Summary
My infographic is “How to recycle food waste” which I showed through “How to create a compost bin.” My intended communication objective was to show the viewer how to recycle their food waste, as well as to understand the importance of food recycling due to the high wastage of food in New Zealand. I did this through creating two layers in my infographic – one with data about how much we waste, and the second layer being the “How to” component which was based around creating a compost bin.
Through what we learnt in tutorials, I was able to create my inforgaphic via Adobe Illustrator. The use of the pen tool was vital in my creation as I had to make many vector drawings. In some cases, I used royalty free images to trace around with the pen tool in order to create realistic vector drawings. As well as this, I was able to use the direct selection tool to manipulate the anchor points after I had drawn these images. By being able to manipulate each anchor point individually, it helped me to smooth out any mistakes I had made.
The use of grouping objects and vector drawing together was very helpful in this project as it allowed me to move drawings with separate parts as a whole. Therefore, if I needed to restructure the layout, our move objects slightly here or there, it was done with ease.
The use of colour and gradient really helped me in this project as I was firstly able to create a cohesive colour scheme, but also able to create realistic objects. Firstly, having an understanding of colour and shading helped me to chose two main colours – brown and green – and then simply use different shades of these two colours for my whole design in order to not overwhelm the eye. Further to this, the use of gradient and shading was helpful when creating objects such as the leaf, banana, apple, worm etc. The ability to manipulate the colours and opacity of the gradient within an object allowed me to bring an element of realism to my vector drawings.
Overall, I am happy with both my A4 and A8 infographic designs. I had never even heard of Adobe Illustrator before this assignment and I feel that I have been able to build up many skills with this software. As well as this, I have been able to put together a design which communicates the idea of “How to recycle food waste” via a compost bin.
References
Information Sources
Waste Not Consulting (2013). Summary of existing inforamtion on domestic food waste in New Zealand. Retrieved May 21, 2015, from http://www.wasteminz.org.nz/wp- content/uploads/Report-on-Food-Waste-in-NZ-2013-Final-1.1.pdf
Waitaki Resource Recovery Park (n.d.). Food waste. Retrieved May 21, 2015, from http://www.resourcewaitaki.co.nz/food-waste/
Image Sources
These are the images I used for tracing my vector images. These were sourced from royalty free websites pixabay and istock. Please note, for some of my drawings in my infographic I did not use images to trace – for example the bokashi bin, tick and cross and the dollar sign.
Comments
My five top comments are below.
https://stephvis2015.wordpress.com/
Hiya! I love your idea for your infographic, and I think the steps that you have mentioned are great, easy ways that everyone can help to save the planet. I also like the idea of the hand grasping the Earth as it symbolises that we play a part in the building and destroying of our Earth. I wonder however if you need to have each symbol within the circle? It could give the Earth symbol more emphasis and draw the viewers attention if only the Earth had the hand/circle. Just an idea! I can’t wait to see your finished product!
https://toastqueen101.wordpress.com/
Hey Caitlin! I love the progress you are making with your infographic design. The choice of lighter colours for the background makes the rest of the items really ‘pop’ to the viewer. I definatly agree that A4 is quite small as I am struggling to fit everything in as well! I think you should keep true to the foods colours as that will make them recognisable to the viewer. I would however be careful of the spacing of your foods around the blender. I’m not sure how many ingredients you intend to have, but less could be more as you don’t want to look too crammed, especially after adding text! Anyways, looking good!
https://jonathanwedge.wordpress.com
Hiya! I really like your layout and think that it ties into your concept really well! I also think that your vector drawings have been done really well. Reading the text, it definitely meets the criteria for a “how to” concept so you’re on the right track! The only thing that the diamond doesn’t look centered to me. It could just be my eye playing tricks on me, but also the lines within the background I think make it look off-centered. Something to think about anyways! Can’t wait to see it finished!
https://kelseyvisualcom.wordpress.com
Hiya! I really like your idea and layout! It is very visually appealing and captures the main concept of your infographic well! In terms of colour schemes, I like the first and last ones most. I almost like the black on best as from a photography point of view, this can tie into the use of dark rooms, the use of positive and negative space etc. The dark blue however is visually appealing as well! I also like the title “Components of Exposure” best as I think it bring out the “How to” element! I would make the text of the title all one size, or emphasise the word ‘exposure’ to get this point across! Other than that, you’re going really well! Great job!
https://viscommbellaireland.wordpress.com
Hiya! Wow I love your colour scheme! It is really eye catching and visually appealing to the viewer! As well as this, your vector drawings have been constructed well and convey your ideas well. Just one thing – Are you intending to add text to the cost part? I realise this is a WIP so you will be adding to it, but currently the statistics of 60%, 30% and 10% don’t mean anything without some back-up information so perhaps you could add some! Also, along the bottom i looking a bit empty in comparison to the top. Perhaps your could spread some of the information down within your current layout to make it look a bit more balanced! Looking great though, can’t wait to see it finished!
Week 5 – Infographic Progress
So this week I have been working hard on my infographic, putting the whole thing together.
It has been quite time consuming and fiddly as I had many small elements to produce.
Overall, I am happy with how it is looking and I think it displays my ‘how to’ concept well. However, I am concerned that I have too many colours. I have tried to stick to my colour scheme of dark and light green and brown, allocating colours for titles and paragraphs etc, however the colours of the foods/bins etc can’t exactly meet this colour scheme due to needing to be identifiable which is mostly done through colour recognition.
In saying that, I might work on my colour scheme a little to make to more cohesive!
I also need to work on my A8 version of this. Any feedback would be helpful!
Illustrator Research
While creating my infograpic I have had to research certain parts of Illustrator in order to put my work together.
Mostly what caught me up was the use of the pathfinder tool. I found this tutorial here http://sites.duke.edu/oit-mps/2010/12/14/using-the-pathfinder-tool-in-adobe-illustrator/, was very helpful in explaining step by step the differences between the divide, trim, merge and crop modes.
As well as this, I needed help with the shading/colouring of some of my vector drawings in order to make them look 3D. I found this step-by-step tutorial http://www.digitalartsonline.co.uk/tutorials/adobe-illustrator/add-depth-your-art-with-expert-shading-techniques/ and http://www.creativebloq.com/graphic-design/add-depth-and-texture-illustrator-5132626, very helpful with the idea of how using different colours can give depth to your vector drawings. I am working on adding depth to my images, especially the compost bins and fruit and vegetable used within my infographic. I feel that by adding depth, it gives a bit more sophistication to my drawings as well as an element of realism. The ideas are simple in that creating another shape with a slightly different shade within your drawing can give depth to it. I need to apply this to some of my work!
Week 4 – Making Decisions
This week I haven’t made much progress on my inforgaphic itself as it is still looking pretty blank, however I have been able to make smaller, important decisions that will help me put together my overall piece.
Following on from my typography research piece, I began looking for typefaces that would lend itself well to the content of my piece – helping to set the mood of either recycling or organic produce. I was lucky enough to find three fonts on dafont.com which I have been playing around with.
I feel that these fonts all give the vibe I am looking for, being slightly ‘leafy’ themselves, looking as if they are growing slightly. The top font is my favorite as I feel it gives the most organic feeling from the three. This font I am going to use as my title in order to set the feeling for the rest of my piece. The colour shown here is also similar to what I want to use, as the dark green again gives that organic feeling.
Now that I have all the pieces that I need, next is to put the infographic together!
Typography Research
Typography can be defines as the art behind text, encompassing both the way language is written and formed as well as how it appeals to the eye. When making an infographic, the typography used is important as the text is used to enhance the images produced. The typography needs to balance well with the images, but also draw its own personality through the style of the text used in order too enhance the overall inforgpahic.
There are four basic text classifications.
- Sans Serif – is built from simple lines, and used often for flat designs.
- Serif – is built from Sans Serif, and has extensions from the simple lines, almost as finishing each letter. It is thought that Serif is slightly “fancier” with a bold quality and is often used in printing.
- Decorative – decorative fonts are a novelty, used to set a mood, often used form branding or packaging – things that need to stand out.
- Script – Script is like handwriting, an elegant font with a soft, classical feel. This style of font is often used in classical works and advertisements.
It is discussed that contrast can be created by combining similar typefaces and applying different font styles such as bold, weight, italics, uppercase and lowercase. The similarities within the typefaces will tie the fonts together, regardless of the applied font style. As well as this, the use of contrast with the font styles can be more visually appealing. However, the use of the same typeface can be useful for classifying areas of the infographic (use for headings, subheadings etc.).
It is also discussed that typeface can be creatively applied based on content. For example, enlarging or using a strong Serif font for words such as strong and bold, but then a more elegant Sans Serif font for attractive images. The image below shows how the use of typeface can carry its own personality, enhancing the image.
Researching typography has helped me to gain a better understanding of typeface and now I will be able to apply my knowledge when creating my infographic, especially when pairing fonts for differentiation of areas.
http://piktochart.com/typography-things-you-need-to-know-to-pair-fonts-well/
Colour Research
While looking into ideas of colour schemes for my infographic and what would be appropriate to use, I stumbled across this really helpful article.
The biggest tip they give is not to use too many colours! This can make the readers eye too confused and ultimately make your work not look cohesive. They explain to stick to two main colours – a clear and a bold, and then using complementary colours – possibly different shades of the two main colours chosen. There is also emphasis on not being afraid to use negative or white space!
Another good tip given is to let the content decide! By this they mean that based on the objects within your inforgraphic, the use of colours can become more meaningful, making the information easier to consume. In my instance, due to being about composting and recycling I am thinking of using different shades of greens and browns. While these may seem like boring colours, I feel that they will tie together all my information nicely.
I managed to find a colour scheme generator which after selecting your one main colour, automatically generates lots of different combinations. I ran through a couple of these to get my ideas flowing and here are a couple that I found useful.
While I like these first two, I think the colours may be too neutral and do not tie in with my idea.
This third one however, ties my ideas together wonderfully! If I can match these colours in illustrator I will have a good starting place to get my ideas flowing!
http://piktochart.com/pick-great-color-schemes-your-infographics/
Week 3 – Moving forward
After consulting Justin this week, I have been able to chose my final concept. I have chosen the vertical design with data on one side and the “How to” aspect on the other. This was decided due to giving equal visual importance to both parts of information.
I have managed to collect relevant data to include in my inforgrpahic. For example – as a country NZ wastes $751 million a year through food wastage, that is the equivalent to $458 per household and $155 per person! In 2008 it was discovered that 44.3% of landfill was organic waste – including kitchen waste and green-waste which could have all been composted. 39% of Aucklanders claim to compost their garden waste and 31% compost their food waste!
Deciding on this idea has lead me to consider different aspects of my infographic such as colour, typography and semiotics. For colour I would like to use greens and browns, seemingly ‘organic’ colours which will tie in with my idea of recycling food waste. As for typography, I will need to think into this a little more and look into some fonts so I have a wider idea of what there is!
For now, I need to get creating!
Visual Com 2015 