eye-catching science: finding the visual story in your data
TRANSCRIPT
Eye catching science
Finding the visual story in your data Part 2: Making it look good
FUTURE EARTH POP-UP
WEBINAR SERIES
Quick recap:
• You’ve established where this graphic fits into your strategy
• Established who’s going to consume it
• Established how we’re going to deliver or publish it
• Established the key messages it’s going to deliver
• Established what tool/s we’re going to build it
• Researched some good examples of how other people have solved their communications problem
In case you missed it:
futureearth.org/blog/pop-webinars
Design = lining things up?
• Aligning the physical & the metaphorical:
- Your style with your message
- Your metaphors with your story
- Your heading sizes with each other
- The positions of things
- The visual style of any graphical elements you use with each other
- Your colour choices with their meanings
Working with layouts
Heading Heading
Sub Heading
Where do things go?
Create a grid
Align objects to grid
Add items that you need. You can ‘span’ columns where necessary, but be careful…
Some grids can be very complicated, but more complicated = harder to use
HeadingBlurb for the the page verit que aspis secusamusam harum aturiscite voluptaquod quam hitat. Sam quatem eicae cus as quiscii scimus ullut pore volorporum dolorro
You can feel free to break away from your grid just make sure you have a good reason
Youcan be
but still respect the grid
'VIEXMZI
Learn to love space
Chapter 2
Sub Heading200.1%50000
Sub Heading
Use open space to: Emphasise section breaks
Sub Heading
Sub Heading
Use open space to: Emphasise certain information
Type A Type BUse open space to: Group and separate information
Use open space to:
Sub Heading
Sub Heading 2
Sub Heading 3
Timeto
think
Sub Heading 4
Allow time for the eye to rest in the document
You don’t have to fill every space, let your space work for you.
Learn to love alignment
When an object is too close to another object without aligning properly, it creates a kind of visual ‘stress’ which can distract your reader.
Fix this stress either by moving the objects far enough apart that it disappears or align them properly.
Example Text
When an object is too close to another object without aligning properly, it creates a kind of visual ‘stress’ which can distract your reader.
Fix this stress either by moving the objects far enough apart that it disappears or align them properly.
Example Text
When an object is too close to another object without aligning properly, it creates a kind of visual ‘stress’ which can distract your reader.
Fix this stress either by moving the objects far enough apart that it disappears or align them properly.
Example Text
When an object is too close to another object without aligning properly, it creates a kind of visual ‘stress’ which can distract your reader.
Fix this stress either by moving the objects far enough apart that it disappears or align them properly.
When an object is too close to another object without aligning properly, it creates a kind of visual ‘stress’ which can distract your reader.
Fix this stress either by moving the objects far enough apart that it disappears or align them properly.
When an object is too close to another object without aligning properly, it creates a kind of visual ‘stress’ which can distract your reader.
Fix this stress either by moving the objects far enough apart that it disappears or align them properly.
Learn to love your text
Never stretch your text to fit a space.
Fonts have been very carefully designed and stretching can ruin their visual balance. A
A A
Avoid complicated effects.
It is harder to make complicated effects look professional, so keep it simple, unless you have a good reason.
It is also usually better to avoid complicated, gimmicky presentation effects.
Avoid complicated effects.
It is harder to make complicated effects look professional, so keep it simple, unless you have a good reason.
It is also usually better to avoid complicated, gimmicky presentation effects.
This is more powerful.
Avoid body text that is too small, or too big.
If your text is too small, it is difficult to read.
If it is too big, it can also be difficult to read in large blocks
This is too small for paragraph, or body text. Smaller text may be okay for things like image captions, image credits, footnotes etc, but if you make your text too small in a document, people will have to work too hard to understand the document.
Avoid body text that is too small, or too big.
If your text is too small, it is difficult to read.
If it is too big, it can also be difficult to read in large blocks
This is too big for paragraph (or ‘body’) text. Larger text is great for headings and pull quotes, but not for long sections of text. It takes longer to read in a block and can limit your readers’ understanding
Avoid using ‘justified’ text in narrow columns.
In wider columns it looks neat. In narrow columns it looks messy.
Narrow columns a n d b i g w o rd s messy set to full justified alignment Hendundis aspitis d o l u t o m n i s t i o f f i c i m i , odiciusdam, sinum essin et asperatios rest ios exceper spidus qui volorum, s u n t i n t i l i q u i s molupta
Avoid using ‘justified’ text in narrow columns.
In wider columns it looks neat. In narrow columns it looks messy.
Narrow columns and big words messy set to full justified alignment Hendundis aspitis dolut omnisti officimi, odiciusdam, sinum essin et asperatios restios exceper spidus qui volorum, suntint iliquis molupta
“But which ones do I use?”
labnol.org/internet/best-google-font-combinations/
Choose the right colour for the job
DANGER!
image © Ard Hesselink
Red might mean danger, food, love or heat...
GO!
image © Jim O’Neill
Green might mean ‘go’, nature, freshness or even poison...
BLACK LABELBLACK LABELBLACK LABEL
BLACK LABELBLACK LABELBLACK LABEL
Black might mean death, mourning, elegance or expense
Blue might mean calm, sincerity, trust, or royalty...
image © Jim O’Neill
Choose a job for the right colour
Use colour to:
• Add emphasis and clarity to information• Highlight difference• Create relationships
A kind of default - everything has a different colour
Type A Type B
What if there are relationships we can highlight with our colour choice?
Try not to think of colour as a decoration,
but as another information tool
Why some colours aren’t friends
Colours are close in TONE - not enough contrast is difficult to look at
Increased contrast - easier to look at
Choosing the right chart type for your data, example 1
fusioncharts.com/charting-best-practices/selecting-the-right-chart/
Choosing the right chart type for your data, example 2
extremepresentation.typepad.com/blog/2006/09/choosing_a_good.html
There are many other visualisation methods to consider, research is key
informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/the-billion-dollar-o-gram-2009/
informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/billion-dollar-o-gram-2013/
Infographic design process example
Brief: Create some small infographics to complement a blog post on a legal report concerning governance in Peru
Brief:
Create a graphic or series of graphics to support blog piece on the findings of a legal report into governance jurisdictions in Peru.
INTERACTIVE INFOGRAPHIC Complexity of Governance:The complicated multi-level, multi-jurisdictional landscape of Madre de Dios, Peru
RAW INPUTS
“…”
STATE OWNED LANDS
OIL PALM PLANTATION
TIMBER CONCESSIO
N
REDD+ CONSERVATION PROJECT
NATIVE COMMUNITIES
SMALLHOLDER COMMUNITIES
Regional Directorate of
Agriculture (Titling)
National
Ministry of Agriculture
(Regulation)
Regional Directorate of
Agriculture (Titling)
National
Ministry of Culture
(Regulation)
National Ministry of Forestry
(Regulation)
District Government (Permitting)
National Ministry of
Environment (Regulation)
RAW INPUTS
RAW INPUTS
Process sketches
Process sketches
Process sketches
Process sketches
http://www.cifor.org/gcs/landscapes-governance-peru/
Interactive conversion
Thanks for joining!
Need some inspiration?
visual.ly/view
informationisbeautiful.net
pinterest.com
Did you miss the previousFuture Earth pop webinars?
futureearth.org/blog/pop-webinars