The infographic we were assigned was the Anatomy of the librarian.
We concluded that there was far too much information with a hierarchy which is not entirely clear. The same size of font is used throughout making it quite dull and a lot of information has been used in a small space making it sore to the eyes.
The bulk of the learning came from the illustrated sections. These attracted us more as we were inclined to read some of the information around it. They were beautifully drawn and the glasses in particular were quite ironic as the were a pair that you would stereotypically associate with an old librarian.
The designer engages its user through the use of the illustrations. The illustrations are successful as they create a variety of appeals and can be seen in different ways from the wider audience. The target audience for this poster is most likely library users and librarians. The information is very much targeted at someone who is interested in librarians as it very much explored there lives socially and professional life. The designer clearly wanted to portray as much information to the user as possible. There needs were not fully thought about as it is very full and would benefit from some white space.
The format seems to be on a grid where two and three columns are used. It is very full and it appears as though the designer felt he needed to fill every inch of the page with information.
The type in the heading is used very well, mixed with illustration, it appears very beautiful and 'librarian' like it has and elegance and age about it which is very librarian. Type is not used that well throughout the rest of the design. They seem to have used the same size font throughout and not varied the weights where it would have created a better feel and communicated to the audience better.
Symbolic imagery is used in certain aspects. Particularly in the graph with the shoes and the graph with the glasses. It has a very fluid and organic appeal. The shoe graph makes it a bit more exciting showing the difference in male and female. The red heel looks very fancy and has associations with a young female librarian whereas the male shoe looks old and associations of an old man. The information then explains what percentage work as male or female librarians.
The colour used are very dulled pastel The colours of blue red and browns are used in the books and create an old presence to the design. The red used stands out very much and then is used to highlight specific areas of text in relation to the illustration. For example the red half of the head's information is red and the grey is grey.
Type and imagery do not work too great mainly because a lot of the information is stupid. In the graph about hourly rate the comparison is to a nurse and then everything. How is this logical? Overall it is very confusing. However the percentage of librarians wearing classes looks really good together with the large Bodoni like font.
The style is very simple and we were not sure if it referenced a specific style that enhanced its appeal yet.
Design Process.
Firstly research infographics
Gather information about library's -visit-experience-interview-variety of different ones.
Identify areas in which could have illustration incorporated that add more and create excitement.
Have an understanding/research human anatomy to understand brain and information for librarians anatomy.
Think about stereotype's and how this could enhance the user experience.
Font choice
Colour choice
Layout.
It's very strange that other members of your group seemed to describe this with far more clarity and analysis than you did. No one asked if the information is stupid or not, but how it is conveyed and how it uses design to convey it. Your personal opinion on it was never required. This analysis is very surface and could be far more considered.
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