Now your a storyteller...

Rationale 

The Glasgow-based independent band I have chosen to create an info-graphic on is Twin Atlantic. The decision to choose this particular band was made easy on the simple fact that they are only band I have seen live myself. Therefore the task of creating an info-graphic that not only uses relevant data but communicates the very essence of the band seemed simple. 

Although I have seen the band perform I carried out further research. I looked at the band’s history, their album covers, their lyrics, read interviews and watched various clips from their tours. When reading interviews with the band one particular quote from the lead singer Sam McTrusty stuck with me - 

“...when naming the band we wanted to find something that would match the sound of our band which is like this erratic loud, quiet, the dynamics are all over the place and we thought of an ocean.” 

This quote really spoke to me because I agreed that Twin Atlantic’s music really is all over the place, it does not conform to one specific style. This also made me think of when I saw them perform live and how their wide variety of music is reflected on how they perform. Intrigued by this I re-read the interviews and noticed on various occasions the band spoke about their music as - “Loud/Quiet”. This clearly being a  recurring theme.  While watching clips of the band I also noticed the venues they played in ranged from small intimate venues to large venues holding up to 2000 people. Clearly a metaphor for Twin Atlantic’s music. Having captured the essence of the band I then looked for data to effectively communicate this. I looked to Twin Atlantic’s upcoming UK tour and found that it communicated their “Loud/Quiet” style of music perfectly. On their tour they will play in venues that hold from 400 people up to 1500 people.  

Having collected appropriate data I then went about combining this with relevant imagery. Although it may sound ‘cheesy’ while waiting for an idea to fall into my lap I found inspiration in an unlikely source. Looking at ripples in a puddle I thought of how sound can cause water ripples. The louder the sound the larger the ripple. This reminded me of music pulses and I though of how this would be a creative way to reflect data on a graph. Using music pulses to reflect the data would be meaningful because it communicates the content of the data, this being how “loud/quiet” Twin Atlantic’s music is. 

I then thought to myself how can I find a create way to reflect these music ripples other than on a graph which clearly is not very creative. The data having been collected from their upcoming UK tour I thought placing the music ripples on the specific locations of the venues on a map of Britain would work well. 

Being an info-graphic it was essential for this piece to speak for itself thus why I have made it simple and pretty much self-explanatory. This is also reflected in my chosen colour pallet or lack of.  For the font I chose to replicate the font chosen for the Twin Atlantic’s identity. Although I’m unsure whether this is the specific font I feel that the apple symbols font I have chosen to use replicates it well. I chose to use a simple key to help the viewer of the info-graphic interpret the data successfully. This also follows the same design approach of info-graphic imagery and data. 

 

Blog Post 6: How did I get here ?

Blog Post 5

Thats a Saucy Type

Blog Post 3: Getting Around

I have chosen to typographically analyse my bus concession card. The primary function of this is to identify myself as a student in order to receive discount when travelling by bus. It includes a passport style photograph of myself, my name, date of birth, expiry date and an official hologram.

Font Choice:

It is often a misconception that whenever designing something that appeals to young people it should include funky fonts and lots of colours. This can often result in tacky designs that really are horrendous. I am unsure of the exact font used for “Young Person’s Bus Concession” but it is a perfect example of this misconception. The font is awful and it does not reflect the content or the market well. On a more positive note the simple Arial font used for the other type on the bus pass works well because on such a small scale it is key to get across the essential information while still making sure it is legible.

Information Hierarchy:

As already mentioned I find the overall design of this bus pass tacking and I am quite insulted that the designer feels this would appeal to me. Even though there is an overbearing amount of visuals in the background the white box around the essential information (my name, date of birth and expiry date) highlights it as a priority. The simple, clean cut box offers a contrast to its busy surroundings. The designer has also applied this technique to the Transport Scotland logo and the hologram. By making the expiry date all in caps and in bold the designer creates a typographic hierarchy. It is essential when using the bus pass it is legible for the bus driver to see whether or not it has expired therefore this is why in terms of typographic hierarchy it is the most important. The type that identifies it as a Young Person’s Bus Concession has been kept white and thickly outlined in black. Even though the designer has done this to highlight the text against the busy background I think it still gets lost. The hideous Young Person logo in the bottom right corner again has been outlined thickly in black but because the fill is the same colours used in the background it does not stand out the same as the essential information highlighted in the white box. This shows that a simple white box is far more effective in highlighting text in terms of typographic hierarchy 

than the methods used for the other text.

Usability:

The users of this item are young people typically students travelling to and from university/college. The purpose of the item is for them to receive discount on bus travel and this is fulfilled. The essential information is displayed on the bus pass in order for this to happen however as stated before the stereotypical tacky design for “young people” really is inappropriate.

Grid Exercise