Informotion: Animated Infographics
Humans process visual data quicker and more naturally than abstract textual information. Infographics shorten the path to understanding and in many cases makes it possible in the first place.
«The strength in images is very often in simplicity and in reducing things to the basic requirements rather than trying to dress it up too much»
Findings in brain research demonstrate that communication via several channels of perception can significantly improve the absorption of information. Information graphics present part of the content on a visual level, which the brain can decode faster and store better than it can with abstract text or unclear photographs alone.
There is so much potential in this field with new technology! We can make almost any kind of infographic possible on the computer, we just don’t know how yet; designers lack knowledge
Who selects what information is to be shown?
What is the story?
What is the core message and what is the producer trying to achieve?
How do I create a viable plot?
Who writes the text and is it read in a way that suits my animation/visuals?
Are my comparisons appropriate and comprehensible enough to be grasped immediately?
The field of information graphics calls not only for the abilities of a graphic designer but also for those of a director or journalist.
Humans process visual data quicker and more naturally than abstract textual information. Infographics shorten the path to understanding and in many cases makes it possible in the first place.
When creating any information graphic, one must first understand the content, then process the data correctly, and ultimately choose an appropriate form to represent it.
Infotainment!
An object is never just seen: the viewer’s surroundings, time and site, events and states of mind always play a role.
In order to design information in such a way that it can be absorbed despite the limitations of our sense organs, every designer concerned with communicating specific content and especially communicating information should know the principles of and ideas behind the psychology of perception. (Perception: the sensory awareness of physical stimuli coming from creature’s outside world)
Information is constantly compared to constructs or schemas stored as part of one’s inner world of ideas.
Four theories of perception for the practice of visual communication:
- Theory of expectation
— People see what they want to see; when opinions change, perception changes. An understanding of the target audience’s previous knowledge and media competence should be developed.
- Theory of structure
- Theory of empathy
- Gestalt theory
— A gestalt is a group of elements in which the whole is more than the sum of its parts; a unity. (the smiley) Elements relate to each other and add to their meaning in a way that does beyond the original information.
During visual perception, model-like images (gestalt images) are produced in the brain. GESTALT LAWS
Often the eye feels magically attracted to depictions produced by observing the Gestalt laws. Our brain is constantly searching for patterns.
«Information graphics present complex facts synoptically—that is to say, at a glance.»
«All graphic elements in an information graphic convey information; everything else is superfluous.»—Edward Tufte
… (some info on screens and pixels and dpi which is just plain wrong and makes me doubt everything else in this book)
There has to be a well thought out narrative concept to entertain the viewers and keep them interested for the duration of the animation.
WORKFLOW
1) Researching the subject adequately
2) Adressing the target audience
3) Deciding what key messages will be communicated
4) Finding the appropriate form of presentation
5) Considering the medium and the restrictions or possibilities it implies
Interactive web applications, infotainment
Construct a narrative plot line
Sounds can reduce visual complexity, conveying information through the auditory channel
Focusing the viewer’s attention via movement and colour