Design School Confidential

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Job:05-11998/12412 Title:RP-Design School Con dential

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project brief

Communication often occurs in multiple formats.

The purpose of this project is to have students

convey complex information in several distinct

formats. In this class, students are required to

be researchers, authors, editors, and designers.

A good amount of class time is spent on content

development where the students explore the es-

sence of the story to determine its inherent struc-

ture. From there, they represent this structure in

visual form, allowing the viewer to engage with

the content in a way that is accessible at fi rst

glance and easy to comprehend. Students are re-

sponsible for choosing a topic within the domain

of physical health and well-being, researching

and developing content, and designing the fi nal

pieces. Along the way, they are asked to examine

the differences between the formats and to work

with the characteristics of each. Such characteris-

tics deal with the sequential/holistic, viewer-con-

trolled/presenter-controlled, permanent/ephem-

eral nature of each. Students are challenged to

consider design issues such as narration and se-

quence, visual hierarchy, progressive disclosure,

cognitive preparation through advanced organiz-

ers, matching of content structure to visual struc-

ture, units of viewing, and information density.

project goal

Projects will be designed in three different for-

mats: booklet, poster, and a slidelike presenta-

tion. The topic for the initial project will address

physical health and well-being; subsequent topics

can be areas where the student already has ample

knowledge. We will also conduct an audit of exist-

ing visualizations to analyze the project’s success

(or lack thereof), and examine design principles

used and possible alternate solutions.

Class: Communication Design Workshop

Level: Masters

Faculty: Tomoko Ichikawa

Duration of Project: Seven to Fifteen Weeks

18

Illinois Institute of Technology, Institute of Design

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Visualizing Various Information Types across Multiple Channels

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Human Vitamins

Student: Kyungsun Kim

The challenge, when trying to describe the world

of vitamins, is solved by dividing the thirteen vi-

tamins into two basic groups: water soluble and

fat soluble. This became the basic structure for

my poster and booklet. The poster uses two very

dynamic, abstract images of water and liver/

intestines to represent the absorption process

of the two groups. The poster also outlines the

benefi ts and defi ciencies of each vitamin.

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Benefi ting from a dramatic im-

age that visually describes sco-

liosis, viewers are shown how

to detect the condition early,

understanding of the various

types of scoliosis, and major

treatment options. Clear and

simple structuring of the con-

tent, effective use of typograph-

ical hierarchy, and informative

graphics in each of the sections

result in an easy-to-view poster.

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Scoliosis

Student: Phillip LaFargue II

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Biotechnology versus

Organic Food Production

Student: Lucas Daniel

By demonstrating comparative

information of two opposing

types of food production and

distribution, this poster at-

tempts to educate on various

levels. In what is essentially

an annotated and illustrated

matrix, the viewer sees compar-

isons at each step (indicated

in the middle column in gray)

from production to market.

The introductory paragraphs

on top under the “Biotechnol-

ogy” and “Organic” headings,

along with the text between

the two faces, synthesize the

big story that sets up the

remaining content in the

poster. A comparative timeline

appears at the bottom to

indicate major milestones of

each production method.

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Childhood Obesity

Student: Jessica Gatto

My poster compares daily activities of families in the U.S. with

obese parents and those with nonobese parents in the U.S. Activi-

ties include eating together, being active as a family, and television

viewing. Contrasting the body mass index of the two groups from

toddler age to young adulthood is also revealing. Comparisons are

done in a nonjudgmental fashion, allowing viewers to arrive at

conclusions on their own. My booklet provides a more sequential

narrative. It outlines societal factors that contribute to obesity—a

steeper increase in carbohydrate consumption versus protein con-

sumption, a more rapid rise in the price index of produce versus

soft drinks and sweets, and a decrease in walking and biking—and

offers solution areas, calling on parents, schools, and the media.

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