An Evolution of An Infographic
An Honors Thesis (HONR 499)
by
Jennifer Rose Prandato
Thesis Advisor
Ryan
Ball State University Muncie, Indiana May 2014
Expected Date of Graduation
May 3,2014
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ABSTRACT
Visual communication is a fundamental part of how today's culture receives information in
alternative formats. Information graphics allow news consumers to view more visual, less written
content for a higher degree of retention and usability. I was able to actively partcipate in data
visualization and visual communication through my work with BSU at the Games and the Chicago
Tribune for both the London 2012 and Sochi 2014 Olympics. The work I produced during both
experiences allowed me to expand on my knowledge of information layering, visual communication
and the design principles that allow information graphics to be successfully accepted by their
viewers. BSU at the Games transformed my journalistic career and provided me with the skills I
need to further dedicate my future to being a visual journalist.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to thank Professor Ryan Sparrow for advising me not only through my thesis, but
through multiple projects during my time at Ball State. Without him, it would have been impossible
for BSU at the Games to become the successful program it is today and I would not have had the
life-changing opportunities I've had during my four years at this wonderful school.
I would like to thank the graphics staff at the Chicago Tribune, who truly taught me more about
infographics and design in two weeks than I could have ever imagined possible. I'll always
appreciate the mentorship our team received through their staff and be thankful because that
experience transformed me into a better designer, illustrator, and most importantly, a better
journalist.
I would also like to thank anyone else who was involved in BSU at the Games, especially the
Chicago team that was made up of myself, Ellen Collier, Dylan Stone, Adam Baumgartner, Ross May,
Stephanie Redding and Jessica Thompson. Working at the Tribune and living with such talented
individuals for two weeks was a highlight of my time at Ball State and I'm so thankful for all the
experiences we were able to share.
AN EVOLUTION OF AN INFOGRAPHIC
Information graphics have become an integral part of the journalistic world. Visual communication
allows journalists to explain stories to their audience with a higher degree of comprehension and it's
become a necessity for journalistic outlets of all mediums to invest in graphics reporting. In today's
fast-paced culture, people react strongly to tightly-worded information laid out in a highly visual
format. With the ever-increasing technological advances, information graphics can be viewed on all
different forms of media platforms, including print, Web, tablets and television. However, whatever
the platform, all information graphics should focus on the same thing: relating information that may
not have been able to be perceived through traditional forms of journalistic storytelling.
HOW IS VISUAL COMMUNICATION PERCEIVED?
To create a successful information graphic, one must remember that it's necessary for the
information to be understandable and accessible. The difference between a piece of art and visual
communication within a journalistic field is the ability for the audience to clearly grasp what the
journalist is conveying. In Jorge Frascara's essay, "Graphic Design: Fine Art or Social Science," he
writes "This is the real measure of the performance of any and every piece of graphic design and the
proof that graphic design cannot be understood in isolation but only within a communication context
(Frascara, 28)." It's important to remember that information graphics are a language: although the
concept may not be communicated through words, the visual aspects of a piece needs to tell an
accurate story that the audience can comprehend.
Information graphics are a successful form of communication because they have the ability to
use the aUdience's visual and literal regions of the brain. According to Connie Malamed, author
of "Visual Language for Designers," cognitive science explains how people perceive information
graphics. Cognitive science, the study of how people think and learn, depends on a model known
as the human information-processing system to show how people's surroundings and visual cues
are stored into meaningful information.
A human-being's information-processing system has three main memory structures: sensory
memory, working memory and long-term memory. Raw sensory data is registered in the sensory
memory whenever visual cues are perceived by the eye. When a brain becomes aware of the data,
it transfers to the working memory and, if relevant enough to the viewer, that information is stored in
the long-term memory as a new thing the person has learned.
Because people perceive information as active partiCipants, their visual awareness is driven by two
different processes: bottom-up processing and top-down processing. Bottom-up visual processing
1
is considered to be visual awareness that is driven by an external stimulus whereas top-down
processing is awareness that's influenced by memories, expectations and intentions. It's important
for information graphics to be able to tap into these processes to create a learning environment and
recognition within their audience. In order for content to be stored within the long-term memory of
the brain and go into permanent storage, it's necessary for the visual communication to be easily
accessed by the audience's brain. According to Malamed, the combination of a visual element with
text helps the audience remember information better. She states, "Associating graphics with text
can improve information recall. Placing pictures together with words also allows information to form
connections, creating a larger network of schemas (Malamed, 36)." It is because of this success that .
information graphics have been around for so long.
HISTORY OF INFORMATION GRAPHICS
Cognitive science factually shows the success of humans reactions to information graphics and
history reiterates those facts through examples of visual communication from earlier times. In
Jennifer George-Palilonis' book "A Practical Guide to Graphics Reporting," she notes that visual
imagery has been a strong form on communication for centuries. Dating back to 3800 B.C.,
Assyrian maps etched into clay tablets provided basic communication and comprehension skills. In
places of ancient culture, like China, Egypt and Mesopotamia, a very basic form of iconic imaging
systems were formed to further serve as communication tools. Later, these systems evolved into
alphabets and language systems.
While George-Palilonis states that information graphics have always been a part of civilized
culture, she notes the Renaissance and ages of Enlightenment and Reason as factors in the more
complex forms of visual communication. She writes that "as human knowledge evolved, so did
the use of maps, charts and diagrams as a method for recording important scientific, economic
and social data, and later, as a method for communicating important information related to news
and current events to the masses (George-Palilonis, 4)." An example of this transformation of
factual data to visual representation was shown by William Playfair in 1786. Playfair published The
Commercial Political Atlas, a publication consisting of 44 statistical charts, including what could be
considered among the first of bar charts to represent imports and exports. Although simple, this
beginning of data visualization provided a starting point to the complex information graphics in the
world today.
With the technological advances of today's culture, the visual impact of information graphics
have vastly improved since the first bar chart. George-Palilonis notes that visual reporting became
most relevant in the journalism industry in the early 1980s with the development of Mac computers.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2
Although publishing companies had been using automated typesetting since the invention of the
linotype machine in 1886, the age of computers allowed designers and visual journalists to exist
more functionally and effectively through the technological advancements. With computers, visual
communicators were able to focus on their work with quicker results and the programs developed
allowed them to create more complex information graphics on tighter deadlines (George-Palilonis,
4-6). While these new programs and technologies helped visual journalists complete more work,
it also challenged them to stay true to the principles of design that had been in place since the
beginning of visual communication.
THE SEVEN BASIC DESIGN PRINCIPLES
There are specific elements that make visual communication more appealing and easier for the
audience to comprehend. Known as the seven basic design principles, most visual journalists
follow them to create strong visual pieces. The seven basic design principles apply to design on
all platforms and help information be shown in a clearer format. According to George-Palilonis, the
following are the seven principles all designers should consider conceptualizing so that their work is
fundamentally sound:
BALANCE
Ultimately, balance is focused on a graphics equilibrium levels. Every element in a design has
visual weight and each specific item needs to be set up so that they're in an accurate relation
with each other. The weight of each item in the graphic should make sense both visually and
informationally.
There are two different types of balance: symmetrical and asymmetrical. Symmetrical balance is
best explained as if someone metaphorically folded the design in half. If both sides of the design
appear to be identical in weight, that design should be considered symmetrical. Alternatively,
asymmetrical balance would be if the information graphic is folded in half, yet the sides are not
identical. Despite their difference, asymmetrical designs should still have a somewhat equal
weight to effectively appeal visually to the audience. According to George-Palilonis, "Asymmetrical
balance is commonly used in the composition of information graphics, because it generates a sense
of
movem~nt
and helps guide the eye through the information in an extremely rhythmic manner
(George-Palilonis, 85)."
PROPORTION
Information graphics use proportion in their design to effectively show the audience what items
are the most important through hierarchy. Each element of a design relatively relies on the other
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3
ones: if an element is large, it is considered large because of what other elements surround it. To
communicate effectively, items that are larger and therefore, have more emphasis will attract the
audience faster than a smaller item, allowing it to establish its dominance in the visual hierarchy.
Proportion can be accomplished effectively in a multitude of ways, including size, shape and tone.
CONTRAST
By using contrast, an information graphic has the ability to create hierarchy, emphasize what
information is the most important and control the audience's eye movements across the graphic.
This is achieved because the eye distinctly notices changes in visual contrast. In "Visual Language
for Designers," Malamed states that "Our eyes must repeatedly move to keep the object of most
interest imaged ... These rapid eye movements allow us to select what we attend to in the visual
world (Malamed, 23)." It's easier for the audience's eyes to get caught up in contrasting elements,
making the information more likely to be remembered.
Contrast can be performed by varying the size and shape of elements, changing weights in
typography or using different colors. All options allow the communication of the graphic to stay
away from too much repetitiveness and obtain a higher visual appeal.
HARMONY
As important as contrast is, it's also important that an information graphic practices harmony.
Harmony makes sure that all the individual elements on the design are cohesive. This can be shown
through type faces working well together, color schemes matching and using a similar layout for
shapes throughout the piece.
RHYTHM
George-Palilonis refers to rhythm as the principle that is "the combination and arrangement
of elements that moves your eyes through a graphic presentation (George-Palilonis, 88)." The
importance of this principle should not be overlooked: by repeating patterns, alternative contrasting
elements and placing items in a progression, visual journalists make sure that all elements of the
graphic are visible and effectively placed. Rhythm is generally modeled after the audience's natural
eye movement from left-to-right and top-to-bottom. When information graphics follow this pattern,
it usually creates a visual z-pattern that allows the audience to view the information in a comfortable
and familiar way.
FOCUS
Every information graphic must have a dominant element: it should be the most important element
on the page and the item that grabs the audience's attention immediately upon viewing. By having a
------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4
dominant element, the visual journalist is showing the audience what the most important information
is as well as giving them a focal starting point. Instead of using words, the designer is using
graphical elements to speak the language of what is important and that focus is a necessity within
visual communication.
UNITY
While unity can sound very similar to harmony, it actually refers to the cohesiveness of an entire
publication. Whereas harmony makes sure that elements of a specific graphic work well together,
unity follows that a step further and makes sure that the entire publication is using cohesive colors,
fonts, grid systems and a general style.
All of the basic design principles can be enacted on an information graphic to support the
audience's visual cues for what they are meant to comprehend. In an interview with Design
Consultant Ron Reason, he states the importance of using design principles when he says "The
more complex a graphic becomes ... The more important good design becomes. The arrangement
and sizing of elements becomes critical to the understanding of information. Perhaps even more
so than good page design in general, information graphics absolutely rely on cleanliness (George­
Palilonis, 96)." Ball State's Journalism program does a great job at relaying the importance of
utilizing the design principles and I believe the final culmination of those skills for me were shown
through my work with BSU at the Games.
BSU AT THE GAMES
BSU at the Games is part of Ball State's immersive learning initiative and a program that I consider
to be among my greatest professional accomplishments. In 2012, I traveled to London with a team
of 40 student journalists and created on-site data analysis information graphics for the Chicago
Tribune. During the three weeks we were there working, I was able to develop more confidence in
my work as well as a stronger journalistic skill-set, so when I heard news that BSU at the Games
was sending a graphics team to Chicago for the Sochi Olympics, I jumped at the opportunity.
once again was able to gain valuable career experience and immerse myself within a visual
communications culture.
For me, BSU at the Games was a culmination of all the skills I've learned through Ball State's
journalism graphics program. I wasn't only focused on the design principles and visual hierarchy:
I became a better communicator and strengthened my reporting, interviewing and graphical
comprehension skills.
While I was lucky enough to have multiple pieces run in the Chicago Tribune for both the London
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5
2012 Olympics and Sochi 2014, the piece I'd like to explain for my thesis is the "Evolution of Figure
Skating." Along with another Ball State student, Ellen Collier, I was responsible for the research,
interviewing, reporting and content decisions as well as all design aspects. In a step-by-step
process of the evolution of our graphic, I can show how we made specific choices throughout
the piece that allowed the final product to accurately and efficiently visually communicate our
information.
EVOLUTION OF FIGURE SKATING
When the seven of us from the graphics team for BSU at the Games traveled to Chicago for those
two weeks during the Sochi Olympics, we were assigned specific graphics as well as a mentor from
the Tribune's graphics staff. For "The Evolution of Figure Skating," Ellen and I were assigned Kori
Rudmore, who was absolutely wonderful in letting us take charge of the graphic. We were able to do
all of the research, interviewing, transcribing, reporting, writing and laying out the information graphic
by ourselves. Kori was very good about giving us direction when it came to all the elements of the
information graphic, especially data visualization and visual appeal. The following are early drafts of
our work, which I'll go through in detail to show how they didn't necessarily follow the seven basic
design principles and why our final product was so much more visually successful in both design
and comprehension.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6 DRAFT ONE:
Going into the graphic, we
knew that we wanted to play up
the visual elements of the figure
Olympic figure skating through the years
otymp;c fIgure skating addcJ rhe Teruns C'OIOf'('lillon ro the 2014 Sochi GIltl'Ies, one of many signiflC'anc ChUlSt'S mildco~r the yCtl" to the WmlCf Ol)mpks' okk-SI sport . Whar was
once an olltdoor cOmp ttilKIIl ;uJgt'd Il"IO,rt . on h\lltnrt fl~rt'li. til now ;m inJ....\OI· ~~J/o('k.- d,;fta ilL"'.! "l hl,,'1i,,' jU1nl'i,
1920s
:!OlOs
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stdndards M~ se l on whO Cdn
CX>fTl(}eleW'i r"esporl.I{M1arhfete
=:~/eifdyIOcornpe(e.he(HShe
fh~ Tum ~~nt Is added t o the 2014
SCJchl Gamu
Fashion: S~~e~, costumes af. a
ttend. asm.a.nVsll;aters become hot
If they wear sleeYes. Skaters afe
F.IhIDn:Athletes ~ e
skater's costumes as well as
show information in a multitude
::S=C:I:~O:;:~!50
=n~:i':~Y~~~~~::.\I:cM
!K'rcenl of lhe front using nude or
w1thsl~ve-s..
TKhnlqu. .: Jumps
Of ~1y
jIleerfabl'ic
don't
rota(e. andskaters tll. SOf\.H " ~i:t
canbalelyperforman .... lll l fuIltp
Judging Iswelgh6d ~ on
-flg,ures,-OfaS6ttesof ir,tnc.. t t
clrcula' patterns
of ways. The Chicago Tribune
is known for including a lot
root atatirne
~Iu. d~'
on .
MaDAL.WINNIRS
le24CnNl"oM ;<.. ff.loce
Gold
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of information layering, so
1921S1.Mortt.l, SwitN'''''11d
that's what Ellen and I were
trying to do by including facts
about fashion, technique and
the medal winners for each
decade. Although our graphic
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Fortn.JI$IfI"stestinRfot b~
cotnj)etctcn ate est dbbhed, thotJlft
it's not anOlympiclpot't ,..~.
2000s
., ,~OZ. the Int~rT1cJ fioT1cJ1 SJu:l6ns
....!IonrepJacedlf'46.0;udglng
system wilh 1M Inlfu naUonaJ
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is essentially a timeline, early
drafts of it do not show that
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Gold E SonJaHenle. NOR
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~;-~"'~';Ibet-V~~-;;;~USA-'w
were trying to hard to focus
visually on the photos rather
than the information. This
approach led the actual
content of the graphic to be
Faahton: Men's costuffie'$become
poiM iled. Some wl!ar all black and
tilen d r&SSlnbrlght.llldunlQue
'.l6G.aT~M1..nk!rcr..tfl . c..em-.ny
GeNS
well. In this first draft, we
rtlhY ttchnoiollY.
n~les
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Bronze
Vivl-Anne Hult.en. SWE
==
TKhnlq1.Ms.: - Now with
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n@Oeleeuw. !Qn ~mp+c
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MIDAL WINNI!RS
bIoMkdS( on home cr~
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to WOtid War 1/. 2DDZ s.«l L
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be.C'O,,1t' ,I,Ot t~.
photos in the middle are large
_
Irina Stouk.lya. RUS
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2006 Tunn. lt aly
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WOMIN'S MI~LS BY COU~Y
.
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1950s
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1952 OsJo,l956Cortind d 'Amj)euo
.."
Faahlon:Cotlarsbp.gintoci.sap­
pear.sJeevesijo fromfulllengthto
overlooked. Whereas the
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Fa.nlon:Duelo'abr " ';,~ lil
WorldW~
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•
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Gold
1990s
TM shOrtprogrdmcountsds l/J of ~ 10(18
(fH! scomln 1991. wh lk
program coun ts dS Z/J..
Fashlon.:Therelsa tfM\SIIIOf'I to
evening gown styles wttt'1 tt'!in ner
f abrk ,,~d cutouts when Vef'il Wang
designs Nancy Kerrlgan's COSlUm
tre nd. StlH.sklrts sUI Sit d o!>e to
lhewalSlline. and the CO.5 tumes
100II like notrnitldresses.
MEDA1.WtNNI!RS
1952Oi1o.No"""*l
_
- -­ -_ ... _ - - ­
and attract attention, the art
.....
H.,iSU Yam<\iUChi. uS'!)'
...
Nancy Kefflgan, USA
t9tK L iII~I'I'VNe!. NOf'o'''·y
around the actual content are
all similar sizes, showing that
the proportion and focus of
the page was off. While there
was a dominant element in
Gold
1960s
In 1960 the compu/Sdry frSU~$
from six to {lve fl8urr... l ::•.r
SCOt'ej)ercentdsess tdy.tt50
percent .
1980s
CNn~
~hlon.: SkIrts become mo r.
drop-waisted.1OO smdtt dk w Is
~n onto costumes. Stllf:t ch
tdbrics such as spandex are
created due to hlgtl demand ro
SCOflsa.ndswlm\oOtear. SklrU
continue to shOrtef'l.
"
no.:r;'SQncwnp,.;,tJes~e.nleresl ln
I~ s;-"u. . ~." todecfiM. as
OOt~hUl'U is!hemaln{oclJs.
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~in troduCltdJn
P'#n. ;JJX'lffftlu ~ to'O
~ lfr o( :"Je ~ (Prt!vrou51y60 ).
::,"::~~~:: 1M
T11e 1988 Olympic Games drfl r."'#
Idst tojnclvded reper.)tc{lgur ~ r
as~c[ofJVd8:'W­
fashion: Skir ts lire eXIf&mefy s,hg"
ar:dfuN,rescmblln8Ia:l~redtotlA.
TKhnlqueS: The bolckspin
p(t~0001
IS cre.1 tcd bycr05!>if'lg feet dl.u i
jumps instead ofkHPing lhem
parallel, mdk.nBlt~aslerla
complete jumps like ulptes dna
Quad~
T.chnlques: Sk.llers !fain 4-6 the page, it was not visually
t'1our1.perday onCompuls.ory flgufesand2· 3houuOf'IfrN!Skate, MI:DALWINNI!R'S
19ns.pporo~~
commmunicating effectively or
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Sttvet fA KarM M..IgnU!i!i(!n. CAN
~;; "'.. Jan~';'USA- '
making the information graphic
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1.84 s.,"'''',o(I.Bos''~lIIlldHf:rr~
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Klra Iva"CNa.URS
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t9N C~y.ClI'\ad ..
Peggy Fiemln&, USA
comprehendable.
Oskana Baiul. UKR
S"iIvf!f ~ NancyKefrjg.ln.USA
Silver ..,.. Gabriele
Sey~~t. GoR"
Bronl.@ ~ Hdna Ma$kO\la, TCH
Gokt
.... Kaun".. Wltt. GOR
SIIwt
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~
BrOf'lze
Elizabet h M.ml@y.CAN
Debra
THoma~.~
7
DRAFT TWO:
The second draft still has
the problem of taking away
from the actual information that
we were trying to convey, but
we tried to give each decade
a focal point by placing a
figure skater that was relevant
Olympic figure skating through the years
Otympic figure sK::Uing add",d ,the T~';\mscomperit~n to me 2014 Sochi G•.m~ one of many "i~iftc.nl changes mad.e O\'ef' the ~ln ro I~ Winh..' T Olympics' oldeQ sport. What wu
OI'l('C an outdoor compelition Judged mosdy on intn:atc ftgUrt."S is noW' an lodoor speclacle 'Of shtt and athletic jumps..
lOlOs
1920s
rh@ream~rl$ilddedrot~20"
~t:;,~:~~~~:tZ; ~%OsCdC:;~!
5ochl~mes.
compere in the sport. If an dlhie[I'
::.~ ready r.ocompet~. he orshi!
Kre
Futvon:$leevelesseostumesarea
•
.
If t~ywearsleeves.Sk.a tersare
F&&hlon: Athletes compete
oulside,50Iayet'sandc~tsare
m~
wom. Almost iIIl dru.ses.,e
information. After viewing this
trend. as many skaters become hot
:S:O~e.!~~o~~~~ 50
percent of lhe frontuslngrlUOeOf
sheerfabrlc
wiChsleeves.
T.chnlque« Jumps Ofli,llally don't
rotate, ilnd skaters lice Sonja He:n4e
can barelyperfOfm.n a..:cel Jump.
Jvdg,lng IS weighed heavWy on
"figures,"oraserle.sofinlrk:.a,le
Circular patterns skated on one
Gokt
l~.· Yuna Kim. KOR
.
~Jwr m._~;·A~~;:~
foot atatlrne
BrOtQ'e
m..lOln"" Rochette. CAN
ZOM SocnI. Rusw
~_ CJ~~_~.
~.;;;_~~.~~_l!T
Sitvti
~~~~-~~
8utrtxlou8.tlf&r1. US.A
8ron2e D x.u.olOUOl.~
Br~e. Eth-;i;:'~ -
in those years next to the
Gold
SitV'er
19laSt Moritl::. Swrtlatiartd
•
SonjaHe nle.NOII
s;;:;;-a
Gold
-'FfIlz1Buraer,AUT
8ronle ~
20005
j,n lOO.l.thelncern.tUOfIaJSkdllf?6
8eatrbrlOultVan.USA
t.W(L,, ~cMi(he6.0 Judsini
~M I wrthlheln~,.,.,.(lOrW
~Jrt6 .$)'Srffll.t.aJtIn,ad",*nt~o(
further, it became clear that we
"'CW IKl'tt'JOOgy.
1930s
competetors " ~df~lt
were still struggling with the
~Men·scoSl'ume.sbe(:1Joml!
Forrndlsklls ( esI"'{o#IC~ OI.v-<'~
polatbwd. Some wear all black and
r.ho:.ig;'
otNnl.1r e5SinbrI8htanchM'l~
It's not an OI)-rnPf'C j '/ Xlft )t ~.
o<y....
MEDAA.,WlNHIRS
Tectwwqu-.: "Now with only
~I (e thereb lime tOf more
~th tr~inln8 (whk:hwe bMety
kn.ww 4lbout) and other off-ICe
~ suc.hasdance.)'Oga.etc .••
19.]2 Llke ~dd. New YoriI.
focal element. With the photo
~,,:.!i:UW·1972O¥nPic
of Gracie Gold dominant in the
Safah HUShes.. USA
Sifver . . b1';-~~.ay" RUS
middle, the viewer's eye still got
caught there without relating to
the information. At the same
Bronzw ~ M.ct;;·K;~~;--USA--Z006 Tl#1n.tt~
~- . .•~I.~~!"..!~-~
1940s
$Hh.t Cohti\ uSA
Itln~~~ya. RU$:­
S.Uve,
The~8G.tmd "'lI'O,.t ~ !
;'~ nze _
OfOd~Slon honw~s.oon:
rtluming.trrer . "-~M~ hl-j
to World Wdrll.
1990S
time, the photos next to the
Tl\(Ilh/iI lDrogr3mccunts,)sLIJo(
~~" I99f.whlif!Ch~1ctts
~.MJt COtll1t.sdS2.IJ.
decades drew in the eye better
~TherelsalransltlonlO
4Mfl .... i DINns ryle swll hthlnoer
r.a bric ..oo cutOluswhenveraWang
a....n s Nancy Kenlgan'scostum
than the previous draft, but the
MEDAL 'WINNIRS
1950s
Il)thelar~
art was much too small to hold
any relevance.
t9*ZAIbertv\llIe. ~flCe
1950s. p.lJr,s, It'!!.S".v.
Kltstl Yamaguchi. USA
:~:=.dfD S.-i ~ ~ Uon
Silwr
]/4 sleeve and brWtl
•
Nkiofllto. JPN
~u 'll Na;;~
FaANon: Cobr~ 0
to dk.. ~
pear.slH'Yesgo frotY'lUlfonalhfO
.,e- It.
~l,Qr~
trend. Stll~sklfu. 'llitil&ll dfc.lf. lo
thewalstltne.andti»cc .... urTIa
IookIUutnot'mat ~t·lL
An interesting thing to note
Gokt
in this draft is the graph at the
Je.umelte
Altw~
GBR
Sltwr-·~~~Albri llht. ~~-=
Btonze • • Jacqueline au
BIer. FRA
19.56Conln.l d'Arnpeuo.tu,ty
top. Essentially, we wanted
. . Tenl!.!..Albrl~-'.:_'!.~.~_
GOld
~ __.... _~~.~~~.S~
8rM ze C l ngrldWencJ.AUT
to show which country had
19605
won the most gold medals
fnl960thecorr.pulJ.JIYI\I:l....ru
ch.ange(romJJ~t {Jftw~bi. ,r
19S()s
score.oercent.llit:ln.., .. r:.o
7hrt .088 Olympic Gam('s ate r.he
.:.lltColnClude')sepc!'r3:tttfilJures
.Uoec1' o(JUdSfng.
pe~nt .
in figure skating. While the
graphic technically does its' job
FaShion: SkJrts become mort
drop"'Walsted and small d&0I
sewn onto costumes. SUfitch
,It
fab,ics Such as spandexNe
ereated due to hllJh demMKi tn
=ut~ua:~S;=~at. Skitts
1970s
~comg, tniC:SSMlncerflSrln
fot:;I~V.>A1
bf8lntodtJelme. .u
~~ sts thema/n(ocus.
n-r~'!~ is " tfOt..ltJat.J in
"""-l/"illns rcduces to""O
ttn
~I'I~ ofrJ lf' ICOr8 (Pre-v;ously60)
k ~ ~U"-*Jed [ot.M
in relating that fact, the style
Fashlon:5kJrlS.:lreexuemetyshort
andful.resembllngLayeredtulus
TKhnlqu. .: The back.sr;in PClsitloo
Iscre,ued by crossing feet during
JUlTlPslnsteado'lwepinglhem
pamUel. making It easler to
!:;)(TI pletejumps lill.e ll~lesoY1d
~.
.Irm.~J9'O G..ames
TKhnJ.ql.Mls: Suters train 4-6
1Wl\ I1\p:"~ I:wlCompulsory
is not unified and looks out of
('9~l
.u\iC! 2--1 hours on free skate
MIOrA.L WINHIR5
19T2Sapooro.J.t~n
place within the information
graphic, causing it to lose any
Gold
8;~-; Ii;JH~M~;-~
pull with the audience.
MajO~~
lIB Karen
;~nze
. . Janet Lynn. ~SA
~~~.._ ~
snwr
~ Fle mlng,~_
,.. Gabriele Seyfert . GOR
Beattbl Schuba. AUT
SiJlver
Bronze . . Kira l....anO\lCL, URS
I9U CiIi¥Y. CMladi
=-",,,,,-,,-,_"'
Do< --'.
hy .HamlA. USA,
s av.,
~ OWnne De LH Uw. NED
Bronze !WI ChrIStine Errll th. GDR
8
DRAFT THREE:
Because of the issue of
having too much of a dominant
Olympic figure skating through the years ot,nnpic fi~ ~tin,; ..ddni Ott: Te~ C'ompetition t v the 201'" Sochi Wt!'llf:1. 1J1.\t: of m.n)' li]fill ifl.:~n[ ch::mge-s m3dc ~ver the yean 10 ~ Wuner Otyrnpi ~' oId('~ .~port.. v.1l",r "':15
onc ., an DI"n.-dDarmmpeci riooj~ mQit l~ 00 ti~ '" now lin indO!)r
:'t"1.I.('wc.,,,irz.;.od IIlhltf;( jum~
19205
1930s
element in the last draft, we
19-Ws
IWr.....Jt.P!oaOd.~.,G.an-n,!!"
,..ah6oft:=~ lhw.:
,., ~Mtrc:Mn
Com ~l.
F.sIMon:~ to 'ab rk.rat\onln8In
CliI~ .~Q i.ay¥rt.iU\dOM ~'4r.
Wofd WJtl l1. sM.lrls \)e(:ome shorter.
-..orn. AIrr'I6:U .lIllarau.es NenlAa.
""I
Nfl.....
r.chn".: ~OI1IIr1 It1)yOon 1:
attem pted to scale down the
rol.rta,. and lUlU" "
SoI~
.... ,,.
': _VlD~~Pt'fforn:) an~el p no
1~~
1Xxn)WOllt~
8rOn:le
size of the middle focal point
while simutaneously enlarging
I.J. StM~. '-Mt~ ,.."
Gold
the photos next to the decades.
XUlI .. lllllU
I
BrQf\M
1950s
.x:w,;u.~~)(~
'
5It.,.,.
!"9-s;.O ».I 'il56Cortltwd~uo
;U;iXll lGQ.
FMh~CoJM.it,rsbe8Intodi5aP­
Xu.vOIl.ll XA ~.ti.lOl)("A.J\
~.., slft::-....ssofromtullenslhlO
.lJ'L uaWil and bright colon.
tM 'ftIo1lttIne. lind the c.ostunes
IoQk -ka n>Jm\,ll!drusu.
Unfortunately, this caused us to
once again run into the same
issue of proportionality, though
1961.ls
~ CtIroNQ"~"P!IZ'O,~
='~:Uilf\d~=
l'
onto GO'Shu"" u .. SI,et.ch
~
perhsps on the opposite side
of the spectrum. The basic
ill. a
: 1 ,, \(J..Sl1L ~irusti"sitclostto
~
t ..~~. .."""
x:>,t~
xu.xn.u.~'"'-""""
'olbrlcs~U(: hu ~ ~
cr....ted ctu.. ta J\IIh ckMIno ln
'Spo th &rd .....tm~..lr. Sb' ~,
~ld
XilKL<'I'lr.JlIX-1Q:..l.:uU
SJv.'
X~.O...o.;lI;;P: X!!.;i ~'(){d
theory of proprotion is design
XlIlt..'~,.(:(lIXII")lU)D(.
x...c::(~u'::uar. XAb.XXl.)O:.lI.:O:
is that the elements work off
of each other. If they're all the
:w..ux~!!..:oo~
A.u.l['OIxu: X... u;}(:o.~..u:
~
· J(J;U,I;o; .-» x:..ro...li ~ l(
~~~~
..-.Ja1'()1lQl.lt X:O)l:u:x.uJl
same size, then nothing can
be considered big and nothing
can be considered small. With
1970s
1900 Utke f'C.Jcki. I9&' Sar,yJe\<O"
r911S~.I..9i'15 ~
11J,"~
H.....,~: k .DwK1nat.addltd lo
U'.fl IIW'I\bn.M:io: 1~T6 CM.rn.~
oll-.1f\A r... fI'\bi~ layeredl u lus..
St'\K'....:T..
iSCfUo~ byC~ l'Hldul' ln g
:'M W1 t.,.,ttrt,..,.... :Ik.l l iftl bf'.¥i0
10 a.t.dlna..5ItoflPfO!'''tn
,....,.,J;ln:nu.a c:l~".oPtBthem
eotnl9fl. .andrt.llLn'
JrC,J"::::
all of these photos being the
~ : SAJn.1_ 4IXlremelyshort
T~ Tl'oIt.lckspinposilion
· -=.t'I~
p
L..tr'IoI.k""" .~rlO
~* , tc40 ~~ t clwSCCtt
~ I .~
( ~~,.~O) . ~"T!rf1lill.
1't:»ur1.~, ~an~1
..rttl"tt.I.B:t t»lrld.Ide figutt:s.
"-1Uh' ",um)&J hour "
.etrtplesand
Q:~T.,.t9Aff~ mpi(Carnes
fn!.II!'W llll,
same size, it's impossible for
~~~
X Uttl.x~
~.u ~ x~"'lU.Xx;t.Jt::t:
their to be any contrast within
J(.....I./l'l(ll.:.xr.X'U"'U'Oxx.x
~ 1 .,!i!"'! k. .
.,cj H!7.fO::':.....
~~.~
the information graphic and
,~ " X:a..I{J..o;::o'(j{.)o."'.o.JjI"U .Jr
8ton.bt
Axanx,....lI xx.·:JjU) M:A
Siwr
)u A1-"'--'XX louotJl.JOI:lI.u
IroIuI'!
X .......... ;lI;){)lJ(XXUUlOO[);
I'MI C ...."CAo"'lo'lSt
~
~-
once again, causes the actual
~~..~~ .
~~
.~ "'XJt.A.-...<..O~
content to be lost among the
distracting photos. The eye is
so confused as to which photo
1990s
~~ ~ Uu.~.
20lOs
~N:'-lW"\O
lOIOV<inCOUYK1 G'.( Sochi
F..sN«c Then
F..tn'orcp..4..,,'S cost-...,..b.(om.
F.. .tdo":S~·u('~
lrend , aSmar'!7 ~'.nM<ome
t
iflheywoear ~'5'i.;ll ."lII f e
to look at that focusing on
dlscouraged ftom .......
iI'\C,
costlMTleswhhtnc/"Wi : baI ~O
percentorth. "~ t~"'lIt ~QI
wertilOf'ic
the actual text seems almost
impossible.
Structur.:T"hfol"~~l1
·..".Ttt ~
a.dde-dlOth~2(114S<K
which added information
tb4c'\ WId
~t~ '!!:'
TKhntquIn: · P'iowYril "hQ~ 1y
Hel''J,),.'':'~ .ll'I
It
ist ~ f~,.,. <;, t,
th ~ ( wNt" ..... ~t:r
~
.. trAns iUon to
...,..tIini:. ~ ny~swl lh thin".r
fbil:.,.n C\l'..DulS when Vera Wana:
dll!! ~K.lnQ Mrrlg¥l· sco:ot~.
.... .,..
Struct..-.: ll1e short program
C'OUf1bU
oflhescorenl991.
2/l.
. . ltbor.st l;londotrtf Qf'--*,-.
pur l UltlM.K.h .&S ~,)QII.. . t ~~
~\..,. o. L _ ~.lm CJr: 'nIlk
.... ~~t
Gold
Ox.....,
· · ~x.n...uJoS
~~~.~.....Q.:t.o.~~
Bron2eD :('~'(.t ...").... ~
We also got rid of the chart,
G.mu .
~ Sjf"i'"~Wt':.M
ct."*" dt.~ in bri8hl "nd~
)<.X"... ~.u ....x
Gold
DX"«ll~ ...Ull(lO..
s·~;;·
0=.:::;'-====
Bronle DX.o.~.ul ..... )I "o M)I..o:x:>
I,," ~P"'<'.~
G\lJd
I<g;)(XlOI'...... ~;a
~~.~~
}(}O()U(JllUOlXx,xx.u.xxxx
layering, so it took away that
additional element.
9
DRAFT FOUR:
This is the draft where we we
really tried to formulate how
we wanted our information
Olympic figure skating through the years
Olympic 1ipart .
u1J( addcU thcTunu coMp(.'1i lio n 10 the 20H Sod'ti CaJnQ.DM oi IlUI'I'J ~ t ~'lI o.k (M:l Uw )YVS II) tiu: \ Vinter 0I'~(i1Jc:~ ~port. W'tu. ..... ;a;a
t.lm·~ .ln QUt:diww compt" l idc.) ';"Jgrd
FASHfON
'y o:nirJfric;Jt'Cii,,~"no·""Nl tndcJCf ~~ of pa mJ :llhlalC"t......
ICONS
TECHNIQUES
.A~tu~.
GtI!Ic:Ja.~t
Ollllkia.J41.;r;oin
e~",.,. wo 'l'\.~
rtt!:ft~~l1
~...u."' ¥1!fT\oiI(Jlll wh h
to be visually communicated.
Nr~
..a,.
tlWnNJYfifb.;I'e ..
:-~~ot-.=
botfl'"tfmI!'f.Jill1fJ
wMf«~J,."""'"
,~·",Scnta'"'"'.
~on ~ 1
w....a Cf'G on or.
.t.t..II' MtlM
1930s
I
~/Jt. ~ rnt~·l.lPb
,-JCM. n
~=~~:='
CII.JI""'Dt:so-ut)'1!:
.
Ot Df"a8
1940s
Ou.t¢!..:tI::, j,C:
~~:I I.
fJUrttbc, c~
rhc' /~ o.nw, M'lm. /Jtl.f
l:1OMX JI 'tM~~~
11~Kfti#(W
lI.!f to W:r/;t 't,·.. rl
H
_....,.
"l ' ~~~C'."!!!)e.,"WI'r
Cold
......
Ct" iI ... ~ c.eR
Sitwr
fashion, icons and techniques
'=
V~;.-~.tJ~S"Nt:
~.£I..~~ ~ '~~.~'
~~
~T
= £W:¥..
H...-.rwn. · 't"....... c.M
1950s
Cotiat. iH-..."to.dlupiDUf. Jle-to ....'
IOfmm ftll~htQ 'lJ4~Md
!nlM.Lm- I'VSb.~ ~a...
bl lilht c-oO).I'I' . trW. Stll ,IoJrl.lo
.~ ! O $~' ~ tiOn
..-...
l.tlltsU ckl1etO t M'o!P1U:t. ... .snd
t n. 'C O:':'ll'lJV k:oL lIwr-Gfm.tll
d! C''\ ~ ~
directly underneath the
1960s
,," t~Ut" ::K1"IIItftOI .. ~·
~ t.~ .a,~ W'\o1II.01'tt.
i'lJ~~ CI:Ynl""''''''
q<MtP,~ II.8 ro f'W~
S.wn Of'l I.oc-.o~S.If,.lc h
ofIu('.~ ~~ ...
labt\;c sl\.>Ch • • IO...... ..re
c....r
SOP'frc.ent
rt.,tad.ou.lo"'oemM'Idn
placed them vertically along
ScrOo H_.otOI1
~ =kAzl~~..w1
~~cw: rO'taH
V,f ~~"i'I"," l1otM
,.,"""'41iM
headlines for the decade, we
GoI• •
. .......01" ... )
'';let J 'e II U,'TI1t
of ··~ IW..nIM' tD
Instead of having the flags
~.!:i~. ~~~~
( U'...... cl~~GM
~ r-l~ue "eulAtpau..,,..
~.aoc;~'''tM.q,:
throughout each decade.
~
E:OIWIb:wtl p«1Q1'J'I't.An.u.('
~~I.-w-t
~~".u
not look like a timeline, so
subdividing the sections into
....,. iii
~=' ''''''''Jn r~
Previously, the graphic did
we attempted that approach,
~~~~~~~~
1920s
.knI6) 1: ,)(t..".,.lity dan ~ f'!UU.
1INI
It)Ortsatld twiC'rfwQt. S4'U
~ UI\Iu .te trot t • .f\.
the right side of the page to
add some sort of structure to
C.r;1d
~ S l l""
the timeline. The new structure
"'6hw11potfd.Jy DI\
Ccn\pW.~c.t"f Ii ~L.\II"ft and 2: 1
50 '
no",)
r
_
fIt,II
. SdIub.MJT
" ' l<4.r.. " r~CAH
.lInet L""..USA
~ ' r" e ~M.e .
allowed the page to have
more rhythm than the previous
SOclI"u. .......tll'Wlnot'snot t
=::-"~"""f1~~
and confusion juxtapositions
in the last drafts. However,
even though the page seems
more structured, we were still
n-. t\ .a t t~'LU~to
struggling with proporitionality
~.,~~
II!""'NI'I _. "~,,,"~)'I!t'!:1Mtn
~!..~~~
lhhl., ' btl: .w\cJclAOtrt\
whtrt'-l9t:l ",....,dnIi&N
Nant"fK .. rr1~
HlN:Y "'e r~lJ'§.A
~t"<!Il1''l.J!Tt
and contrasting of sizes.
~
While still very rough in
M«'I',c,oW1#Tl«I bR1ort..
C~~~::~.l~.
blilht..:l~ttytt' .l.
ll...... lwrnor.
s:.,.,.r.n~' wflU h
:~.;~~:~:!."
Q~'lTICks.J... rTl'l.~ 't
~
2000s
. ~~
.
1.JJCMn. Ct'lN
lOOJ
= .-""'- ...
- ....,
- ,.--:,-""""'-,-,
.----:­
..
S-WUtlUnion~dtf0C' 6 0
}tk~t).,t@m"r'll*r." 1fW
tttfir'l'\.UOWl~JYllttift
I~MlliMl..4IIo(MW
standards, I think that this was
~,­
s:....... Ifo!lo.. ~!I .n! . IJ"' I1!.1.;u:
I"ft.II\)'tIt.tets bet'Cln4!h.ot lfu,.J
·NNltltev(',.S}..6tt';~ ar .dIs.c.cut ­
that we'd had thus far.
L.u~ CI·fN
S~
·N=w ,.it h ~Fr"' tl! .. l.
. er.
=::e lOl~t~~
Tribune's alternative story form
easily communicable version
NN1C'»!:!!.~US4
•
~.l.Ji:)..nJW.USA
consideration of the Chicago
more visually appealing and
OP..".SIo1i.II.,UKR
~
~ DN' •
....,1'tCm.....,..
I"'IlOIf"tI
~ tt#l
Yt1lA
t.kln 50 JMr(:"" 01' th t from
l~rMMorthl.Nt.k.
2010s
rJMruPJ CIloC'!fil~torlw
101"" 56crJ{i;itr¥....
s ••
•
~.1r.wd&.JPf,I
!)t-oru. . . . JO.InrMi'Ocl"eoll• • CAf"'l
DRAFT FIVE:
Olympic figure skating through the years
A weakness of the last
draft was that the lines going
from each of the decades
FASHION
ICONS
TECHNIQUES
,';lh","~ .
~ w~ I rt3(n .~
cut U:19
!TlQN ~ fTI:td..,
~ol.-;ItU .-d
'0'.....
..
.lMs lirl.
~ M?I-'-'
d ' ...:iifl, . I' f'!'l6(]l wl l h a
~b.r.~~O~~~
Jud....
_ .l-04ljlJnO
.. _
Pl rlo4'm ..
~n
~llll'ntntll lioOd
;)('t ·~ •
weren't uniform: instead
' ~
J""'.s IW'l~ dcn 't
~tJ ..,.NWt\. "lfN) st .;al f
" w. rTM'dolb., ew.n
lI'OJf;tl ~ ~ .rn th .
saTI. ~.
of being straight across or
~t"(lf.e Ul"lbGrWI,
,. a ll.".,q,
/nUbk cJm,Mr o.a11t' nu
•
o:.atdoortom fQ01.1.~ oJ.
".".
~.~ hoe1'"f~
p a~dWl!
0Ip:l
of16 .".:1~ 0I'l
! O~on t~ ~,
holding the same angle, they
J(.r "_"' ~""'"tl<Jn
pacr~ItI.""'16tI )'Ch
and 4t!.s.
were stair-step, making the
O\I8 ' O'.lo br'lt r,).,~ .,
eye work harder to get to the
~"OI""IW_"WLl
b«.Qm .. ahor..
tJb, ,,,,,, ~ .
r~..at-.. tc
oolo to
=~~
~ f"loW . lI u.t_!ntl
~\"I 1 Q\6
information. Because the main
goal of information graphics
is to communicate visually
~. ~ lolrom ~.AI
Rktwit'dAu t~ Th.
flfSl ~ tOL,a,'Id",
~t"t 0 1l4 sW1"" "'r1d
r...oIOoIl ~ • • l f .\"Jlj .
c~ ~ autt::!"
CoII-JrStM&1n tod UQ-­
Of.,
~:~~ iI~.:.~~t~
~~.~ .
trtpIe ~ Cluq,'a
._~ tWd l'#lo"O "1cI
~ 1n19J.e ll'l4 W- ',--'":JI''''
and effectively, we opted for
li\o. JJ I, b~ lnor.
straight lines instead to give the
ckc~
dftc:)llS
Od and ~
~ewr.CI'1 10
~ ~ ~StI .-!t:h
fiJ:I:!ric S IUCt!.u ~flCIP:
graphic a cleaner look.
""c~ lfiIdl.- tohlJh f ~ won l"'V:lld
~ ltll MB. """"""'"
~"'!W'IkC(K tvfrl!t
~
~motfI,t.r.
:w"M'lbr
~naln1opGrtJ iII'KI h ...,.,.,......,.!Mtll'b
amn . t3 'U"1C!t tn.
It's important to note here
that the most drastic change
Alu. ~ I r.~gDki
"" 9 ~H:unll w.:u
"~"Um 4l \·AlT't ifl~ "~.
S'WdM·.a; {"' tNl ~ U30
we made from this draft to the
:T\U
andn...
).l.... nlr .." ..tihouf'iP'I f
cbr~ ~WoJ,.fI~tn
"9"''''''''''''
t;..CAmf' 1II 00tbC1Ni
'nill.]~L:uantfllf , wt..
Irt nd.
previous was within the flags
- ...
"'..-1~
and the additon of a medals
..
~
' - ' ..... ~... cc!'
trw
""l99r; ~
1980s
~trWn .nd aUld..
~~~=: t'h .at
pro:t..,a!1I
d ot
~~~~*-
)I . . . .
{'I~...,.r<1 wrrH
chart. In the previous draft,
Th.. I:'MO;~ f..Ml t iOr\l ~
UUoUO b l' trQ.J*'lc tnt
liw1I'I lC Pm:" ...
ik"ln.~
==(~
the page lacked balance:
there was so much type in the
flags, which was ultimately
Thof.nll 1I ~ ~I'\AICIc "t::
to
r*W1(
.rt'IU~ ""'lll
' hlnr14I"bIb'-c .II!d
orutou tt w'-"" 'h-,',. '' ' ' ' '
dulam ~.i ~· Kerr ....·•
taking away from the important
out..."
tWqK.".'P"
"'t:~ .
,~
., w. j9~~s
=~:'I:=
MI'W' .......u Ol...
$tMo ......,~ )n t: t.pm ..
V"';a,~n.rit.·".
content about fashion, icons
and techniques of figure
~""""'oiIv'w'Pi
~~I.~(O(T',,::~:W, tN
~"'_h
skating. Instead, we made the
~!lt h,JnCl6\n
t.$M(~.~'"
c ~ ... q ~ ,.
20 \J, OtyI1'1Uii::.:a.. graphic more visual by deleting
the names of the winners and
G.r ,IC" G.oI j ,,~
ir'C!n~l a t th& ..p
o~ lo andN..s ·~ )C )C
highlighting their flags as well
as remaking the chart that was
previously shown in the form of
a bar graph.
rnrIUUSJM ...c,.. ..
~t:: ~ ~,'hl'
; c.ur. suUn,1n
Hco.-.tnber UUto~M.
G ~ c...~t .,
s... ~ IH:iiJl "
20IOs
T1lI'T~m ~ '''~ m r,''tf
('1)M ~N~t.
DRAFT SIX:
Olympic figure skating through the years Whereas previous drafts
lacked balance, this draft has
ICONS
c. s G.nt&1.."QTI~
mnII"O;;",,*~W!.
perhaps too much balance.
mMl4rfl/ "'... -..'.,
MW;I ane olt""'''­
atnku s to "";"both
By moving the decade titles
.umm. ~.;.ftdtrrril"rt«!
1"'lIWd......" t~
::!laJ. "' th.WI'I'\f
to the left, yet keeping them
approximately the same size
as the flags and medals chart,
o..miMlli<rtlI:lIOnIr!&.In
V\~ II:IW!il ' .sldf tl
~,=<:mss ~ t. r
the page looks too symmetrical
and very gridlike. At the same
time, the lack of white space
1950s
TM' I'Iril ~ ~", (g
'>0
,, ~ foO(I (IUm.. a
FU,Jowd
C~mp.ll
&utton u.unilhrrOlJO'd
~1Ib. ~104&~
is overwhelming: the flags are
cluttered to the point that they
J11106(I t;..e,~f\,( ~~ J
are almost unrecognizable and
s....."
beret1"ll8f'nOrt
Pew;~_.
t~kIJflQ(ct""ff41.l1U..
drtJot)-w~~le-d..v"ds:rn.al
Ctll ~ Jf .M CU'lI.s SO
t i.gUldl~ i ... l?6A.
dtcct. 'I~Dnta
prroenf' a/ th~ u::ore.
ecst ~t. S tre:tc!')
~..,lconK
IdvfCIP..a!l ,usp.a.!"'dc(
=l::~~::::
the medals chart is difficult
,~ ,
Ol$Nn\t'dMi9nrd.and
- b y .... - .
ift s
c:ot'I&InuI. ! Q ShQrtetl.
to comprehend. At the same
time, we transfered from the
straight line approach from the
~t,.a! ~tl.j.n«
houn p.rcbJ on (cm~
w
.&nd l-- Jhour,
flags to the numbers back to
the stair-step method, which I
think makes the eye work more
:e: e •••
,.:.~
1980s
J'Mo I9M~~ ...
tM.u.H
~.l J.~llI'
, . . .• ..i.Jp«t~f ~
~eriN
---~~
u" .
r lll1ifOtymDc. .O'd
l'MGaIbt. IfI O'iii5.. ~
.,U~tw:il"
1
1)''O(MIIoti .....:f'II.:j'
~11H 'WfTr Sports .&.
FItlti"l .....fWlt '
.t
~lJ~":m:
and isn't as appealing or clean.
.............
a.W Mwrk..:lrl
:
,
"
·..
I think that the biggest thing
change in this draft was the
1990s
".tI»rt~
'ijo( ft. Klni'l !'9n ~
r/~ lQoll J}lOf1Wr t("~-.ll)/J..
. . .c_
HvlcytlAr,...."
'_.fWfl.'IlM' n~1
~ttt.1I$4~1.
~
we real ized we needed to
.. th.ltw....... n
.,....~ ~"b ' ~
~., ..." ' " '• •.-.rJI
'AMID!'ut.
medals chart. We'd already
transfered from a bar chart to
0._ _
this method, but we discovered
l'iII'iP'U~ t+f! l .
JDhrvty 'N_c.IC'I'!'IQ.~'
II'\lhtl.OUo6.And20lC
~·;.J,.,.~h ;lMr,tn
c~.ItirC ~fM"
ZO!,4 Ot.J1T'dc:t..
that this wasn't the best way to
communicate the information
~
. c..okt 11~l·
'"I, 1!'I s:>a-1 " ......
o'UIl...a....
due to the vast medals the U.S.
J(X
InIItWl.~~ ..
o/IraIo ~ u ~l t.~
I~U c;,,-.and I' r Cl. oI
r-~ · Sks4runa.,
Now9n'Ibtr1QU~ti':rt.
had won in comparison to the
rest of the countries.
Ir:ta lWr dtow.K1 "".
~4I&C"' SUuc
...
"
l'
•
•••••••
•
•• ••••••
•
·.
-;:; ..
.
DRAFT SEVEN:
In order to break up the
balance of the page, we tried
How Olympic figure skating has evolved
~:::!C!1fd:=~~j';;~~~~::i~-=:~~ t~~~t~~"I~·~':7;!::t:iJ7:r.~=~j= o\Yrthe~IOthcWlOt~t ul)mpia' okk~ sport. Wl\at
B, X.un X-n:u :Tthm-"....~I
WorMWS a.DALS IV COUHllIY
W.iJ
=
putting tinted boxes around
-
the decades. However, this
effected the graphic's unity: the
color scheme of tan and blue
FASI-IlON
1920s
AtH.~
..
~e
to start fixing the line situation:
A.ImO.sc-' ~ dGn · t
f O'_ .I.t •• MdlllolOrw ilq
~~\IIt...,. bAn '"
_ferrn
A4t~
lr !m'rtnt.lmeIlfl#yI92OsUt.Jt
CC.l t~ il*~Altn:lcs t llll
.~.,. • .-tOl'tIlOI'IGCMt
1ItetU.4'!1 -.w I'1\illlCM. ""'"-ll
.1Cfh :')fl,. ottn.'~
cr.
~' Md
~inthtlPOff_~'"
llNI"r.fHIJ""ro~
dOU.
ht
.U. l'f.lIO ~ "' b~
~"""""dh
,­
wrnm.trilnd...w.t.I
on ·~J!2M ,-ef .
~ e ..en tha1.l!lh
wno:.. t.
1930s
...
1940s
............ _...
.....,
S4tiH oI
p.-.tlltN
Scq.l~wtfttN'
"m~
­
. 1
tN~. oflti3rW,""
on 10 S~M .on tr. IiMr
~slullse"~fD-a
",.
~
aU~~~ 'oot .!.
lht',r AJ'e ln lM'-lmt
S~~In ~r rnoIJCn
,*1utf::) k, , ",-Y.te !O.,.
~~t.Nt~
place. However, we were able
TECHNIQUES
Galc;r. trom N '"'
mn Of,m
fntd.M1~
tr.;M1qf1&\ft £W tt
,10
really didn't match the rest of
the piece and looked out of
:e:
ICONS
O~
.wi
",..
~onnom.~
~.('ttIt.Jl ·)fNI,.,..,."
by having the lines angle
upwards from the flags, then all
'*-1O~'"Vct
..
1950s
5t11 . ~.u
go straight across, the rhythm
In.
" Andlh.
S~i' t:l
1960s
-,.."., ....,...­
rt'IGtW
=()( IS·~ ~~
ClIHtuntH s,rrtb:h
rKrtitlMlU'l AS SCo&nOtA:
IWt' O'_~ eddoe 0
&h
t:Mr1Mt',r.'I~.s50
lKiII'roIt'd,",DCofU .and
~ .....4.I. S*..t :s.
pnamof rN Jan.
~ tQ~tfl.
1T ~"I ;.t. . oIIDd
19~1.
P<ggy~"""
tt..Q6IdI'l'l«cWIn'~
Mif~ . . kllnlC.
COtMf'edet..-d¥ld
~by,*,""",""".
AftftwinninQthl'ijofd
in 1(j"6,C>oro-.h,K.,vnjI
consume.
The reason we were able to
COt'\"IDIt;ldion. lIt ' 'r d
~ 'Mt tWQ pkj
~Ck .s U!L.
'-'IMO'IN~""'"
we wanted to audience to
1(.1l1 dON to
,. tJ1pte lOop dlurin,a
COC~IDQr..I'"
of the page was easier to follow
and led to all the information
T'hII rh.t~tt'" tQ l.JI\d
Coi"'h be."' ~:j;
p....... ...... ~ 'ItO 'rnm h,/l
"'"a~h lO J..oo"~ &nd
~C'dors ... . t~f'1[I;
ltkno.l.-""M·A"""\(~·i
1970s
~.~ ~ bytheUS
f1'IIItCli.., andhtt
~·lu~h.tIf1fyt..
~ YI\'!lh),!l.oIl
1P1~.lhoo·r ~,,'J
--"' 1pC~I Qin+&
..........
...... ,."
y ."" (finlp. ·
1OfJ" '1tICI J..l houn
:n:rtIdL.·ced/rl1Vn.M'IIIt~.Jrft
switch to those straight lines is
~,rnUJ"..,.n:M("'ltlfO
~~~~~to
because we decided to change
up the flags. By changing the
shape of them, it added to
the harmony of the piece and
allowed the graphic to become
more synchronized. While a lot
1980s
K..,t llfltl.WlU lI lIo
Tho .......,
t ~M1e04f"'11*.Ptt
crwt.db,r
,.,....t. In I~S. •
f' )"~o.
Iao_,,,",,, _
WlTH WlnSoartsl::
~ ."9M~pca.u.... ~
r. . ;urtoot:lC'UdI . . . . .~'.
..
Tn.JhottCJlOV.",COfMIb . .
VJo!£N~e t"lWl.. ~
tfw :or1.I'P"QCfMr. CDtIU.A},'J
'JhtI"is . ~1t~to
~. ~$t~~wil~
t"*v!-er
Cr'Icand.
=;:;~~~
-'"
,.. .1
/In..
"'PIt._quads.
•.... oww, t"
cNt~l:k.. t.
lntMtanmt:f'lt tt; ~
"'-~~S; ~thDWs~
~""t'1U ~
Allld M r.-1C.\n
~... """"oI~r...
1990~
"""'"
f~ lt..uiertocomo~t.
tan~
J)(
"'""
"'-YK_
~\
....".,frwdM
rt'I t~I ~OtJmD'c:J
dt ~.bWW
:j
\ntnl k"'*u......
...... *'I ' ~ .,. s,;...
...,.0lil'"
\-\
~nl'wJIIJ
dl u.s..
of the photos are still the same
size, the contrast within the
jotYvtrw*cQl1'III;)C ~,:J,
!.h~ .lOO6~:iOl0
O)n1pk'pm. ~ .
:t.hon&~l~ ;tM'et h
different elements allow the eye
'.~bI:r. H. "
c..Ot.·.·".n.t.na\hf.
2.01:' 0t~~
l.tIrIftht.
. for mortl
stffl"llltl'l tl-*"4\wht(:1'1
W¢ N ! .f)'Uwowab6ut )
ilf\dCttbt.~ otI-In p-M'lu'u
1YC r: " d..l.r.ct .~• • tC'..'"
CLwvIII"Dt' LM\I'N lO71
o./·-'::;C.sI Ol't r ~"'b l
to be directed more smoothly
to the information and achieves
Cole .. Goid b ('OtHe.t­
. . i1tSoefll" l,h.~
..,n• .vdh4il'll'llOf'lXX
~ She WMf'.
Jl;IN.dt'lJ,~ t rw
t'SU C(M d PYl)Cl4
the accurate communicaton we
~s
uo.,VI
No,.""W't'T1OCf ZO\l t.o .,e1
ntohel ~r.v.;t1K,
~s.~r,
were searching for.
3
FINAL:
Evolution of women's figure skating
.. L..u.c....... 3. . . . .
All of our drafts culminated
into this 'final product, the
A.W-....,.. ..... I
",,,,"­
_
___&<UIJWI-..n_
.........._
------------------------~ --------
-
=-=-=~ , , - = = - . . . t : = - . ; = ­
information graphic I worked on
that I am most proud of during
THE .·ASHION
THE ATJ-iLETES
T IIESKATJNG
my time at Ball State. Through
all the drafts, we discovered
what worked successfully in
ways to communicate and
what actually made the content
suffer. The medals chart on
the top is a good example of
how the same information can
be shown in different ways, but
one is more visually effective.
ur ~ ln
f~
!'II ..
iJ
~ .. I
From the first bar chart to the
medal representations, we
tried presenting the information
both horizontally and vertically,
but found that it was easier
communicated through a
horizontal layout. Interestingly,
the flags basically show the
same information, but in a
different way. We decided to
highlight anytime the U.S. flag
was represented in the winners
and although the two graphs
show the same information,
they are presented and visually
communicated to adhere to
different perceptions of the
audience's understanding of
the information graphic.
14
REFLECTION
My work with BSU at the Games and the Chicago Tribune completely changed the way I look
at information graphics and how to visually present information. I think that the most interesting
part of the experience was being able to see how much my work had progressed from the London
Olympics my sophomore year of college to my final semester for Sochi 2014. Not only were my
desgn skill sets stronger, but I also felt more confident in collecting information, conducting research
and interviews and developing relationships with professionals in the industry whom were able to
better my visual communication skills and strengthen my knowledge about design principles.
The experience I had with BSU at the Games allowed me to feel comfortable and confident in
my abilities as a journalist. I've been able to talk about my work in multiple job interviews and am
happy to say that after graduation, I will be completley a six-month design residency with the Boston
Globe. I believe that I was chosen for the position because BSU at the Games has proven to be a
professional program that allows Ball State students to expand on their journalistic talents and I'm
thankful that I'm able to further develop my knowledge of design principles and information graphics
after college. BSU at the Games made me a better designer and journalist and I know that it has
impacted my future for the better.
15
WORKS CITED
Collier, Ellen; Prandato, Jennifer; Rudimore, Kori. Evolution of Women's Figure Skating. Chicago
Tribune, 2014. Print.
George-Palilonis, Jennifer. A Practical Guide to Graphics Reporting: Information Graphics for Print,
Web and Broadcast. Burlington: Elsevier Inc., 2006. Print.
Malamed, Connie. Visual Language for Designers: Principles for Creating Graphics That People
Understand. Beverly: Rockport Publishers, 2009. Print.
Frascara, Jorge. Graphic Design: Fine Art or Social Science? in Design Studies: Theory and
Research in Graphic Design. Princeton: Princeton Architectual Press, 2006. Print.