Hey Kids, It's Time To Use Infographics

I guess before I get too involved with the attributes, I should go over what the research is about. Basically, our class is doing a bit of research on infographics for our next assignment, which deals with t-shirt designs I believe?  So, here we are, looking at the picture above as if it has any relevance to what we're doing other than the fact that it says "infographics."



In fact, it does! If you click on the picture above or this link, you will be redirected to another site: an interactive infographic! The two main colors that this infographic uses would be red, blue and white. The colors help it contrast each other, acting almost as complementary colors, but not quite. The interactive aspect really grasped my attention as I kept scrolling down. Not only were there eye-popping colors, but the there were also moving pictures. I'm not going to lie, I kept messing around with the eye in the infograph because it was just creepy, but I was easily entertained. It provides enough information where the viewer is entertained but not bombarded and cluttered with text. The pictures and words interact as one, not as separate entities (unless they wanted to prove a point, but even then they're aligned with each other). The illustrations they provide reminds me of a printmaking because of how the coloring is not restrained within the lines. It has a friendly atmosphere which matches up with the mood they're trying to convey. And there is a bit of a surprise at the end, which I thought was a nice touch. 

As the previous picture, either click on the picture above or click this link to see the enlarged image. I'm a huge fan of the muted color choices this artist chose. Unlike the previous infographic where the colors were in your face, this one allows your eyes to rest a bit. The alignment is interesting as well. Even taking a glance at the small image,  you can see where the hexagon subtitles are lined up with each other. Even at the end with the Gameboy Advance next to the "End," it's still restrained in that same amount of space. The arrangement of the text and images are well organized. The artist has chosen to highlight certain words, enlarge the font by a tiny bit, and even changed the font slightly to emphasis those points. It also helps that the information that this person provides is interesting as well.

I'm not going to lie, this image is so straightforward, and I love that! Of course, I wished I got to see more fonts (maybe someone should create an interactive map where you can hover over a city and see the font for that city, maybe?), BUT this really grabs the viewer's attention. It's yellow, which automatically grabs the viewer's eye. Then you see the contrast between the black and white between the fonts, making the FONTS the main attraction. Sure you see the words, but they act as the image because, by contrasting the specific fonts, the viewer is forced to pay attention to the details. We see that the alignment is to the left, not centered and not in block form. The main body of text is aligned, not with the larger font, but the subheading of "Font" in blue. This way it's not kissing the edge of the yellow page. 

Want to know the difference between Serif and Sans? This infographic tells you all about it. 
This image uses muted red and blue as the clashing forces between Sans and Serif. The brown acts as the neutral party (and it's a neutral color). The background is not white, but a slightly tinted pink. However, I wouldn't say that the red is dominating this piece at all, but rather is at a stand still with the blue. Each color has their own side, not shifting to each other's side (which reminds me of this because it talks about the importance of sides and how it allows the viewer to smoothly follow what's going on). It's clear that each color represents something, but it does so subtly. For example, in the middle column underneath "In Typography," the artist makes sure to use brown in that area, showing that it's neutral territory or that both can be used. Even in the middle bubble states "May I suggest a compromise?" It's clear later on why the Sans is blue - it's better on the web (which the thought of the web would be blue). 

This chart shows something that all artists can relate to - the end result. It may say "how would you like your graphic design" but it applies to the bigger world as well (i.e. restaurants, artwork, etc.). The viewer is shown three primary colors: red, yellow, and blue. When they overlap, they give this dulled down color instead of the bright opacity it had. It emphasizes the point of negative outcome. As well as three large circles, there are three main white texts saying "fast," "cheap," and "great." then in the left side, a small grey circle sneaks in saying "free." It destroys the symmetry it had by adding this element. But it's a good way to show the real world too. We expect to be paid for what we do, but then people ask "can I have that for free?" So the small grey circle sneaking up is a good representation of what actually happens. (Also, you have to appreciate the word choice in this image).