Communicating Science with InfographicsDEBRA L. HYDORN

UNIVERSITY OF MARY WASHINGTON

AAC&U TRANSFORMING STEM HIGHER EDUCATION

NOVEMBER 8, 2019

OutlineInfographics FSEM

Communicating Science with Infographics

Examples

First-Year Seminar at UMWLearning outcomes - within the context chosen by the instructor, develop students’ skills in ◦ Research,

◦ Writing, and

◦ Speaking

FSEMs are mostly taught in the fall, with a limit of 15 students; instructors serve as student’s advisor for their first year

Infographics First-Year SeminarExplore Visual Communication through the use of graphs – Focus on effective infographics through:

Design ◦ Cognitive, Communication, and Aesthetic Aspects

Content◦ Data, Information, and Purpose

Implementation◦ Tools

Components of Infographics

Infographics vs. Data VisualizationGraphic visual representations of information, data or knowledge intended to present complex information quickly and clearly

The process of creating infographics can be referred to as data visualization, information design or information architecture

Course Content

Cognitive Principles◦ Visual Communication; Graphical Literacy

Communication Principles◦ LATCH and AIDA; How to make your message

“stick”

Aesthetic Principles◦ Organization; Use of Color; Typography

Tools for making Infographics

Components of effective infographics

Graphical Excellence – Edward Tufte

Well-designed presentation of interesting data – a matter of substance, of statistics and of design.

Consists of complex ideas communicated with clarity, precision, and efficiency.

Gives to the viewer the greatest number of ideas in the shortest time with the least ink in the smallest space.

Nearly always multivariate.

Requires telling the truth about the data.

Infographics AssignmentsIn-class Activities

Homework

Blog Posts

Papers

Projects◦ Some examples

Communicating ScienceAcademics to Academics

Students to Instructors

Scientists to General Audience◦ Understanding needs and graphical literacy of the

audience is crucial◦ Jen Christiansen, senior graphics designer for Scientific

American – increased expectation that scientists can communicate their research with the general public

Why Infographics?“The same forces that have made it possible for infographics to proliferate have also made us hungry for them. We are deluged with information, and infographics promise to make sense of it… the best of them bring clarity, answering urgent questions and making us think.”–Gareth Cook (from The Best American Infographics 2013)

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/at-scientific-american/the-best-american-infographics/

Hydroperiod Tool Poster

Infographic – First Attempt

Revised Infographic

Objectives of VisualizationInfographics: The Power of Visual Storytelling◦ Attract - Inform - Inspire -> Audience

Three objectives◦ Appeal

◦ Comprehension

◦ Retention

Priority determines approach for design and construction

◦ For Academic/Scientific: Comprehension, followed by Retention, and then Appeal

◦ For Editorial (narrative): Appeal, Comprehension, Retention.

◦ For Marketing: Appeal, Retention, Comprehension.

Compare Two Coffee Graphs

Information OverloadTerm coined by Alvin Toffler in his 1970 book Future Shock

Refers to an individual’s inability to process, assimilate, and understand information due to the overwhelming amount of data available

Infographic opportunitiesReview typical science graphs – two story assignment (“pattern perception”, “table lookup”)

Review typical science graphs – identify components of graphical literacy

Graph decomposition and duplication

Two versions of a graph – one for scientific community, another for general public

Infographics service project – create an infographic for elementary school students

Create an infographic from a research poster

Resources – websites and blogsInformation is Beautiful http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/

Cool Infographics http://www.coolinfographics.com/

Chart Porn http://chartporn.org/

Visual Complexity http://www.visualcomplexity.com/vc/

Scientific American blogs

How to make an infographic in 10 easy steps on the Infogramwebsite

http://blogs.nature.com/ofschemesandmemes/2014/01/20/the-power-of-using-infographics-to-communicate-science

Resources - books

Visual Literacy: How to Read and Use Information in Graphic Form, by Marcia Weaver

Now you see it: Simple Visualization Techniques for Quantitative Analysis, by Stephen Few

The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, by Edward R. Tufte

The Information Design Handbook by Jenn and Ken Visocky O’Grady

Essential Communication Strategies for Scientists, Engineers, and Technology Professionals by Herbert Hirsch

Infographics: The Power of Visual Storytelling, Jason Lankow, Josh Ritchie, and Ross Crooks

Cool Infographics: Effective Communication with Data Visualization and Design, Randy Krum

More books

Good Charts, Scott Berinato

Storytelling with Data: A Data Visualization Guide for Business Professionals, Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic

Visualize This: The FlowingData Guide to Design, Visualization and Statistics, Nathan Yau

Data Points: Visualization that Means Something, Nathan Yau

The Functional Art: An Introduction to Information Graphics and Visualization, Alberto Cairo

Creating More Effective Graphs: A succinct and highly readable guide to creating effective graphs, Naomi B. Robbins

Resources – free tools

Infogram

VISME

Piktochart

Gap Minder http://www.gapminder.org/

Rawgraphs (densitydesign.org)

Tableau (educational version)