Project 3 Creative Brief

Background
The contemporary Seattle Central Public Library's architecture features innovative form and function. Although the implementation of the revolutionary library system improves the efficiency of book-handling and library expansion a lot, however, it also makes the building more complex and harder for visitors to find their way within it. When it was first opened, the building lacked a sufficient wayfinding system. Currently, the library's wayfinding system has been improved but is still inadequate and lacks consistency with the original signing system.

Target Audience
The prioritized target audience is male and female between the age of 18 to 65 years old. The majority of the visitors are educated people who are computer literate. Their primary intention visiting the library is not only to find books, but also to use one of the 400 computers available in the library. Most of the primary target audience are regular visitors of the central library. The second group of audience is tourists who mostly visit the library for the first time. They don't come to look for books but to tour the unique building. The third group of the target audience is kids between the age of 3 to 12 years old. They often come to the library accompanied by the their parents, and they spend most of their time there in the children's section.

Objectives
The proposed wayfinding system would include a new set of icons, an improved library map, a new color-coded signage system, and an improved personalized library direction. The new signage would be implemented consistently throughout the library, especially in locations of high visitors traffic. Its visual design would mimic the original library informational signage to give a more unified look and feel to the overall library wayfinding system.

Obstacles
The architecture of the library is very complex and each level is different than the others.

Key Benefit
The visitors would be able to explore the building easier. They would be able to easily find their way without specifically having to look for directions because the signages are placed at key locations.

Tone
The tone of the signage system is bold yet friendly, just like the contemporary building itself.

Media
The map will be printed on a sheet of glass and placed on a metal stand. The signage will be printed on a sticker and placed at key locations. The online map will be presented as an extension to the current library's website.

Creative Considerations
The architecture of the building is complex, therefore the map and directions should be simplified so the viewers can easily understand, but not oversimplified so that they are still recognizable as representations of the unique architecture.

Week 8 Reading Reaction

Summary

• Metro Design Studio, Metro LA signage guidelines
  The primary advantage of guidelines is to help people work with templates. By using templates, designers can focus the audience on filling the templates in. Templates provide a structure to help people organize information and focus on it rather than the design aspect.

• Hunt Design, signage and master plan for Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy
  In designing environmental graphics, also consider the "flip-through" users. Get the viewers' interest with an interesting image, an intriguing headline, and a short, crisp, declarative writing. It's important that the interpretive signs are of interest to all age levels.

• Bureau Mijksenaar, various transportation graphics
  In creating environmental graphics, designers must think in time see things in sequence. But the audience needs to have a sense of overview first; they want to get a feeling of what's going on or what will happen at the end, before they drill down. Good environmental infographics build up tension by building up information to keep people's interest so they stay attentive.

• Durfee Regn Sandhaus, exhibit design for the Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens
  A good environmental information design should have different layers of information. There should be one for the viewers that move quickly through the space, and there also should be another level that goes deeper into the information.

• Poulin + Morris, exhibit design for World Trade Center Visitor Center
  Normally, when designing an exhibit, designers try to create an overarching narrative, something a larger group of people can understand. But with projects where the subjective point of view is very important, people are terrified of losing their individual stories. Therefore, it's critical not to homogenize or generalize.

• Infinite Scale Design Group, exhibit design for Brigham Young University
  Interactive displays would make a tremendous amount of information available to visitors, without making the environment itself overly cluttered. In interactive displays, the additional information is not visible unless the viewer wants to find out more details on a particular information.
  When creating environmental design, it's also important to plan for future expansion and changes. For this purpose, a style guide with guidelines would be a good solution.

Week 7 Reading Reaction

Summary

• Alejandro Tumas, industrial diagram for Siderar
  When communicating complex technical processes and issues to nontechnical audience, it is often necessary to omit many technical details.

• The New York Times Graphics Department, maps and diagrams for the New York Times
  To really understand a data set, you need to process it yourself; you have to immerse yourself in the subject and do your own reporting. To help people understand the subject and data, designers must do a balancing act. Designers need to provide enough detail to illuminate the content, but not too much so it doesn't alienate some viewers.
  

• Funnel Incorporated, various projects
  Good infographics works by clarifying complex information, nit dumbing down the audience. In publications, such as newspaper, information graphics are a great way to cut through the clutter and ensure that the readers understands the potential story.

• White Rhino
  Using subdued color palette can sometimes make the information easier to absorb. Too much color can be distracting with such density. Without relying on bright colors for information hierarchy at such a small scale, the attention to typography becomes even more critical.

• Nigel Holmes, book infographics for Blue Planet Foundation
  In creating infographics, editing is critical. In order to create a good piece of work, Nigel Holmes often start with four times more information that he'll ultimately use. A good infographic is concise yet fantastically informative.

• The Wall Street Journal Information Graphics Department, news infographic for the Wall Street Journal
  Good information designers need to know their subject, and have a passion for it. The designers must do their own research; it's when they pore over the data that they start to picture the presentation and know whether it will work or not. Information designers must think analytically but also have to find an inviting way to bring the viewer into the subject matter.

Week 6 Reading Reaction

Summary

• Carbone Smolane Agency, graphic standard for Morgan Stanley
  For Morgan Stanley, Carbone Smolane Agency(CSA) created a comprehensive three-tiered system for all of the company's corporate events around the world. This comprehensive design standard allows Morgan Stanley to convey its key messages consistently throughout all of its branches regardless of cultural or geographic difference. CSA also developed schematic layouts to test and analyze relevant content of Morgan Stanley's Equity Research Report.

• Smart Design, packaging design for simplehuman
  Designers have little control over how the product would be displayed in large retail environments, surrounded by competing products. Therefore, product packaging needs to be designed to stand out from the clutter. Since most retail environments are self-serve, packaging also has to attract and educate potential buyers. Stating the benefits of a product rather than only listing its features helps the consumers realize the benefits of the product.
  
  In addition to boxes, Smart Design also developed a system for detailed but elegant labeling for the simplehuman product itself, so customers could get information even if retailers took the products out of the boxes to display it.

• Addison, various projects.
  In order to change and improve end-user experience, first, the company's internal system needs to be addressed. In creating successful information design, it's important to see the problem form the user-centric point of view and understand their mental model.

• Pentagram Design, magazine redesign for TIME magazine
  A consistent formatting through the use of a strong, grid-based approach in publication design can guide the readers through the publication and separate the editorial pages from all the ads. Using a limited palette of fonts and color allows the liveliness of the art, such as photographs, illustrations, and information graphics, to come through. Every redesign needs to begin with an exploration into the heritage of the brand.

• And Partners, brochures for Mohawk Fine Papers Inc.
  The design of a successful information graphic must begin with the development of content. And having a piece where the design and the writing are integrated is the best way to get good design. Design elements can also be used to reinforce a sense of information architecture, so readers wouldn't be required to read any of the pieces from beginning to end, and also to create multiple access points.

• Simon & Goetz Design, magazine for Sal. Oppenheim
  By featuring emotionally engaging images within the articles alongside the standard facts, the magazine uses emotions to create reader enthusiasm for a topic or article. By expanding the information design to the emotional dimension, the communication also often becomes more tangible and memorable for readers.

Project 2 Creative Brief

Background
Knowing screen size resolution in web and mobile browsers are a key factor when trying to create a viewable webpage. The concept of our overall design is to help designers determine which screen resolutions are the most popular now, as well as continually, and which are becoming less and less used. This will allow the optimum amount of people to view the webpage.

Target Audience
The target audience are web and graphic designers.

Objectives
After learning from the infographic, the designer will put the information to use by using the most & continually popular screen size resolution when creating their layouts & designs.

Obstacles
The technical world is ever-changing and the information may only be up to date for an extended period of time. The infographic would need to be updated yearly and continually double checked to make sure it's giving the most correct information at all times.

Key Benefit
A key benefit of this infographic will be that the screen size resolution chosen will be the most used and will allow the optimum amount of people to view the webpage.

Support Statement
Although it needs to be checked and altered frequently, the overall use will allow for the best results you can get. It will increase performance of your website's abilities and keep you continually updated.

Tone
Informative, technical

Media
The media will be either a flash presentation or an interactive .PDF format

Creative Considerations
We need to take into consideration the idea that new phones are coming out frequently and things might have to be updated. The overall idea of mobile browsing is spreading and thus, newer resolutions are going to be designed to fit new phones.

Week 5 Reading Reaction

Summary

All the general design principles apply in information design.

Color is very effective in conveying differentiation. Color can also be used as a navigation tool.

Type style can be used to differentiate types of information and establish hierarchy.

Changes in weight and scale, combined with color and type, are effective in creating emphasize and clarify complex hierarchies.

Grids and empty spaces can help viewers navigate through complex information. The structure of the design piece itself can communicate additional meaning.

Grouping information help viewers quickly find the information they are looking. Multiple entry points allow the audience absorb information as visual sound bites. Grouping can also be used to show hierarchy, especially when used in conjunction with changes is color, weight, and scale.

Graphic elements, such as lines, rules, and bullets, are tools used to attract the viewers' attention and can also provide direction and punctuation.

Imagery is an effective tool to attract attention. An effective imagery can also help summarize a complex information.

Sound can help the audience understand the information better, and when combined with imageries, can have a powerful effect. Motion draws the viewers attention and creates a sense of narrative that leaves a memorable impression.


URLs

• http://www.visualboxsite.com/
  The simple rectangular grid is not only used to organize information, but also used a base for the website structure and navigation itself.

• http://departuresdesign.com/
  This website is very simple and minimalist. It even seems like it is designed only using the basic design principles mentioned in the reading. Yet, it is the simplicity of the website that makes it looks bold and innovative.

Project 2 Sketches

Week 4 Reading Reaction

Summary

Information design projects deal with deep layers of complex information, therefore a supporting structural overview documents, such as sitempaps and page maps, are needed to help in gathering and organizing information.

In web and interactive design, a sitemap is used to help the design team figure out the overall site structure, navigation flow, and navigational nomenclature. A good sitemap should give an overview of the entire site, with its main sections, pages, and sub-level pages.

Organizing the data is the first step to create a flowchart. Once the initial diagram is in place, components can be shuffled and reordered, and categorized. Sitemaps can necessarily be revised and revised again. The next phase of the project should not start before the sitemap get the final approval.

Wireframe is another planning document that acts as a detailed guideline for layout and functionality within the information design piece. While the sitemap provides an overview, wireframes show the finer details of a complex information design project. They map out which elements are most and least important to determine the focal points, and they help determine what other types of information the design needs to accommodate.

There are no rules for creating wireframes. It does not have to look plain and ugly, but it should not look too fancy as well. Overtly designed wireframes can be wrongly assumed to be reflective of the final look and feel of the piece. The main goal is to catalog all the information in layout form without spending too much time and thought applying any specific visual design elements.

Testing throughout the design development cycle ensures that the design becomes more and more focused toward getting it right. The project may cost a bit more if testing is done from the beginning, but it will save money in the long run.

Test your design early and often, don't wait until a lot of time has been spent on the project. Test individual segments of your design. A test can be started early simply using paper prototypes. Once the user experience has been understood, a more elaborate testing can be conducted. Make the testing prototypes look enough like the final product, just don't spend so much time on making the testing prototype look so complete. Testing only needs to be done on a few people from each user group in order to get the big picture.

There are several types of user research and testing. All of them might be employed in a project, sometimes only some of them are conducted, depending on project needs. The types are: concept test, participatory design test, design testing, focus group, usability testing, and beta testing and performance testing.


URLs

• http://www.flowchart.com/
  In essence, sitemaps are flowcharts. Therefore, when we need to create sitemaps quickly and easily, we can use flowchart softwares. Flowchart.com is an online browser-based flowchart software. It has a number of useful built-in templates and clip arts for layout. Since our data is stored online, we can work anywhere as long as we have internet connection. We can even collaboratively work on the same flowchart at the same time from different computers. Once we have done, flowchart.com can conveniently export our work into a PDF, PNG, or many other formats.

• http://www.gdoss.com/web_info/web-site-wireframe.php
  This website gives a brief explanation about wireframes. However, I posted this link not mainly because of the explanation. It's because this website provides three very good PDF examples of completed professional wireframes.

Project 1 Creative Brief

Background
In addition to the verbal explanation, the How Nuclear Power Works article in HowStuffWorks.com currently has a simple pictorial explanation of the nuclear reactor process. This diagram, however, only serves as an accompanying visual for the text. It lacks clarity and detailed information to be used on its own.

Target Audience
The primary visitors of the science page in howstuffworks.com are male and female between the age of 6-17 and 25-64. They are K-12 students doing research online or adults looking for a general information about scientific topics. From the total visitors, 14% do not have a high school diploma, 14% have a high school diploma, 38% have studied in college, while 34% have a bachelor's degree or higher. The detailed information of the target audience can be found here.

Objectives
The interactive infographic that I'm proposing would contain more detailed information and features animation to make it as a self-explanatory infographic that is capable of explaining the entire process by itself. The infographic would also have a more appealing illustration with additional verbal explanation written in plain language in order to make what seems like a very technical topic to look more fun and more approachable by a wider audience.

Obstacles
The topic of Nuclear Power, especially the one about the Pressurized Water Nuclear Reactor process, sounds very technical and uninteresting.

Key Benefit
The audience would get a clear general understanding about the processes inside a nuclear reactor without being overwhelmed by scientific facts and terminologies.

Tone
The tone of the infographic is light and friendly while still maintaining a credible look as a trustable source of information.

Media
The new infographic will be presented in the form of an interactive flash animation with have a dimension of 800x600 pixels and published online in the How Nuclear Power Works article.

Creative Considerations
The wide range of educational background of the target audience requires the information to be not overly technical while also not overly simplified.

Project 2 Proposal

Subject
The subject of our topic is to create a visual graphic that shows popularity of web browsers over the years.

Scope
The periods are from 2002-2009 and cover eight different browswers based off of the latest version made during each period. The browsers are IE, Firefox, Chrome, Mozilla, Safari, Opera, Netscape, and AOL.

Destination
It will be an interactive, flash presentation that is user friendly and would ultimately be available for web/graphic designers looking to base their designs off of the most popular form of web browser currently being used for optimum performance of website or graphic designs.

Format
Ours would either be a full-mock .pdf or a interactive flash file. It will be user friendly and update previous information that may have appeared to be boring to those reading and create a more interactive, helpful resource as opposed to boring, dull, and inconsequential.

Resources
Our number one resource is browser statistic information pulled from w3schools. It offers all of the information up to date to the current year - 2009. We will also be researching different websites looking for further information of browser usage for other years to 2000 to hopefully cover the full decade.

Browser Statistics - w3schools.com

Week 3 Reading Reaction

Summary

In order for designers to be perceived as much more than decorators, we have to thoroughly understand the content of the design.

Future content updating must be planned early in the project. Designers must consider who will be responsible for future content management, how often the content needs to be updated, type of content that needs to be updated, and whether a trained person will be needed to update it.

Before starting designing, we must also consider the final "form factor" of the piece. What is the best format to address the audience? How will budget influence the format? Does the client have a preferred format? How often does the design needs to be updated?

The creative brief is a short document that outlines the important information about a project so that the entire them has a clear sense of the project's background and goals. It should be written by someone who meets with the client so that that person understands the project details very well. To make sure that a creative brief has an accurate content, it must be approved by the client.

A typical creative brief breaks down information into four general categories: client information, project information, project goals and requirements, and project logistics. Although there is no right or wrong way to do a creative brief, what's important is that it needs to capture the critical information so that the people who need it are "on the same page."

A user persona is a brief profile of a typical user that outlines specific personality, attributes, desires, needs, habits, and capabilities. It is a cost-efective and quick way to learn about the users' needs and expectations. For a big project, a series of personas are needed to reflect the wide range of audience.

To create a persona, first we must identify our main audience types. Next, create a short list of specific attributes for that type of audience, such as age, gender, education, profession, geography, lifestyle, interests, or hobbies.

Scenarios help designers identify specific patterns in how users interact with information design. They help us confirm our design satisfies the needs of the target audience.


URLs

• http://www.graphicdesignblog.co.uk/wordpress-as-a-cms-content-management-system/
  The reading talks about how future content updating and content management system should be planned early in the project. This is especially true for web design. One of the major problems of truly visually stunning websites, such as flash, is that it is difficult to update the content. There are many solutions for this, but one of the easiest is to use use WordPress as a content management system (CMS). As we all know, WordPress is quite easy to update, so why not use it as a simple CMS? This website discusses this possibility and shows some good looking examples of websites that uses WordPress as their CMS.

• A useful and detailed yet easy to understand guide to write a creative brief. It also has a couple examples of user personas in it.How To Write A Creative Brief, by True Digital

Week 2 Reading Reaction

Summary

Many factors that determine the success of a design piece are unrelated to the formal aspects of design but have everything to do with the context in which the design is created. To create a more effective and smarter solution, designers must understand the internal business structure of the client's organization. It also helps to know more about client's history, client team, and the person who is the ultimate decision maker. To make sure the project runs effectively, even before project work begins, explain and outline the process, team, roles, and timeline.

A large part of the information design planning process centers on the audience. Before deciding on the purpose of a design, it is important to learn the audience needs and goals. Identify all the possible audiences and then prioritize the members of the audience that are most important. Understand the emotional and physical requirements of the audience; what emotional response needs to happen? What is the physical context in which the design will be viewed?

In projects where large amounts of contents need to be developed, such as in books or websites, content organization is critical to help maintain order throughout the life of a project. One of the simplest and most effective technique is using the alphanumeric device. This technique basically utilizes a numbering system and use it to organize and label content from day one throughout the long course of a complicated project.

Since information design mostly communicates its message through written word, it's important to ensure that the language is clear, concise, and meaningful to the readers. Plain language uses plain words economically, its sentence structure is tight, its tone is direct, and is visually appealing. Using plain language does not mean simplifying and reducing complex information, rather, it assures the orderly and clear presentation of complex information to make it as easy as possible to understand for the readers. Online texts must be designed to engage the users to click through to find more information.

Although working with a large amount of source materials is demanding, try to review and analyze carefully all the data you have. The more you know about your client, the better you can solve the design problem you have.


Real World Experience

• Every year, my school printed a year book that contains all the information about the events happened in the school during that academic year. The book was divided into five sections based on the five departments that existed in the school: kindergarten, elementary, junior high, senior high, and tourism vocational. I was once asked by the school to design this year book. So basically I had to combine the documents provided by the five different departments into one book. The problem was, each department had a different person who were responsible to collect the data, which means, I was presented with thousands of documents that were organized using five different systems. Even their naming conventions were all totally different. I spent a ridiculous amount of time just reorganizing the documents — and I was not even paid to do that. I then realized how a single systematic and consistent organizing system is crucial in handling information-dense project.

• I was once got a commission to design a booklet for a small business. During the process, my client sent me photographs that they wanted to use but the resolution was too small so I could not use them. I called the guy who sent me the files but he said that he didn't know about that and told me contact another person. But then the other person said that was not his responsibility and sent me to another person. Around ten calls later, somebody finally told me that they didn't have the original files of the photos because they hired a photographer to do all the photos. He said that he was busy and might be able to contact the photographer in the following week. I was annoyed and asked him the photographer's phone number. I called the photographer and got the proper files in about an hour.

Related URLs

• https://www.schwab.com/public/schwab/home/welcomep.html?cmsid=P-2655315&lvl1=home
  The book talks about how using plain language is not simply removing complex information, but it rather assures the clear presentation of complex information so that the readers have the best possible chance of understanding it. This website and the majority of its content is a good example of this argument. Investing involves some complex terms and procedures. Charles Schwab's website, however, uses plain language and friendly tone to make the content easier to understand and seems more approachable by a larger audience without eliminating the complex information that it has to communicate.

• http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/eula/home.mspx
  In contrast to the Charles Schwab website, this Microsoft Windows XP End-User License Agreement (EULA) is written using sophisticated language at a level where the majority of its audience can't understand. However, this is not only a problem with Microsoft. In fact, almost all EULA are written using this kind of language. EULAs are important just like what all of them say at the beginning, "IMPORTANT-READ CAREFULLY." But if the consumers have to read them, why do all of them look like they are not meant to be read? Is there any consumer who actually read this stuff?

Project 1 Sketches

The infographic will start with the exterior view of a nuclear reactor building to give a sense of its size and location.


A floating text box will be used to show written explanations of the process.


The interior illustration of the building would fade to show the interior of it.


The create emphasize, the specific part that is being explained by the text box would appear normal while the other parts would fade.

Project 1 Proposal

For my first project, I'm planning to create an interactive animated infographic about how the Pressurized Water Nuclear Reactor works. The infographic would be published online in HowStuffWorks.com.

Currently, in addition to the verbal explanation, the How Nuclear Power Works article already has a simple pictorial explanation. This diagram, however, only serves as an accompanying visual for the text. It lacks clarity and adequate information to be used on its own.

The interactive infographic that I'm proposing would contain more detailed information and features animation to make it as a self-explanatory infographic that is capable of explaining the entire process by itself. The infographic would also have a more appealing illustration in order to make what seems like a very technical topic to look more fun and more approachable by a wider audience.

The new infographic will have a dimension of 600x400 pixels and published online in this page.

Week 1 Reading Reaction

Summary

Design is more than a tool to improve the appearance of an object, it is capable doing tremendous impacts in our life. Whether we realize it or not, we rely on design to help us sort through complicated information and complex choices. The term Information Design is relatively new and its definition is still the subject of debate in the design community. The most commonly accepted definition describes the term as "...the translating of complex, unorganized, or unstructured data into valuable, meaningful information."

Effective communication is the essence of information design. In order to be able to communicate effectively, information designers must have a user-centric mindset. Information design is practiced by a variety of professionals and is related to many design disciplines, such as graphic design, information architect, interaction design, and user experience design. There are five general categories of information design: printed matter, information graphics, interactive, environmental, and experimental design.

Being in a world where there is so much information competing for attention, the need for information design is greater today than anytime in the past.Successful information design can make the most complex information looks simple. A good information design must be content-focused, user-centric, and designed with a thorough understanding of the general design principles.

The fact that most people nowadays are predisposed to hating the idea of interacting with direct mail makes it much more difficult to attract people's attention through direct response mails. There are techniques that can be employed to create effective direct mails. These techniques mainly focus on presenting the information as clearly as possible and breaking through the clutter. No matter how attractive the appearance of direct mails are, however, their content is still and should be the main emphasize.

Litigation information graphic design focuses on function first because the more overtly designed anything is, the more manipulated a jury would often feel. The clarity of a litigation graphic is important because it has to be able to tell, teach, and argue its story clearly and concisely in a few seconds.

Information design is beginning to play a key role in helping city officials and citizens to simplify and communicate complex matters so that they can get a clear grasp of the issues more easily. For instance, the dry, bland, and long-winded Philadelphia regional report is transformed to compelling and positive report, making it more accessible to a wider audience. Information design has also helped the officials of the City of South Pasadena simplifying technical and detailed engineering drawings to make it easier for the public to understand. A successful information design can even fix a city's self-image and unify its communities, as what happens in Detroit after the creation the new city map.


Anecdotes

• Last year I bought a futon at IKEA. Like most of its products, you have to assembly it yourself. I would not have any complaint against that if they provided me with a proper assembly instruction. Instead of a well-explained and detailed instruction, it came with a short wordless diagram with vague black and white technical drawings of parts that should be joined together. Probably they decided not to use any words to avoid any language problems because the product is sold in different parts of the world. But really, is it that hard or expensive to customize each instruction to have verbal explanations in the language appropriate to where it is going to be sold? Or at least try to improve it with better design, probably use color coding, or maybe photographs. IKEA's products are nicely designed, why can't their assembly instructions be as effective?

• If you have ever bought any food through one of the fast food chain restaurant drive-throughs, then you must have seen the wall of menu that supposedly placed to help you. However, I think most buyers never even bother trying to read what is written on them. There are just too many information put onto the menus. The information is also organized in a very confusing way that makes it so difficult to understand, especially when there is a long line of impatient customers behind you. Drive-through systems are invented to serve food quickly to the consumers. Having to decode the menu before ordering is totally against the original concept of drive-through.

Related URLs

• http://www.flickr.com/photos/7802077@N05/3987062475/in/pool-123signs
  In the book's preface, the writer talks about how design can confuse and mislead. This traffic sign is a perfect example of his argument. There is nothing wrong with the visual design of each of the three signs; the symbols are legible and the colors are used properly in accordance to each of their different meanings. In fact, if each of the signs is used separately, there wouldn't be any problem. But since they are used together, they create confusion, mainly because the top sign and the one in the middle have two contrasting messages. For the designer, this arrangement of signs might makes sense, but certainly not for the general audience. That's why, just like what the book mentions, designers must also have a user-centric mindset.

• http://www.havenworks.com/
  The books says that information design can be found in every website I've ever visited. In my opinion, however, information design is not exist in this website – or maybe it does, it's just extremely poorly done. No matter how hard I try, I can't figure out the system used to organize the tremendous amount of information in the site. But because of that, this website can serve as an example to show the importance of information design. No matter how good and plentiful information you have on your website, it would be useless if you don't present it clearly. Another thing that I find interesting is the statement by the site designer about the website: "HavenWorks.com has been an Aesthetically Challenged News Website Since 1998 ... Aesthetically HavenWorks was meant more as a Mondrian, we apologize that it comes off more like a Jackson Pollock."

Project 1: Visual Explanation

Possible stories for my first project:

1. http://science.howstuffworks.com/nuclear-power.htm
   Create an animated infographic for HowStuffWorks.com about the process of PWR Nuclear Reactor.
2. http://www.spaceneedle.com/
   Create an interactive diagram of the Space Needle for SpaceNeedle.com.
3. http://www.wga.hu/html/v/velazque/09/0901vela.html
   Create an interactive infographic explaining the painting The Fable of Arachne by Diego Velázquez for the Web Gallery of Art.

Great infographics:

• http://www.bellona.org/ccs/Tema/introductionToCcs
  An interactive presentation about the Carbon Capture and Storage technology.
• http://www.mdgmonitor.org/map.cfm?goal=&indicator=&cd=
  An interactive map showing the progress of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.