These are the essential elements of the art poster design:
GRAPHIC ELEMENTS
Color | Line | Type | Metaphor | Iconography | Editorial
DISPLAYING INFORMATION
Developing a Narrative
Questions to ask?
—What's the problem to solve?
—Where are the opportunities?
—How will success be measured?
—What will you audience listen to or be interested in?
Create a "Persona"— for example, the person seeing my poster will be 21 years old, interested in science, wants to know everything they can...
What then will be attractive/interesting to this persona?
What is the context of the information? How will this help in delivering the information? How will this detract from the information?
Remember to discuss the hierarchial issues of your content. What does the user need to know first to understand the information and then so on. How does this get distributed throughout the presentation.
BUILDING INFORMATION DESIGN
Mapping Out Information Graphics
Evaluate Content: Develop research and know your data!
Identify Audience: What are there information concerns and needs? How will they use this information?
Be a Critical Thinker: Evaluate your work from the perspective of your “viewer/reader”.
Information Design Principles
Consistency: Are the styles consistent throughout the types of information?
Proximity: Pay attention to space and relationship of data.
Chunking: Related elements are grouped together.
Hierarchy: Does the most important information “feel” the most important?
Structure: Is the information sequenced in a way that makes sense?
Balance and Eyeflow: Clear starting and stopping points.
Clarity: Is the information understandable? Is it legible?
This is the actual assignment as presented to the art students:
COURSE PROJECT
Two Scientific Posters—(1) Principle Demonstration and (2) Principle Social Significance: Students will work with the SPU Physics department on one of the following concepts:
1. The particular nature of matter (i.e., the idea that all matter is made up of very small particles that are invisible to the naked eye).
2. Phases of matter (solid, liquid, gas, plasma)
3. Changes of phase, in particular evaporation
4. Processes involving gases: change in temperature or change in pressure
5. Energy transfers and transformations in daily phenomena
6. Energy conservation efforts (e.g., reducing thermal energy transfer in renovated houses)
7. Energy as an immaterial fluid
Research groups will be assigned one of the above six principles. As a group they will research these concepts, gather data, sketch and appropriate their findings into a power point research presentation. This presentation will also include gathered data as it relates to the significance of this principle. For example how does understanding about energy benefit us in our daily lives.
After students have completed their research and presentation, they then individually will work on the graphic demonstration of their selected principle. These graphic demonstrations will then be applied to two narrative oversized posters. These posters will describe, demonstrate and present the scientific principle and its’ social significance. Throughout the process you will work with a Physics Professor to authenticate your research and visual articualtion.
Final presentation will be different than our “typical VCD final”. We will meet with the physics department (for a presentation dinner). That presents our posters, but discusses our processes of visualization. This presentation will include your research, compilation of sketches, notes and final visual demonstration. Final presentation will be presented last week in the quarter.