contextualization of the subject make sense and represent careful, concise, professional communication.
Edit carefully, seeking to express your ideas clearly and concisely. Edit out loud with the intent of writing in such a manner that your sentences sound professional and focused. Work to meet the design specs. Scrutinize your work so it is consistent, professional, and quality. Refine your document continuously throughout the stages of development.
The revisions and refinements you make as you prepare your submission may help you understand your design process, and therefore your professional development in more-sophisticated ways. Archive your drafts of this project throughout your its development, and of your final submission when it is ready, so you are able to examine your growth and maturation as you progress through the program.
Read and attend carefully to these submission guidelines. Failure to do so may result in points lost on the final evaluation of your project.
Create a project folder inside your shared class folder on Dropbox.com. Remember, I can only view files that you place inside the shared folder. Until you place files in that space, you have not in practice submitted them.
Name the folder InfoGraphic Design.
Note. Do not share this folder with me. By placing it in your class folder, you have already shared it by default.
Make sure the files listed below are available to me in the project folder by the project deadline. Post your infographic as a coherent document (i.e., in one file, rather than in multiple files). Export your infographic in a standard image format (e.g., JPG, GIF) or in PDF. Model your filenames on the listed examples:
Note. Do not share the individual files with me. By placing them in your project folder, you have already shared them by default.
Make sure the files from your prototype-stage submission and those listed below are available to me in the project folder by the project deadline. Again, post your infographic as a coherent document (i.e., in one file, rather than in multiple files). Export your infographic in a standard image format (e.g., JPG, GIF) or in PDF. Model your filenames on the listed examples:
Note. Again, do not share the individual files with me. By placing them in your project folder, you have already shared them by default.
This section describes the standards by which your prototype and final submissions will be evaluated.
There are 50 possible points for the prototype stage of this project. You will earn points according to the following standard.
The final project submission is worth 200 possible points. You will earn points according to the standard described on the policies page (see Policies for a description of these categories).
The specific areas of emphasis for the InfoGraphic project are drawn from this description and our discussions of the project (including the supporting teaching materials that I provide to you along the way). Review the project rubric (_Eval_InfoGraphic.pdf) for the specific qualities and characteristics emphasized in each evaluation category.
Remember that I will only post the point values for projects on the Grades page in SVSU Canvas. I will provide the supporting details relevant to that evaluation in your class folder in a project-specific file. Look for a Microsoft Word file in your shared class space on Dropbox with a filename that that follows this pattern:
YourLastName_Eval_InfoGraphic.docx.
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