Graphic Analysis

Hi bloggers!

Infographics are very present in our everyday life. We can see them in many occasions in the newspapers, the Internet, the TV, etc. And maybe we don't pay them too much attention as this pieces combining information and design are required! As the aim of this blog is to share from the most basic level the things I've learned of infographics in this past months I think I will begin for understanding HOW TO ANALYZE AN INFORMATION GRAPHIC. 

We can look at a graphic from a simple user point of view and not think very much about what is behind this graphic, but when we start to giving it a more deep looking we have to notice this six main aspects.

Taking for example this graphic focused on the average data that a U.S. citizen consumes in one day, I'm going to analyze it in a more exhaustively.

This graphic has been taken from this site: http://infographicality.com, there you can find very useful and clear information about infographics. The site is not so complex and very well organized, there is a side classification of the different topics that infographics can treat. And has also very simple posts which will make you easier the comprehension of the sometimes complicated infographics' world. I think is a worth visit to complement the goal I'm trying to attempt in my blog!

Abstraction vs. Figuration:

This graphic we could say that it's more abstract than figurative, because it doesn't really depict the human brain as it physically is. It does a metaphorical comparison of the amount of data we can get in one day with the inner space that is inside our heads, in our brains.

Functionality vs. Decoration:

It's rather functional, but we can also identify some decorative elements that don't give any extra information like the glasses, the eyes and the ears, but which are useful to give more coherence to the graphic and to complement the human head figure.

Density vs. Lightness:

I think this graphic is rather light because the information given is affordable to be processed and it doens't overwhelm the viewer. It is also very hierarchically and clearly organized, as the main information is given in biggest sizes and so, this makes easier its comprehension.

Multidimensionality vs. Unidimensionality:

This graphic is unidimensional because it only looks the information from an only point of view: how much data our brain gets in one day and where does it comes from. The point of view is always the data consumption.

Originality vs. Familiarity:

I think that in some way it's quite original because we are not used to this kind of metaphorical association, as the author's doing here comparing the human brain with a computer, as both a device for saving data. (And clearly with a critical purpose). But on the other hand, it's familiar because we are used to this kind of segmentations of a whole into different pieces, to express its portions, as it's done here with the human brain.

Novelty vs. Redundancy: 

The information given in each little piece of the brain is novel, because each one is adding something more to the information it's already said in the others.

We also have to add a final conclusion in which we explain whom this graphic could be addressed and also where it could be pusblished. In this case, I think that this graphic could be addressed to an average U.S. adult, as it isn't very complicate and could be published on a printed magazine because of its fresh, colored and informal style.

Where does all this come from? It could be longer to explain but basically, it comes from the Tension Wheel of Alberto Cairo (a famous graphic designer), which established the basic features you can observe in a infographic.

I hope you have found this explanation very easy and that it has been useful for knowing how to look through a graphic with a more critical view.

Thanks for reading,
Sara.