Brief: Design a pair of cohesive posters for two distinct audiences on a randomly selected topic.
Goal + Audience: Clearly present information to two distinct groups. Adults ages 25-40 and Young People 16-24
My assigned topic was Fake News and disinformation. I wanted to challenge myself to work in data visualization and create a clear intriguing visual infographic.
Type + Color Study
With a topic centering around social media and digital information, I wanted a clean sans-serif typeface across my two posters. I ended up selecting Mr. Eaves Mod as it has a clean simple geometric style that fits the topic better than a humanistic typeface like Interpol Sans.
I knew from the start in doing a pair of posters that I wanted a simple complimentary color scheme. Each poster would have a prominent color and then utilize the compliment in small ways. This would keep them cohesive but still independent.
Moodboard
When studying infographics I found the most successful ones to have a clear use of color and organic shapes that made them both easy to understand and visually appealing. Most of them also have a strong contrast between colorful markers and black lines or types.
Sketches
My sketches for this project starting out were very broad, and I really wasn't sure what direction I wanted to take this in. I'm a very visual person but I tend to brainstorm best in lists and then sketch once the idea fully forms in my head. Then when I take it to the computer other modifications and adjustments can happen as I see the full idea come to life.
Initial Iteration Sketches
Initial Iteration Sketches
Visual Brainstorm for Data Visualization
Visual Brainstom
Potential Layout ideas for Map Based Poster
Final Sketch for Data Visualization
Iteration 1
Alternate Version
Iterations
Once I had settled on a layout idea for my first poster I began checking in with peers on its clarity. I received feedback that having the Facebook logo in the center combined with the color scheme made viewers assume the whole poster was about Facebook.
I also tried a variation that just showed the data on government-organized social media disinformation. I felt it didn't have the same impact as showing the full scope of government organizations, political parties, and private contractors.
I also learned about accurate scale in data visualization using circles. In order to accurately depict information you can't just use the diameter of each circle you have to use the area of the circle and scale it accordingly. I used this chart from Infonewt as a reference. In my final version, I made sure I used the correct scaling.
Iterations
My second poster went through a lot of experimentation. Initially, I knew I wanted it to be a recognizable social media post to attract a younger demographic. I started with just the written information and then tried out more numerical information and neither was as impactful.
From these unsuccessful iterations came the idea of creating a fake social media post. Something that would catch a viewer's eye and pull them in closer to read the caption which would inform them how easy it is to fall for misinformation on social media.
Iteration 1
Iteration 2
Iteration 3
Final Posters
