Design Document: Infographic

Representing the instructional sequence to critical analysis of media

Adobe Illustrator, Adobe inDesign

Overview

This presentation will be an introduction to a professional learning microlearning training targeting Adult Basic Educators in Colorado. The training - in whole - will lead instructors in how to prepare and incorporate lessons concerning Media Literacy & Reader Response Theory meeting the College and Career Readiness Standards (CCRS). In its entirety, I am envisioning a three part microlearning module, with an embedded forum, and follow up interview (per learning design of the organization).

• Pecha Kucha Lesson 1: Introduction, was a broad overview to the what and why instructors should be doing this… hint: to develop critical analysis and critical writing skills.
• Infographic Lesson 2: Media Literacy, will introduce educators to the 5 Key Questions of Media Literacy, providing an example of use. A correlation to CCRS will need to be addressed. The Infographic will represent the instructional sequence, leading students through critical analysis with media literacy in mind.
• Lesson 3 will introduce educators to the Reader's Response and will provide an example of how they can use the theory to support students in writing critically in the context of media literacy.

Front-end Analysis: who, what, where, when

Who is the infographic for?

This presentation will be targeting the diverse field of Adult Basic Educators in Colorado who serve students in local community and faith-based organizations, community colleges, school districts, corrections facilities, workforce districts and libraries. The student base they serve is just as diverse, coming from a variety of backgrounds and literacy levels, but are all Adult Learners seeking to gain their initial diploma and/or transition into College & Career programs. To keep this presentation relevant, a direct connection to better their student’s will need to be made.

What content will the infographic cover?

The Infographic will represent the instructional sequence, leading students through critical analysis with media literacy in mind. This will be an instructional tool, for both educators and students to use. Many resources and infographics exist for this concept, therefore I will be remixing ideas into an original remixed Infographic to better serve this professional learning module and the audience.

Where and when will the infographic be used?

The infographic will be incorporated into a microlearning training covering Media Literacy & Reader Response Theory, it will be visible in part 2 of 3 + a forum for learner interaction and planning. It will be distributed through the Colorado Adult Educators Professional Association (CAEPA) and will be housed within the association's learning management system.

Instructional Challenge or Opportunity

Microlearning Goal:

• Have Colorado Adult Educators use Media Literacy and Readers Response Theory within lessons meeting the College and Career Readiness Standards (CCRS).

Learning Goal (Infographic):

• The infographic will present an instructional sequence and critical analysis question relating to media literacy in a quick and clear way for educator and student use.

Learning Objectives (Infographic):

• Learners will recognize questions to ask in each stage of critical analysis relating to media literacy.
• Learners will interpret the flow of critical analysis questions relating to media literacy.

Design Solution

Describe how your project will help the learning audience achieve the learning objectives shared above.

For the project I created two infographics to support the learning goal. Each infographic was designed identically to support cross referencing between the two documents. This was done to achieve differentiation and alternative explanations of similar ideas. It was also done to demonstrate the critical media analysis has multiple points of entry for questions to ask. This can be expanded upon in the full training.

The learning objectives are supported by the design of the infographics. Utilizing the visual design element of chronological, genealogical, or hierarchical representation, the graphics instructions are embedded in a top down order. However, critical analysis allows for learners to diverge and explore these questions in any order they feel.

To further support interpretation, a firmly embedded instructional sequence is present. This is expressed through an explicit numbering to the questions. This not only supports a sequence, but also denotes the number of steps of analysis to complete. To further support the sequence between the two infographics, common icons are used, in the same order. This is to support learners in navigating between the two infographics while also supporting the growth of critical media analysis questions to ask and at what stage.

When combining together the information between the two infographics, the readers (learners and instructors) can choose how to utilize them in class. They can be used independently or in conjunction with each other. When looked at as a whole, the graphics provide multiple ways to interpret each stage of critical media analysis, but are linked together through the visual cues of the numbering and icons.

Describe how the project achieves specific project requirements. For the Infographic project, describe how the project includes two of the four visual infographic elements.

From the infographic checklist, the project includes two of the four required visual elements. First, visual representation of an instructional sequence was the primary focus. In remixing two separate infographics, sequence was guiding the organization. Each infographic employs five steps to employ for critical analysis of media. Two infographics were created to support two different methods of analysis. However, in designing the graphics I attempted to make clear that even though the questions may be different, the stage of analysis is the same across the graphics. This was achieved in utilizing numbers and icons.

Second, a chronological, genealogical, or hierarchical representation was used to support the first visual element. Just like the numbers and icons support the sequence, they also convey a hierarchical representation. The documents are intended to be read top down, following the sequential numbering. However, viewers may choose to navigate in both directions as they complete their analysis, just as they chose to cross from one graphic to the next for additional questions to ask for analysis.

Additionally, the infographics utilize four elements for a successful infographic (Wells, 2016) in various ways. As these are remixes, I brought in my unique style to the design. Many documents I create for instruction look very similar but follow graphic design principles. As I remixed, I simplified and reorganized the original text to convey a simple message. In a sense this also falls back to my unique style of minimalism. These infographics probably lack the luster of some other more creative designed infographics, but this was done to keep things simple. Less is more, sometimes. However, these infographics are highly shareable. They are sized for standard US paper sizes, clean, and easy to understand. They may not be the most creative indesign, but they should be highly usable for the reader.

Describe how your design addresses inclusive design, UDL, and accessibility recommendations. And if your design does not address these recommendations, provide an explanation of why it does not. Include citations from our readings and viewings in support of your decisions.

First, inclusive design is based in iteration and the infographics were updated after receiving peer feedback, or iterated upon. Following some basic graphic design principles also helped establish a clear structure, see next section for more details. Both examples were offered in Garcias’ (2019) inclusive design guidelines.

As noted in Universal Design for Learning, presenting information in multiple ways will provide means for more learners to access the information. Even though these are infographics, the combination of numbers, icons, and text provide various ways to navigate the document. I believe this supports multiple ways of conveying information. Additionally, two graphics representing two different analysis questions were created. This allows for differentiation of materials and provides more than one type of question for analysis.

Even though these infographics are not created using web technologies, they still adhere to print accessibility. Proper formatting of headings and body text was used through the document. A sans serif font was selected to create a better screen reading experience, while also creating a modern print document. Text is heavy but clear, creating an accessible color contrast in the document throughout. The layouts are uniformed to allow for easy navigation. These guidelines can be found through the Web Accessibility Initiative, as well as the LDT Style Tips.

Describe how your design addresses basic graphic, audio, and text design guidelines. Please be specific and include citations from our readings and viewings in support of your decisions.

From Rawal’s 10 Basic Principles of Graphic Design (2018), I thought about each principle. I intentionally used several of the principles described. Alignment plays a key role in both infographics. All numbers and icons are aligned, as is all the heading and body text. This gives the graphic a rigid form to guide the reader vertically through the information.

Proximity was crafted in the spacing between the numbers, icons, and the supporting text. This was to allow the reader to have visual cues as to the sequencing of the information. Icons were selected to further support the visual cues. These are intentionally aligned and spaced to support the reader in distinguishing the separate steps in the sequences. To note the proximity of each connects the three elements with the need for hard borders.

Both infographics use strong repetition to keep the information uniformed and non distracting for the reader. The layouts in each graphic are identical, as is the layout of the text. This allows the readers to easily navigate between the two documents. Additionally, the same icons - representing the same steps of sequence - are used to tie the two infographics together.

A visual hierarchy is created using typography. A large title is present followed by a trail of icons of similar height. I believe this is connecting the title to the icons. With the icon's proximity to the body text, this leads to the connection to the information. The body text also uses a visual hierarchy, with a larger bolder heading followed by lighter descriptive text.

Color & contrast were a consideration during the design. Contrast was applied to the font weight to visually distinguish headings from body text. Additionally, on one graphic the body text was also varied to visually note a concept from a question. The absence of color was intentional, creating a black and white document. This was altered after peer feedback agreed with my questioning that it created a dull infographic. Therefore, color was designed back in as another visual cue to the organization.

From Govender’s Designing Instructional Text (2021), the most notable principle present is principle 1: simplify. I simplified the information in both infographics as I remixed them. The originals had the text organized oddly, or included too much information. I reduced the text and created a uniform flow. This was intentionally done to support the reader in finding information easily. Additionally, principle 2: personalisation was incorporated through the use of icons. These were intentionally chosen to highlight the idea they are supporting, breaking the textual information and welcoming and supporting the reader.

Formative Feedback

Provide each formative evaluation question you shared with your peer reviewers and explain why you asked each question.

I took a less is more approach, but now I am wondering if I overly simplified the infographics. They seem stark and boring without color. Would color or visuals enhance the messaging of these infographics, i.e. people and technology? Do the selected icons add meaning or are they not relevant?

I asked this question in reference to the 10 basic graphic design elements. One infographic, that was remixed, was rich in color and I found it to be both supportive and yet confusing. I opted to strip out the color and rely on other design elements to support the reader. It was also done in knowing that if an instructor or student printed the infographic the color would likely be lost anyways. I also struggle with adding images because the infographic is icon centric. I was looking for peer input on this decision as well.

I have not included baseline instructions or an overview... I was thinking the instructional sequence is obvious. Am I wrong about this? Should I create a tagline of intent and purpose following the Title? Additionally, I included a "Find more Media Literacy resources..." leading back to the source. Do I need to create a more formal reference/citation? The icons also require attribution (CC-BY), would small text be distracting? Or a reference/attribution block?

I included this question for insight about adding additional information. The opening questions were about informing the Universal Design qualities of the infographic - is it self explanatory or do I need to add in more supportive text. The second half of the question was more technical, asking about citations and references. I was looking for insight as to how “best” to include this additional information.

One font (Source Sans Pro) used is throughout, however I used different styles to denote different text blocks (black, thin, italics). The body text within the Five Questions Infographic has two parts distinguished solely with text styles. Would a change in font size and/or adding the labels - Concept/Question - be helpful/distracting to the viewer? Also, the thin font is also grey - is it too light?

This question was asked to check if the color, contrast, and hierarchy of text was visually being conveyed. As mentioned in the question I was brainstorming in adding in supportive labels but was seeking peer input in the decision. I also asked specifically about the thin and lightened font selection. Just because it's readable on my screen doesn’t mean it is for others. This was checking on text accessibility and any modifications that needed to be iterated upon.

Bonus: In the "Is This Story..." Infographic there is a two part question for Step 3. I'm not sure if it is clear it is a two step question, or if it looks odd as it is currently designed. Any suggestions on how to alleviate this? I was considering removing "Is this story news or opinion?" and simplifying it to just one question, "Is this story supported by facts?" Suggestions?

This was a bonus question, as it was question number four. I asked this because in remixing I was simplifying the original text. However, the original critical media literacy questions presented a different number of steps to complete. I was looking for peer insight on if eliminating part of a two part question could be an answer, or if leaving as it has any detrimental effect to the infographic.

Share the specifics of all peer reviews and explain what you did, or did not do, based on your feedback.

My first question for peer review concerned color, icons, and images. Overall, peer feedback enjoyed the minimalist approach. Icons supported the message and no mention of including images. However, all thought a small pop of color would be beneficial. During the revision, I played with many different ways to pull in color. However, I kept falling back to having black text. I ended up with accent colored borders around the numbers and icons. I found this to be the least distracting to the overall design, but incorporating pops of color at the same time.

• I think adding some type of color scheme would be beneficial. I definitely agree with the less is more approach, however adding some pops of color I think would capture a wider audience. In terms of icons, I think the icons are fine for the infographic. They add a quick visual to show you what each number is about without having to read the entire bullet (Liz).

• Adding color to some areas could be helpful to the overall appeal of the infographic. I like the selected icons. They definitely add meaning and help break up the information provided (Julie).

• I agree with Julie and Liz, While I like the less is more approach I do think some additional color would be helpful to make the presentation a little more visually appealing. I think sticking to 2-3 additional pops of color could really add some more visual interest (Lillian).

The second question concerned adding information, both a tagline and citations. This was testing the Universal Design of the document - is it understandable. Overall, peers felt an introduction - tagline, byline - would be beneficial to the infographics. I incorporated a small block of text to introduce each infographic. As for citations, I opted for Julie's suggestion of utilizing a QR code. This embeds a link to an external resource with references, resources, and attributions (for the icons CC-BY).

• I do agree with you that the instructional sequence is obvious, however I think it would be beneficial to include a purpose/tagline of intent following the Title. I was a little confused reading it myself and had to look at the original infographic for help. I also think a Find more Media Literacy resources link would be helpful for more information to be helpful (Liz).

• I think a brief introduction statement could be helpful to clarify the purpose of the infographic. I do think the flow works well though. I think you could add a QR code to help bring attention and make access to the reference page easier (Julie).

• I think adding a tagline and a short intent of purpose could help orient more entry level viewers. Personally if it's only one learn more resource you are sharing I think it's fine how it is. If you had several links/ articles you were sharing a more formal "learn more" section would be helpful (Lillian).

The third question concerned the text hierarchy, adding labels, and accessibility of grayscale text used. I was affirmed that the font weights supported the hierarchy of the text flow. The majority thought including labels would be beneficial to the understanding of the infographic with multiple body text types. In revision I added in the labels “concept” and “question” to help clarify this aspect. I also decreased the font size of one label to further the emphasis of two separate points being made in the body text. In asking about the readability of the grayscale text, I found that it was a few shades light (50%). I increased the contrast of the grayscale text to 80%? - or adjusted it to black.

• I think using the different styles to denote different text blocks is beneficial for the audience. It is a simple way to help the audience distinguish between different parts of the infographic (Liz).

• Different styles of text definitely helps differentiate the information. I think adding labels would be helpful and not distracting. I do think that the shade of grey is a little too light. I like the color contrast but maybe just a shade or two darker of grey, if possible (Julie).

• I like that the font is all under the same umbrella and you are not changing fonts. I would say adding labels or concept/ question type things would be more helpful to the viewer than changing the fonts (Lillian).

I added a bonus question to help me assess the irregularity I created in remixing an original infographic. I ended up with a single two-step question. I asked for insight if it was noticeable, out of place, and problematic to remove. I received two different suggestions. One offered a way to combine the questions into one question. The other may have been suggesting to add a new numbered step. Since I wanted to keep the amount of steps consistent across the infographics, I opted to combine the question down. I kept the question that had a “yes” or “no” outcome, and combined the description texts.

• I think you can combine the two questions into one. Maybe something like "Is this story supported by facts or opinions?" (Julie).

• Honestly I didn't even notice it was two questions under one number until it was pointed out. But now that I see it it does look odd. Is there a reason those have to be under the same number? To me they seem like distinct concepts with how you have them explained (Lillian).

Address any feedback you have received from me.

Your feedback was once again reaffirming that the project - in its entirety - was moving in the right direction. The thought that the infographics were actionable media projects was excellent. I hadn’t thought about it in those words, but that was definitely my intention. I wanted to create something that I could put into educators and students' hands to support them in media analysis. The overall arching idea did lend itself easily to the project guidelines, graphic design elements, and of course inclusive design, universal design, and accessibility guidelines, as you mentioned. I can only hope I produced an end product that meets these. Your final comment concerning learning objectives was highly valued, and something easy to overlook. When creating lower level learning objectives, it is possible to have more, but as we reach for the higher cognitive learning objectives it is better to create focus with fewer objectives. Thank you for the feedback.

• I love the idea of this project supporting something relevant to you that you will put into use and share with others. It has the potential to engage your learning audience in a relevant and instructional way. One thing that's nice for an infographic to accomplish is encouraging learners to take action in their own practice. For your infographic the call to action is also tied to learning more and continuing through the module.
• I can already imagine ways you will be able to address the required elements for the project... For example, if the learning objectives involve lower level processing such as define and describe then an infographic can easily address three objectives. If the learning objective involves more complex processing -- such as evaluate. apply, create -- then an infographic may only address one learning objective.

Design Lessons Learned

Please provide a concise and straightforward, yet personal reflection on the most important lessons you learned in your process of creating this project.

For this project I learned from my misreadings of how to complete this design document. I hope that I better addressed each section of the design this round. Creating the infographics was fun. I choose to create two infographics to make the lessons more adaptable and flexible as stated above. I also think this helps keep the graphics simple as opposed to trying to create a singular infographic that would overwhelm the reader. I think both of the original graphics were poorly designed so it was a good opportunity to remix the content into a better design. I hope I was successful.

I utilized Adobe Illustrator and inDesign to produce the infographics. I am becoming versed in how to flex the power of these tools. For these infographics I only used the basic tools in each platform - nothing fancy. I think the most challenging and fun aspect of this project was in icon selection. I used one of my favorite curators of icons, the noun project, to search at icons that represented the stage of analysis.

Bibliography

Cornell University. (n.d.). Universal Design for Learning. Center for Teaching Innovation. https://teaching.cornell.edu/teaching-resources/designing-your-course/universal-design-learning

Garcia, H. (2020, April 28). Accessibility, Universal Design for Learning (UDL), and Inclusive Design: What Do They Really Mean? Ecampus Course Development and Training. https://blogs.oregonstate.edu/inspire/2019/12/16/accessibility-universal-design-for-learning-udl-and-inclusive-design-what-do-they-really-mean/

Govender, S. (2021). Designing Instructional Text. Design for Learning. https://edtechbooks.org/id/designing_text

Initiative, W. W. A. (n.d.). Introduction to Web Accessibility. Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI). https://www.w3.org/WAI/fundamentals/accessibility-intro/

Learning Design and Technology. (n.d.). Style Tips for Reports. Google Docs. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1G6TFN7fWjgjCHjrQVJxS73TGt2tc4l4b9j3PIyQMlKU/edit?hl=en_US&authkey=CKb9icwI

Rawal, A. (2021, March 22). 10 Basic Principles of Graphic Design. Noteworthy - The Journal Blog. https://blog.usejournal.com/10-basic-principles-of-graphic-design-b74be0dbdb58

Siang, T. (2020, July 27). The Building Blocks of Visual Design. The Interaction Design Foundation. https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/the-building-blocks-of-visual-design

Wells, K. (2016, December 23). Four Elements a Successful Infographic Need | The Leads Hub. The Leads Hub | Lead Generation Strategies. https://theleadshub.com/four-elements-a-successful-infographic-need/

1. Checklist for Infographic Project

2. Rich with instructional value and designed to help learning audience achieve learning objectives

   • Contains two of the following four visual infographic elements:
   • mapped/annotated picture or diagram
   • compare-and-contrast representation
   • visual representation of an instructional sequence
   • chronological, genealogical, or hierarchical representation
3. Addresses inclusive design, UDL, and accessibility recommendations
4. Addresses basic graphic and text design guidelines
5. Avoids overused and copyrighted images
6. Reflects revisions based on peer reviews and instructor feedback

2021-08-04 Revision

In this iteration, I completely transformed the original infographic adding in data, additional frameworks, and lessons. The result is a really long infographic! It likely could be broken into two... During the revision, the focus also shifted from how to use a framework to introducing frameworks and lessons - using data to show relevance. I realize the document is text heavy; however I did try to use some design decisions to emphasize and draw the reader through the document while using graphs and icons to draw attention to details.

Adobe Illustrator, Adobe inDesign

Addressing feedback

Infographic or comic book. Is rich with instructional value

Combining the two originals into a single document connects the two. Previously I may have created instructional documents (or job aids). I then included relevant data before each framework or lesson provided. This was to create a connection, need, and value for Media Literacy. All combined it adds to a "story" of the importance of analyzing media. Looking back at the learning objectives, I think these need to be modified as I diverged from the original idea.

Original learning objectives

• Learners will recognize questions to ask in each stage of critical analysis relating to media literacy.
• Learners will interpret the flow of critical analysis questions relating to media literacy.

Revised learning objectives

• Learners will recognize questions to ask related to media inquiry.
• Learners will identify two Media Literacy frameworks.
• Learners will interpret how asking questions about media uncovers the explicit and implicit messaging.

Infographic: At a minimum contains two of the following five visual infographic element

In this revision I incorporated new ideas and representations to meet this requirement.

Visual representation of statistical data: I have included relevant data throughout the graphic. I included one statistic to support each framework or lesson. I provided text summaries to support accessibility (screen readers) and included visual representations.

Mapped / annotated picture or diagram: This is very loosely used in the comparison of vertical vs lateral reading and again very loosely used in outlining the frameworks or lesson steps.

Visual representation of a sequence: The media literacy frameworks are based on a chronological sequence, SIFT and Five Key questions. The "is it share worthy?" The lesson is modified to mirror the Five Key questions - diverging from the original that was flow-chart based. In retrospect, adding in arrows pointing from one step to the next would make this sequential order more explicit.

Chronological, genealogical, or hierarchical visual representation: Not related to content.

Compare and contrast visual representation: This was used in lesson inspiration comparing vertical reading and lateral reading. Within the data representations, there are graphics to compare different statistics; such as media usage by ages and media analysis confidence between 2016 & 2019.

Infographic or comic book. Addresses basic graphic, audio, and text design guidelines such as those outlined in our Six-word Design Guidelines.

In this revision I incorporated color from the outset of the design. I used it to create structure, data vs framework or lesson. The right margin of the document is utilizing negative space, as is the spacing between text and graphics. Headers are pulled to the left to create some negative space. Contrast, Alignment, Repetition, and Proximity (CARP) are strongly used throughout. Contrast and color is used in sectioning, and distinguishing summary text from body text. Alignments are kept left, and are uniformed throughout the document. Repetition is used throughout the sectioning - data followed by framework or lesson (repeat) - this is reinforced through color. Data visualizations included summary text to support accessibility. I attempted to create simple content that is consistently displayed... and more considerations were made throughout.

Infographic: Calls the learning audience to action.

It may still be a weak call to action, but now it is explicitly stated that the graphic is intended to have the reader start thinking about and applying Media Literacy in their lives. It is distinguished as a footer of the document mirroring the header of the document. The more resources link still exists.