An Introduction To Information Design

Information design is the visualization of information through graphic design. This invaluable guide provides a creative, informative, and practical introduction to the general principles of information design. With chapters on understanding the audience, structure, legibility and readability, selection of media, experimentation, and multi-platform delivery, An Introduction to Information Design gives a complete overview of this fundamental aspect of visual communication. Fully illustrated case studies from leading designers provide professional insight into the challenges involved in creating information design for print, interactive, and environmental media. Practical exercises and tips enable the reader to put this learning into practice. This makes it the perfect book for graphic design students as well as design enthusiasts.

The goal of communication-oriented design of messages should always be clarity of communication. In information design the task of the sender is actually not completed until the receivers have received and understood the intended messages. Information Design – An introduction includes chapters explaining verbo-visual communication, information and message design principles, design processes, and design tools. These chapters can be seen as a general framework for production of information and learning materials. Based on theories for verbo-visual communication this book presents several practial guidelines for the use of text, symbols, visuals, typography, and layout in information and learning materials. Rune Pettersson is Professor of Information Design at the Department of Innovation, Design and Product Development (IDP) at Mälardalen University in Eskilstuna, Sweden.

The visualization process doesn’t happen in a vacuum; it is grounded in principles and methodologies of design, cognition, perception, and human-computer-interaction that are combined to one’s personal knowledge and creative experiences. Design for Information critically examines other design solutions —current and historic— helping you gain a larger understanding of how to solve specific problems. This book is designed to help you foster the development of a repertoire of existing methods and concepts to help you overcome design problems. Learn the ins and outs of data visualization with this informative book that provides you with a series of current visualization case studies. The visualizations discussed are analyzed for their design principles and methods, giving you valuable critical and analytical tools to further develop your design process. The case study format of this book is perfect for discussing the histories, theories and best practices in the field through real-world, effective visualizations. The selection represents a fraction of effective visualizations that we encounter in this burgeoning field, allowing you the opportunity to extend your study to other solutions in your specific field(s) of practice. This book is also helpful to students in other disciplines who are involved with visualizing information, such as those in the digital humanities and most of the sciences.

Features case studies, boxouts, tips, colour wheels, dos and don'ts, and design principles to explain the various keys to creating information graphics. This work also looks at how to integrate different types of information design into an overall information design scheme for organizations within the public sector, retail, and transport.

Design for Information provides a series of visualizations that are analyzed for their design principles and methods. This book provides critical and analytical tools that benefit the design process.

As everyday tasks grow more confusing, and as social and global problems grow more complex, the information designer's role in bringing clarity has reached a new level of importance. In order to have a positive impact, they must go beyond conventional approaches to uncover real needs, make insightful connections, and develop effective solutions. Information Design Unbound provides a clear, engaging introduction to the field, and prepares students to be strategic thinkers and visual problem solvers who can confidently make sense in a changing world. Sheila Pontis and Michael Babwahsingh present a holistic view of information design, synthesizing decades of research, cross-disciplinary knowledge, and emerging practices. The book opens by laying a foundation in the field, first painting the bigger picture of what it is and how it originated, before explaining the scientific and cultural dimensions of how people perceive and understand visual information. A discussion of professional practices, ethical considerations, and the expanding scale of challenges sheds light on the day-to-day work of information designers today. Detailed chapters then delve into the four areas that are integral to all types of information design work: visual thinking, research, sensemaking, and design. The final section of the book puts everything together, with detailed project walk-throughs in areas such as icon design, instructions, wayfinding, organizational strategy, and healthcare system change. Written and designed with students' needs in mind, this book brings information design fundamentals to life: exercises allow students to put lessons directly into practice, case studies demonstrate how information designers think and work, and generous illustrations clarify concepts in a visually engaging way. Information Design Unbound helps beginning designers build the mindset and skillset to navigate visual communication challenges wherever they may arise.

The contributors to this book are both cautionary and hopeful as they offer visions of how information design can be practiced diligently and ethically, for the benefit of information consumers as well as producers. Information design is the newest of the design disciplines. As a sign of our times, when the crafting of messages and meaning is so central to our lives, information design is not only important—it is essential. Contemporary information designers seek to edify more than to persuade, to exchange more than to foist upon. With ever more powerful technologies of communication, we have learned that the issuer of designed information is as likely as the intended recipient to be changed by it, for better or worse. The contributors to this book are both cautionary and hopeful as they offer visions of how information design can be practiced diligently and ethically, for the benefit of information consumers as well as producers. They present various methods that seem to work, such as sense-making and way-finding. They make recommendations and serve as guides to a still young but extraordinarily pervasive—and persuasive—field. Contributors Elizabeth Andersen, Judy Anderson, Simon Birrell, Mike Cooley, Brenda Dervin, Jim Gasperini, Yvonne M. Hansen, Steve Holtzman, Robert E. Horn, Robert Jacobson, John Krygier, Sheryl Macy, Romedi Passini, Jef Raskin, Chandler Screven, Nathan Shedroff, Hal Thwaites, Roger Whitehouse