Information design is the practice of presenting information in a way that fosters an efficient and effective understanding of the information. The term has come to be used for a specific area of

graphic design Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art that involves creating visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdisciplinary branch of ...

related to displaying information effectively, rather than just attractively or for artistic expression. Information design is closely related to the field of data visualization and is often taught as part of graphic design courses. The broad applications of information design along with its close connections to other fields of

design A design is the concept or proposal for an object, process, or system. The word ''design'' refers to something that is or has been intentionally created by a thinking agent, and is sometimes used to refer to the inherent nature of something ...

and communication practices have created some overlap in the definitions of communication design, data visualization, and information architecture. According to Per Mollerup, information design is explanation design. It explains facts of the universe and leads to knowledge and informed action.

History

The term 'information design' emerged as a

multidisciplinary An academic discipline or academic field is a subdivision of knowledge that is taught and researched at the college or university level. Disciplines are defined (in part) and recognized by the academic journals in which research is published, ...

area of study in the 1970s. Use of the term is said to have started with graphic designers and it was solidified with the publication of the ''Information Design Journal'' in 1979. Later, the related International Institute for Information Design (IIID) was set up in 1987 and Information Design Association (IDA) established in 1991. In 1982, Edward Tufte produced a book on information design called ''The Visual Display of Quantitative Information''. The term

information graphics Infographics (a clipped compound of " information" and " graphics") are graphic visual representations of information, data, or knowledge intended to present information quickly and clearly.Doug Newsom and Jim Haynes (2004). ''Public Relations ...

tends to be used by those primarily concerned with diagramming and display of quantitative information, such as technical communicators and graphic designers. In

technical communication Technical communication (or tech comm) is communication of technical subject matter such as engineering, science, or technology content. The largest part of it tends to be technical writing, though importantly it often requires aspects of visual ...

, information design refers to creating an information structure for a set of information aimed at specified audiences. It can be practised on different scales. * On a large scale, it implies choosing relevant content and dividing it into separate manuals by audience and purpose. * On a medium scale, it means organizing the content in each manual and making sure that overviews, concepts, examples, references, and definitions are included and that topics follow an organizing principle. * On a small or detailed scale, it includes logical development of topics, emphasis on what's important, clear writing, navigational clues, and even page design, choice of font, and use of white space. There are many similarities between information design and information architecture. The title of information designer is sometimes used by graphic designers who specialize in creating websites. The skillset of the information designer, as the title is applied more globally, is closer to that of the information architect in the U.S. Similar skills for organization and structure are brought to bear in designing web sites and digital media, with additional constraints and functions that earn a designer the title information architect. In

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...

and

information technology Information technology (IT) is a set of related fields within information and communications technology (ICT), that encompass computer systems, software, programming languages, data processing, data and information processing, and storage. Inf ...

, 'information design' is sometimes a rough synonym for (but is not necessarily the same discipline as) information architecture, the design of

information system An information system (IS) is a formal, sociotechnical, organizational system designed to collect, process, Information Processing and Management, store, and information distribution, distribute information. From a sociotechnical perspective, info ...

database In computing, a database is an organized collection of data or a type of data store based on the use of a database management system (DBMS), the software that interacts with end users, applications, and the database itself to capture and a ...

s, or

data structure In computer science, a data structure is a data organization and storage format that is usually chosen for Efficiency, efficient Data access, access to data. More precisely, a data structure is a collection of data values, the relationships amo ...

s. This sense includes data modeling and process analysis.

Early examples

Information design is associated with the age of technology but it does have historical roots. Early instances of modern information design include these effective examples: * William Playfair's line, bar, pie, and

area chart An area chart or area graph displays graphically quantitative data. It is based on the line chart. The area between axis and line are commonly emphasized with colors, textures and hatchings. Commonly one compares two or more quantities with an a ...

s illustrating England's trade (1786 and 1801) * John Snow's spot maps, which pinpointed the source of a deadly cholera outbreak in 1850s London *

Charles Joseph Minard Charles Joseph Minard (; ; 27 March 1781 – 24 October 1870) was a French civil engineer recognized for his significant contribution in the field of information graphics in civil engineering and statistics. Minard was, among other things, noted ...

's 1861 diagram depicting Napoleon's Russian campaign of 1812 * W.E.B. Du Bois's data visualization on the lives of Black Americans for the 1900 World's Fair * Otto Neurath's International Picture Language of the 1930s *

Florence Nightingale Florence Nightingale (; 12 May 1820 – 13 August 1910) was an English Reform movement, social reformer, statistician and the founder of modern nursing. Nightingale came to prominence while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during th ...

's information graphic depicting army mortality rates The Minard diagram shows the losses suffered by Napoleon's army in the 1812–1813 period. Six variables are plotted: the size of the army, its location on a two-dimensional surface (x and y), time, direction of movement, and temperature. This multivariate display on a two-dimensional surface tells a story that can be grasped immediately while identifying the source data to build credibility. Edward Tufte wrote in 1983 that: "It may well be the best statistical graphic ever drawn."

Applications

DALY disability affected life year infographic

Bangalore Outbound Trains Frequency Chart

Information design can be used for broad audiences (such as signs in airports) or specific audiences (such as personalized telephone bills). The resulting work often seeks to improve a user's trust of a product (such as medicine packaging inserts, operational instructions for industrial machinery and information for emergencies). The example of signs also highlights a niche category known as

wayfinding Wayfinding (or way-finding) encompasses all of the ways in which people (and animals) Orientation (mental), orient themselves in physical space and navigation, navigate from place to place. Wayfinding software is a self-service computer program th ...

. Governments and regulatory authorities have legislated about a number of information design issues, such as the minimum size of type in financial small print, the labelling of ingredients in processed food, and the testing of medicine labelling. Examples of this are the Truth in Lending Act in the USA, which introduced the Schumer box (a concise summary of charges for people applying for a credit card), and the Guideline on the Readability of the Labelling and Package Leaflet of Medicinal Products for Human Use (European Commission, Revision 1, 12 January 2009). Professor Edward Tufte explained that users of information displays are executing particular ''analytical tasks'' such as making comparisons or determining causality. The ''design principle'' of the information graphic should support the analytical task, showing the comparison or causality.

Simplicity

Simplicity is a major concern in information design. The aim is clarity and understanding. Simplification of messages may imply quantitative reduction but is not restricted to that. Sometimes more information means more clarity. Also, simplicity is a highly subjective matter and should always be evaluated with the information user in mind. Simplicity can be easy when following five simple steps when it comes to information design: # Tell the truth, # Get to the point, # Pick the right tool for the job, # Highlight what is important, # Of course, keep it simple. These steps will help an information designer narrow down results, as well as keeping their audience engaged.Duarte, Nancy. Slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations. Beijing: O'Reilly Media, 2008. Print.

References

External links