Design Basics

The design principles presented here combine traditional wisdom with extensions to address the evolution of future interfaces. Existing design principles are based on our own experiences in user interface design, on the design experiences of others, and on insights from linguistics and psychology. We have extended these design principles to address evolving interfaces that will provide a more friendly appearance and behavior in the future. The increasing use of 3-D and real-world representations as well as the blossoming popularity of the Internet and the World Wide Web have strongly influenced these progressions.

IBM (1999). Design>Graphic Design>Information Design

The Evolution of a Chart  

Knowledge to help prepare professional time elements.

Kubik, Rick. STC Region 7 Proceedings (2002). Design>Information Design>Graphic Design>Charts and Graphs

The Guide to Effective Illustration: Images for Presentation and Publication

An important part of modern communication is the use of images, both with oral presentations and in publications, to convey the essence of the author's message. As the methods of preparing, transmitting, and presenting images proliferate, we are all challenged to make the best use possible of each imaging technology.

Walworth, Vivian, Mary McCann, John McCann and Louis Rosenblum. Society for Imaging Science and Technology, The (1999). Books>Information Design>Graphic Design>Technical Illustration

Humanistic Virtues in Information Graphics

The media, in confronting the challenge of presenting heartrending information and the overwhelming amount of bereavement on 9/11, relied on a quantifiable approach to designing such statistics for mass consumption. Evidently, production inserts keyed in on the bottom of television screens displayed scrolling numbers, sound-byte tracks of seemingly instantaneous gratification in coping with the economy of airtime and awesome amount of news. One could imagine information “tickers” of human tragedy—where numbers surmount, anxiety and anticipation cultivates. Quantitative virtues portrayed in these information graphics argued for numerical clarity in its message; whereby in the days following, the world could have been changed forever, and these momentary glances at numbers assuage how humanity stood frozen at that very moment in time. Nonetheless, today the tickers are gone; numbers are no longer news; families are left bereft; and a war is well underway. The media has retreated to capture screen shots of “Ground-Zero” as it stands in recovery, and the news, while still overpopulated with information, may perhaps be apologetic for the dispassionate exhibit it proposed soon after the catastrophe.

Fukumoto, Dane K.T. Orange Journal, The (2001). Design>Graphic Design>Information Design

Information Graphics at the Boston Globe: From Concept to Execution    

Over the past decade, information graphics have become an increasingly important part of newspaper coverage. While graphics have traditionally played a supporting role to content determined by reporters and editors, some newspapers take a more aggressive approach in reporting and creating information graphics. At the Boston Globe, a conscious effort has been made to encourage artists to report the material for their graphics, and to seek greater collaboration with reporters, editors, and photographers. In our best efforts, this allows us to discuss how to bring words, diagrams, illustrations, and photographs together in evocative information packages. The Globe's specialized beats include four reporters who work on health-related issues full time. Because our eight-person graphics department is responsible for nearly all diagrams, charts, and graphics in the newspaper, it is difficult for us to match a reporter's expertise in any one area.

McNaughton, Sean. Technical Communication Online (1998). Design>Graphic Design>Information Design>Technical Illustration

Information Visualization: Failed Experiment or Future Revolution?  

Information visualization (infoviz, for short) has been dismissed by many information architects as a good idea that hasn't panned out—a failed experiment. Now failure is a strong word that closes a lot of doors, and information architects like to keep their options open, so the preferred phrasing is 'I'm skeptical about information visualization's value proposition' or 'I'll believe it when I see it' or something like that.

Fast, Karl. IAsummit (2004). Design>Information Design>Graphic Design

The Language of Color

Color motivates, excites, draws attention and provides emphasis.  It is one part of the coordinated effort to effectively communicate in information design. Color has long been thought to be only for embellishment or decoration. But if used intelligently, color can help give visual order to complex information. It can attract, enlighten and engage, and thus, add value.

Dowd, Tim. EServer (2001). Design>Graphic Design>Information Design

The London Underground Map: Imagining Modern Time and Space  

In one of his short essays in Mythologies, Barthes equated a new Citroën with the great Gothic cathedrals. He based this equivalence not on any physical resemblance, but on similarities he perceived at the moments of their production and consumption. Barthes saw each as 'the supreme creation of an era, conceived with passion by unknown artists, and consumed in image if not in usage by a whole population which appropriates them as a purely magical object.' I would like to consider the London Underground Map in the context of Barthes’s list of 'supreme creations,' and I would like to adopt his argument as the starting point of my observations.

Hadlaw, Janin. Design Issues (2003). Design>Information Design>Graphic Design

Visual Architecture: The Rule of Three

When I think of web designers and developers, I think of them as craftsmen. These are people that are specifically skilled for their jobs, and know their way around almost any unforeseen obstacle that may appear in their path. A true craftsman is an artist, who pays close attention to detail and produces work of the highest standard. These are the architects of solid information structure. They are not merely turning out product, but building from the foundation to the finishes.

Finck, Nick and Peter Fielding. Digital Web Magazine (2001). Design>Graphic Design>Information Design

Text Extraction from Graphical Objects During XML Conversion

Materials that include ornamentation and complex design features have long been challenging to convert to XML, even by hand. The problem is two-fold: complex documents usually contain a variety of graphics, some of which may be simple ornamentation, with others actually fundamental to the subject matter. In addition, these graphics can consist of images overlaid either with text that is integral to the image content, or with actual body text. The analysis and extraction of such content into a meaningful order in the converted XML file is not currently possible via scripting conversion tools, and can be time-consuming and arduous to tag manually.

Germann, Ryan. IDEAlliance (2004). Articles>Information Design>Graphic Design>XML