As part of my course final project, I created an infographic about the falling water levels of the Great Salt Lake. It was broken into three sections: the water levels over March 2022 to March 2023, how much of the Utah water supply is used by sector, and the risk to our water supply with the ever-growing population. This infographic required a lot of research and data search. Finding credible data was a challenge for water usage in the state. I found a lot of articles related to my topic with data to support the articles, but the data sources were never disclosed. Once I found the raw data, that data could be used and turned into visual data clearly showing how the water was used.  The data that I found to help illustrate my concerns had to be put into Excel, turned into three different styles of data visuals, import those visuals into Adobe Illustrator and improved and/or altered to better fit the final project.

This project went through multiple stages of feedback by peers and professors. Because this project is so focused on Utah, I tried to incorporate Utah theme graphics. One of the pieces of feedback I received was that these graphics weren’t contributing to the infographic but instead distracting. I already learned the topics from each section of the infographic didn’t initially tie together. Further revision helped clarify why the three sections were related.

The infographic was designed with the intended audience of Salt Lake County citizens. It was an important topic to me because at the time there were several news articles about the dangers of dropping water levels. Utah law makers and leaders were dismissive at the time of these concerns. As I went through this project, I found myself becoming more upset the more I learned about water misuse across the state. Instead of this assignment just being a task I needed to complete, it became more personal and important to me. Thankfully, since completing this assignment in April of 2023, there have been several initiatives to restore the water levels to the Great Salt Lake.