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.
I think your info-graphic is great! It is very clear and easy to understand with a quick glance. The monochrome colour scheme works really well too. I like your font choice, its very simple and is straight to the point!
ReplyDeleteThe infographic does look really good and is clear to uinderstand what you are trying to communicate from the simple graphics you have used. I think you need to add something on the poster saying something about it saying that it is venues you are talking about because if I didn't read the rationale I would't have know what 200 capacity or 400 capacity meant.
ReplyDeleteI like the fact that it is black and white because of the contrast it does make it really stand out. The typography used does keep the feeling of it being simple and this is good. I would maybe make some of the black boxes a bit bigger around the text as sometimes the white type is merging with the white background, but overall the graphics is very clear.
I think your info graphic works pretty well too! I like the effect of the music sound wave, the more rings the bigger the venue. It's different and you certainly get that it is based on music from this. I would say though that the country tracing could be slightly smaller? Its only because the 'twin atlantic' logo thing is really close to the tracing and may benifit with a little more space. Also its something I always get told.. the tracing is quite curvy it would maybee be better more realistic and jagged?
ReplyDeleteOverall I like the look and think it communicates the venues and sizes of them well which was what you set out to do. :)
This communicates your message really clearly. It's very easy to understand, although instead of 'capacity', you could say 'venue capacity' just to further clarify.
ReplyDeleteThe visuals are good, really strong and bold. The choice of colour works well too. When I saw the venue icons, I instantly thought of water rippling, so well done! that communicates well!
I think its extremely clear and obvious what you are trying to show, the type is very true to twin Atlantics style. I like how you have left the colours simple, it helps emphasise your point and avoids distractions. And i agree with Zoe, the water rippling communicates well and its a nice idea.
ReplyDeleteWell, at least Gary is talking sense. As both he and Zoë have pointed out, without the rationale this is impossible to understand. How can you possibly say it's 'extremely clear'? That's not useful and it frankly, isn't true. It's a good idea and it's well executed apart for a major lack of clarity. I showed this to Dave and he stared at it for ages thinking perhaps it was some indication of nuclear fallout. Zoë, the water ripple thing is clear, but that's not what she's trying to show, is it? So is it good that it looks like water rippling? Think about what the brief is asking for and be more critical. It will help Michelle far more.
ReplyDelete