Chapter 9 could be looked as an entrance of interactive graphics. Well, from my perspective, interactive graphics nowadays is a kind of things full of exploring fun, kaleidoscopic design, of course, the complex, advanced technology and software which I might never learn how to use… (leave me alone for a while.😂)
Interactive graphics began at 90s, a rather young field compared with journalism itself, but already show its power to the world, its ability of illustration shine on the stage that nobody can ignore. Go back to itself, despite that how far the technics have been going, there are some basic principles we need to know when begin to launch it. First is perceived affordance. That is, the interactive symbol should be understandable, like the key level (up, down, left and right buttons), which is clear at a glance; or the IOS system, in which I appreciate most is its delete function, easy to learn, just press the “x” and everything will be cleaned; no residue, no unwanted trash files, wonderful. The second point is that do not let your audiences explore the information which is indispensable to a story. It might sound good that let people dig out the valuable info.; however, what if they cannot find? Then the rest of the story would be ruined! After all, the functionality of interactive graphic should exceed its “entertaining”, since it is not a treasure hunting game. Third is the necessity of feedback. That means: giving a reaction (e.g. sound, flash, etc..) to readers, let them know what they’ve just done is correct or not. Another tips like constraints (curtail the types of functions for avoiding confusion), keeping consistent design style are always useful.
Take these four steps when make an interactive graphic: 1. Introduction: Tell users what they need to do with the UI design; 2. Conversation: basic interaction with users (e.g. “slip the screen”, “click the buttons”); 3. Manipulation: hard to explain… the design the 25m2room is a good instance; 4. Exploration: open world to free roam.
Last, how to plan an infographic: do research > plan > correct > execute > deliver~
I also read the profile 1 of John Grimwade. His work is really impressive, not only for his gorgeous sketches but the clear train of thought. And of course, the interview itself is enlightening. I used to study advertising when I was an undergraduate. There are a lot of theoretical courses in my beginning years, it is no doubt that we feel exhausted for so many theoretical things and desired a practical course deadly. Things changed at the third year. We had a graphic design class, and the lecturer who graduated from Accademia di belle arti BRERA DI MILANO, saw our problems, and told us that design is not as simple as we thought. It is not that give you a pen and you can do whatever you want; that is, design is not unrestricted, it does have its principles. He also gave an example of his professor who is too old to use the software but still the center of the design project. His abundant experiences could be a thing; but most important is the unique principles he developed through years which is technics cannot imitate. Theory is the foundation and guide for many things; sadly, it took years for me to realized it.
One conception we repeat over and over again is that the infographic design is neither the artistic creation, nor that just puting bunch of data into charts. It likes “dance in irons”, constrained by the purpose of “tell somethings valuable to your readers”. The air route of Grimwade is in this sense. Clear enough, good arrangement of content and elegant personal style. Insightful, absolutely.
One more thing is that DO NOT do the sketch on computer. I can’t agree more with it, since you put so much effort on creating it on platform, you’ll become unwilling to change the originality, too stubborn to accept other’s advices. So, as Grimwade said, don’t make your sketch so “advanced”.
Last thing, the interview offers a mentor for doing an infographic: organize a story + good sequence and good hierarchy.
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