Assignment 1.1: Infographic Response

1. Learning Targets

2. Infographics

     Infographics are great tools for delivering complex information in a simple way.  Think about the many signs you encounter as you move about your city: crosswalks, gender-specific restrooms, school zones, slippery floors, fragile items, etc.  These sorts of signs are infographics in their most basic form. They communicate an important message, they do it quickly, and they do it visually.  

     But when we think “infographic,” we often imagine a more convoluted graphic, probably mixed with text and charts.  There probably isn’t one logical, left-to-right, way of reading it, like a novel. Sometimes these sorts of infographics are intimidating at first glance.  Unlike your city’s signs, these infographics require a few minutes to read and digest. But, the amount of data that can be communicated in this short time is astounding.  

     Infographics are more than just data delivery systems.  They encourage the reader to synthesize and evaluate the data.  As we examine an infographic, we’re able to make connections between the bits of data and, in doing this, we realize new information.  Watch the video below on data visualization. Pick out some of the strategies David McCandless suggests for effective data visualization and illustrating main ideas.

3. ASSIGNMENT 1.1

Go to "1.1 Infographic Response" Assignment on the main page of the course to complete this section.