Working in teams (if possible), you are asked to create a series of three posters that
share a graphic system/convention, and that will revolve around a ‘moment in time’.
The content displayed in each poster should follow a single theme and be designed
to present the information that you have recorded.
You will need to:
• Decide in your groups what each member will be documenting.
• Document information/data for exactly 1 hour between the hours of 5pm – 6pm.
• Present the information in a clear and suitable fashion that is relevant to the topic.
• Ensure the posters work as a set as well as individually.
The system and style you choose should ensure that all information is
communicated effectively.
You should pay special attention to your making and/or software skills.
Visual System definition:
Visual Systems are really important in Graphic Design, as they try to make a more unified set of visual elements. They try to explain complex data and messages in a more simple and unified way. Different systems have different approaches, some can be more rigid with specific rules and some are more spontaneous. The visual system is a “life jacket” for designers, giving you a set of rules that you can abide by when everything gets confusing.
This module focuses on using Visual Systems to aid in Information Design. The first project we’ve been given is to create a series of three posters that document a “moment in time” from 5-6pm. I began the process by thinking of different things to collect information on that could make an engaging visual.
The first day I sat on the green outside my house from 5 to 6 and documented all of the animals (and people) I say throughout that hour period, and also documented which types of birds I saw. The next day I scrolled through social media for an hour and documented how many times I felt happy, angry and sad. And for the final day I walked my dog for an hour and documented how many times he peed, pooped and met other dogs.
One of the examples shown to us of a visual system that stuck with me most was Isotype. Isotype is a visual system designed by Gerd Arntz in a time of illiteracy so that information could be portrayed to the lower classes. All information is presented visually with small illustrations representing different things in industry and life.
I wanted to use a similar pictogram method to portray my own data. I wouldn’t use the standardised Isotype, but rather create my own vectors to use.
With this in mind I started to sketch ideas digitally for the poster design.
I also did a less influenced sketch for the social media data I had collected, but I think overall the visual language I would have tried to use (a more obvious infographic style) was less engaging.
So moving back to the pictogram Isotype style work; it was suggested to me that I focus on finding a reason why. A theme behind the data collected and why it was done.
I struggled with this for a while before realising that all I was doing in looking out of my window and observing the world outside my home was paying attention for once. So I realised that my theme was paying attention. So much occurs just outside where we live, and because it’s our normal we just don’t care. It was nice taking some time out of my day to pay attention to the fun and interesting things that always happen! It was almost an exercise in mindfulness, and I really enjoyed it.
It was also suggested that I broaden my horizons and look into non organic things that happen in my street, such as bikes and cars going by. This provides a more broad and full sight into the daily occurences that we overlook. I sat down again on the second monday to retake my data for the same hour (which wasn’t as pleasant as the week before due to an unfortunate temperature drop). I was surprised to still see a few butterflies around because of this!
We discussed using the Isotype style vectors to also depict different types of people. I decided to just focus on age and gender as those are the two things you can properly determine without having to annoy random people on a housing estate with questions about themselves.
The next step will now be to make minimalist iconography to represent each category of creatures/vehicle that I’ve documented. I’ll start with a more detailed image, and then figure out which features I can remove one at a time to minimalise the image without losing the meaning of the icon.
Prosaic Vocabulary 