Stage 1: Understand the Problem
What is an infographic?
An infographic is a design that creatively displays a set of data in an eye appealing and easy to understand way. There are 9 types of infographics including: statistical, informational, timeline, process, geographic, comparison, hierarchical, list, and resume.
Examples of each: (types in order of pictures left to right) comparison, geographic, hierarchical, informational, list, process, resume, statistical, and timeline
Who uses infographics?
Advertisers, companies, graphic designers, teachers, etc. Anyone who needs or wants to present information in a professional, creative, or fun way.
Why do professionals use infographics?
Professionals use infographics because they look stunning if done right and will draw more attention and interest into the information/data being displayed.
What makes a good or bad infographic?
Good:
- Controlled color scheme
- Graphics that relate to the data
- Easy to understand
- Eye appealing
- Good symmetry/balance
- Creative display
- Well researched/accurate data
Bad:
- Color scheme is unappealing or doesn’t fit data
- Basic in bad way (boring and doesn’t catch the eye)
- Overcomplicated (data becomes hard to read)
- Data displayed isn’t accurate
- Wrong type of infographic for data displayed (ex: timeline used to display a hierarchy)
What is your chosen topic/industry?
I would like to do something using NBA stats, more specifically points per game. The goal of this infographic will be to show the stats I choose in an accurate and easy to read way. The purpose is to convey these stats to possible NBA fans or look at for myself.
Stage 2: Research and Investigate
Collection of Websites with Accurate Stats:
Plans of Data Analysis:
- Look at points ppg leaders over the past 20 years
- Look at a specific players ppg evolution over career
- Track a specific players award progression along with highest stats per year
- Look at MVP stats for the past 10 years
- Look at top 15 ppg leaders ever in the NBA
Hierarchy of Data:
- Players name
- Stat(s)
- Year
- Position
- Team
The hierarchy of the data I’m analyzing will focus on emphasizing the player and then listing wanted/required details. I will use bold text, transparency, drop shadows, and color choice to show this hierarchy.
Data:
2009-10 NBA Season
Leading West Scorers: Aaron Brooks - PG -19.6 PPG, Kobe Bryant - SG - 27.0 PPG, Kevin Durant - SF - 30.1 PPG, Dirk Nowitzki - PF - 25.0, Chris Kaman - C - 18.5 PPG
Leading East Scorers: Derrick Rose - PG - 20.8 PPG, Dwayne Wade - SG - 26.6 PPG, LeBron James - SF - 29.7 PPG, Al Harrington - PF - 17.7 PPG, Chris Bosh - C - 24.0 PPG
Stage 3: Generate Possible Solutions
Brainstorming
The first four thumbnail sketches displayed here were designs I came up with for a different set of data. I was originally going to look at the MVPs for the past 10-20 years and then changed my mind and went with the statistic leaders of the 2009-10 season. I wanted to include them because some of my designs branched off of these original sketches and helped me develop my ideas. The second set of thumbnails is the designs I came up with for the statistic leaders although I hadn't quite figured out which set of data I wanted to focus on.
Stage 4: Select the Best Solution
I chose this design to move forward with because it felt the most interesting to me and it connected to basketball more than I thought the others did. I liked how with this design I could use both east and west players and have a way of separating them according to how it would be on an actual court. This design also creates a lot of opportunities for coordinated color usage and ways to use unique/distinguishable graphics that would elevate my infographic. I will focus my color scheme around the team colors of each team although my goal is to make them fit in well and not be overpowering. I will also utilize black and white as well as the contrast of the court and the court lines. I am planning on making the court lines black but I may also experiment with making them white. To create a hierarchy of information within this design I will utilize color and transparency and possibly drop shadows/glows. The hierarchy from most to least important will be: stat, player name, team name, team logo/team color.
After critiques and advice my final design was finished. In the end I decided to utilize the use of red and blue as well as other visual graphics to take my design to the next level. Over the process I messed with different design elements and eventually got to this point where I can't take it further/don't want to add anything or change anything.
Self Reflection
Overall this project was a struggle compared to some of the other designs I've created. There were a lot of points where I got stuck and didn't know where to go next. Getting opinions from others helped a lot but I still had to mess with a lot of different options before being able to finish up this design. One success I however did have was the actual statistics/player designs. This was one of the first elements I created and never really changed through the whole project. They look really good with the font I chose and the faded logo behind adds depth and individuality to each player. I also found that they look good small or larger so I was able to use size control to make my design more of an infographic rather than just a list of statistics on a court. This project helped me develop my ability to create graphics, use layer styles, and utilize color to create contrast and depth. It also helped me with my perseverance and will be something I can look back on and always learn from.
