Information Graphics
Pie charts and bar graphs are the crude “stick” drawings of the Power Point world — unimaginative and dull, yet easier to grasp than spreadsheets and algorithms. But in the hands of designers, infographics can be so much more.
Month: April 2009
Anatomy of a Book Cover
As told by Delphine, the author
The adage “You can’t judge a book by its cover [jacket]” is only partly true. It’s not for lack of trying. The look of a book cover jacket is an important aspect of market positioning. It is what first catches the attention of retail buyers at major book fairs, reviewers and readers. It can persuade bookstores to display your book more prominently or, at least, give it more than “spine-out” (where only the spine title is visible) shelf space. It can also give readers a sense of the genre, subject and tone of the content. And, for the sake of truth in advertising, it shouldn’t over promise or under promise what the reader will find inside.
In the case of my book, “The Art of Gaman,” published by Ten Speed Press in 2005, coming up with the book title and cover jacket design proved as hard as developing the content for the book. The subject of “Art of Gaman” was fairly straightforward. It featured arts and crafts made by the 120,000 Japanese Americans who were forcibly removed from the West Coast after Pearl Harbor and imprisoned in internment camps for the duration of World War II. Since they were only given a week to settle their affairs and only allowed to take what they could carry, the objects they made in camp were largely fashioned from scrap and found materials. Tossed and forgotten in storage sheds and attics, most of the objects had never been shown in public until I started asking friends and family who had been in camp what they had saved.
What Does It Mean?
Understanding where the market is and where it is heading is critical to every aspect of design and business. Savvy marketers look for clues everywhere and draw connections to launch new products, tailor their brand messages, and determine which industries will thrive. This intriguing video provides statistics that are shocking and thought-provoking…but what do they mean? What are the ramifications for commerce and design, mar-com and management? We don’t know, but we feel they are important to consider.
Talk to Me
Corporate-speak, designer-speak, printer-speak. Industry terms defined.
Triple bottom line: In business, “bottom line” refers to the line at the end of a financial statement that shows net profit or loss. Now when companies calculate the bottom line of a product or program, they factor in social, environmental and financial results to determine whether the overall return was positive or negative. One out of three is no longer good enough.
Strikethrough: When editing in Word software, a strikethrough means a line drawn through text meant to be deleted. In printer-speak, strikethrough is a chemical reaction caused by putting an overall gloss coating over a spot dull varnish. Varnish neutralizes the gloss coating and stays dull while the rest of the sheet turns glossy. This technique gives designer the ability to make shapes or words appear ghostlike out of a solid color or create the effect of multiple finishes on an image.
Think Again: The Hospital Gown
Style and aesthetics don’t even enter the conversation when it comes to the hospital gown, a garment that only someone too sick to protest would agree to wear. “It makes you feel more naked and exposed than when you’re actually naked,” says one former patient. Another claims, “They’re put on patients to cow them and make them compliant.”
What’s obvious is that hospital gowns were designed only for medical convenience, with no thought to fashion or the dignity of the wearer. They are purposely thin to keep patients from overheating. Made of cotton so they can be sterilized by washing in boiling water. Loose and shapeless, so medical staff can check vital signs quickly and protect any sutures from rubbing. And open in the back for injections and trips to the bathroom.
This is a garment that flatters no one – and certainly not a person who is deathly ill. The hospital gown ranks No. 1 in things that need to be redesigned. We invite you to nominate others that should be added to this list.