
Dunedin, NZ — illustration by Jessie McKay and Gillian McCarthy
As a first contribution to Figures, it seems fitting to kick-off with looking at a recent project I ran with my second year Design Studies students. It addressed directly the potential value and possibilities in utlilising an infographic visual language in narrative-based communication. The project entitled, Duninfo, involved creating one information graphic which communicated facts, data and information about the Dunedin environment [but relative to a given topic]. All the information was to be gathered first hand via observation, surveys and so on. The impetus of the design was to tell or reveal a story about Dunedin, as well as structuring it to cater for multiple layers of information. Dunedin, for those who are unaware, is a modestly sized city near the bottom of the South Island of New Zealand. It has a large and rowdy tertiary student population which leaves town when the academic year ends and the weather heats up.
To kick the project off, the class was assembled into groups of three or four [based on information provided via filling out initially a job application form]. The aim of this exercise was to form balanced groups in terms of not only skill set but also interest. Once the groups were formed, they chose topics via a lottery from a set list [each group with a different focus, 16 groups in total]. The following topics were offered [those in red are the ones that were chosen]:

During the length of the project, groups were asked to submit their designs twice [in addition to weekly critique]. For the first submission, groups had to have ready a full draft, with all the necessary elements included, and a basic design form established. This submission revealed some quite interesting and particularly concerning issues about assumptions that are made of audiences. Through, at times, a lack of necessary information some of the designs were unfortunately completely ambiguous. Simple things like missing titles, a statement of intent, a legend / key, labeling and necessary annotations, it really did hinder the success and value of the design. It appeared that the ‘less is more’ premise, in terms of information design often doesn’t apply when serving to a seamless clarity and understanding.
Other concerns also surfaced as how can simple visual relationships be made to inform or add interest and wit to data? Can the language and phrasing which supplement the design effect its value? What impetus does colour coding, shape, pattern and difference have? And finally does the employment of typographic and pictorial hierarchy enhance the reading and sequence of the design? Identifying these concerns, at this stage in the process certainly helped groups refocus the intention and clarity of the designs. This was important too because the final designs were to be presented as A1 format. The effect of a larger scale especially seems to highlight glaring ambiguities and mistakes.
In the end, the final submission and body of designs by the groups were highly successful, with lots of wonderful observations and visual innovations made. This was especially rewarding, taking into account the very short timeframe and limited technical and conceptual thinking experience of most students coming to the project. With each groups focus being unique, every design, graphically and structurally, were quite markedly different and the interpretation of the initial words ranged from quite literal to strangely tangental and loose. Below are three examples from the project, each with starkly different visual approaches [you can click on them to view bigger in a new window]
Here is the original brief for the project: Duninfo Project Brief pdf [124kb]
- Scott Savage
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Scott is a Professional Practice Fellow, teaching Communication Design and Visualization at the department of Design Studies [University of Otago, New Zealand].
Project tutors: Tracey Gardner, Sian O’Gorman and Scott Savage
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DRINKFO by Claire Hinton, Michael Eyles and Jamie Metzger
[The migration patterns of Drunk University of Otago students, over a nine hour period]
Shoes . . . the window to the sole? by Gillian McCarthy, Jessie McKay and Chis Ong
[a survey of shoe types, colours and condition from six different areas in Dunedin]

Love by Josie Brough, Makiko Chiba and Andrew Jacombs.
[a flow chart of University of Otago students on love, sex and relationships]