Gdes2001 Graphic Information Design

• What is Graphic Information Design? • A summary of Graphic Information Design history • Graphic Information Design today. With acknowledgements to Brighton University’s MA Information Design Course.

Gdes2001 Graphic Information Design

What is Graphic Information Design? • Graphic Information Design is NOT about ‘Information Architecture’. This is associated with issues of structure and content for web based projects. It’s often confused with G.I.D. though! - “Complex ideas communicated with clarity, precision and efficiency”. -  “The graphical representation of facts, figures and information” -  “How we interact with and represent information”

• Information design addresses high level information problems to provide the most possible clarity, understanding and effectiveness.

• Graphic design (or information architecture or technical writing, etc.) is to information design as geometry (or algebra or calculus, etc.) is to mathematics.

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Gdes2001 Graphic Information Design

G.I.D. Early History? Early black and white engravings c1500’ to 1600s onwards. • Early architectural ‘cutaway’ drawings. The principle is still used today. • Often machines (here a printing press) were needed to be shown both in situ and in plan form I.e. from a particular view.

Gdes2001 Graphic Information Design

Byrne’s Geometry (Elements of Euclid) • Oliver Byrne’s re drawing of the mathematical Euclid in 1847 • Byrne tries to rid the illustrations of figures an uses distinctive colours instead to graphically represent - as a key on a map.

Gdes2001 Graphic Information Design

Maps and Charts. • Maps an excellent example of a result of the ‘information’ having been subject to being ‘designed’ in the way it’s put across. • Most adults understand the levels of information laid out in a graphical manner within maps. Excellent local early examples: Mappa Mundi in Hereford Cathedral.

Gdes2001 Graphic Information Design

Visual Systems. • Harry Beck - an electrical draftsman completed his re design of the London Underground map in 1933. • Previous systems tried to show geographical distance and tried to represent each and every turn. Beck realised that the passenger primarily needs to know when the next station stop was to be - not the distance between and the amount of turns etc as they were in the dark!

Gdes2001 Graphic Information Design

Road Signage Systems. • In 1903 the Motor Car Act required that local authorities provide warning signs. Combinations of circular and triangular signs were used. • Signs up to the 1930’s were numerous and often confusing. • A massive re-design of the system took place between 1957 & 1967 by the designers Jock Kinnier and Margaret Calvert. This became a role model worldwide for road signage.

Gdes2001 Graphic Information Design

Children’s Educational Strip Cartoons. • For a good portion of the 20th Century children’s strip cartoons have educated and informed generations of children. Some of these were of incredibly complexed machines or structures. The fly example from 1935. • Some well known examples appear by Will Burtin. Will was asked to create instructional manuals for young (and most often un educated) US. army recruits.

Gdes2001 Graphic Information Design

Otto Neurath and his ISOTYPES. • Neurath influenced by Egyptian tomb hieroglyphs and bold flat colours. He like strong, simplified shapes. • He developed the International System for Typographic Picture Education during the late 1920’s (previously known as the ‘Viennese Method’ of pictorial representation). He escaped the Nazis in Austria during the ‘30’s and fled to Holland and then Britain during the war where he worked at Reading University until his death in 1945.

Gdes2001 Graphic Information Design

US Fortune Magazine 1930’s to 1950’s. • The magazine developed a high reputation for it’s maps during the 30’s. Maps helped clarify much of the changing political and trade landscape of the era. • Like the less information-rich children’s strip comics described, Fortune used incredibly detailed cut away sections of complexed machines.

Gdes2001 Graphic Information Design

Pierre Boucher - ‘How to ski’ 1947. • A book devoted to teaching how to ski like the famous French skier Emile Allais. Illustrations designed by Pierre Boucher. • The illustration style combines references from art movements such as modernism and uses the techniques of photo montage and bold block colouring. These illustrations have many similarities to the Dutch De Styl and the German Bauhaus movements of the 20’s and 30’s.

Gdes2001 Graphic Information Design

Quick information sketches. • Quick, rough sketches with associated notes and thoughts have led to many well known products. Consider Alec Issigonis’s drawings in the 50’s and 60’s on the back of an envelope which led to the creation of the Morris Minor and latterly the Austin ‘Mini’. • In 1932 Germany’s cars were costly to both produce and buy. A decision was taken by the then ruling National Socialist party that a mass produced cheap “people’s car” (translated “Volkswagen” in German) should be created. The sketch above is the first concept - by Adolf Hitler himself!

Gdes2001 Graphic Information Design

Graphs and Pie Charts. • Graphical representation of polls or statistics has been commonplace since the 1930’s in such magazines as ‘Fortune’ and company reports etc. This example above is for American Airlines and shows spending during 1940. • Modern day representations of figures have been brought to the fore again by such designers as Nigel Holmes. He uses additional graphic ‘helpers’ to help viewers ‘digest’ in formation easier.

Gdes2001 Graphic Information Design

Graphic Information Design today. • TV News graphics - recent election etc. Also weather graphics. • National Newspapers - cutaways, political polls/charts. • Scientific journals – New Scientist etc. • Magazines - The National Geographic • Peter Snow’s ‘Swingometer’ on TV during election years. • Maps of all kinds - O/S etc. • Road signs, Airport signage - even UCW signage!