Information design critique

[venkatrajam]

For the first assignment, find examples of information design (schedules, signage/way finding, campaign/advocacy, product, space/architecture etc.) and learn from them.

Each of you will pick three examples, and write a short critique on them. You post should contain:

1. Title of the example with one image (add url reference if it is online)
2. Critique (How effective is it at what it aims to do? What works well, and what could be better?)

Add ONE comment and put all 3 examples in the same comment (do not create separate comments for the examples, I want to see only one comment per student). You can edit or update your comment anytime.

[ryanhmar]

1. Contigo Autoseal Grace bottle

   • Simple yet elegant bottle shape
   • Logo visible but not blocking the amount of liquid present in the bottle
   • Ergonomically shaped cap
   • Automatic closing mouth, to be opened with button at the back
   • Drawbacks are that for laymen, the mouth is quite small and may not be immediately noticed and since the button is on opposite side of mouth, there may be confusion on what the button does.

2. Moon Phases

• Simple yet informative
• All information easily understandable
• Crescent moon phases would make it too congested
• It's like trying to read a clock, the visual appeal is something we're used to
• Very straight to point

[aryamansingh20]

1) Information Object - Light Switch - The switch is a very simple example of an information object. It also has a tactile as well as auditory confirmation about the status of our switch, similar to the pen example given in class. Along with this, it also has a visual indicator which tells us if it is ON or OFF - if the extruding part is on top, it is ON; if it is on the bottom, it is OFF.

2) Infographic - Fevikwik Usage Instructions - This, in my opinion, is an example of Infographics which do not clearly convey what they want to convey. If the text wasn't there, I wouldn't be able to make out how I am supposed to use this product. The graphics utilize the same hand illustration and Fevikwik picture, just rearranged in different orientations. The arrows are not very prominent and it takes a little bit of cognitive effort to join the dots in your head.

[AmishaNair]

INFORMATION OBJECT - Sharpener It has very clear indications of how to use it. There is a dip in the outer form where your fingers are supposed to hold it. This is made more evident by the textured fluting only in the curve. It creates more roughness so you can hold it easily. There is also the sound made by sharpening the pencil. This sound seems to get higher as the pencil reaches maximum sharpness, giving us an idea of when to stop before the tip breaks. The gap at the end is wider than the gap in the beginning. This could be to see the length of the lead and to empty the sharpener out should the point break off inside the sharpener itself.

INFOGRAPHIC

• It is colour coded in a semantic way : yellow for warning to red for danger
• Some numbers are mentioned, but it is not clear why these statistics had to be clearly noted. Are they the countries with maximum cases? However, one red country is mentioned, but a dark brown country isn't. So why have these numbers been singled out?
• The way of mentioning the numbers is also inconsistent (mentioned within the larger countries, mentioned outside with an arrow pointing to the smaller countries). Creates some discordancy, even with the colour.
• Demarcation lines between countries are not clear because they are in white, which doesn't show well enough against the yellow
• Does not take into account population density and area (or if it does, it hasn't been mentioned, leaving the viewers to make assumptions)

[diganta08]

INFORMATION OBJECT: Digital Speedometer • Removes the clutter of numbers of a traditional speedometer. • Shows only the speed number at which your car is traveling. • There is no need to have speed information at 1 km/h accuracy (in fact, small changes in speed can be distracting). • When accelerating you do not get as much information on speed increase as you would receive from a moving needle over an analog scale.

INFORMATION OBJECT: Gearbox (Dog-Leg Layout) • Reverse gear resides where the first gear should be which can confuse the driver while driving. • The fifth gear resides where the reverse gear should be. • Every gear is changed to a position of a higher gear compared to a traditional 5 gear layout. • Unusual layout and its rarity makes it dangerous and the driver can mix up between the typical 5 gear layout which can lead to accidents.

INFOGRAPHIC: Donations for diseases vs death rate due to the disease • Error in visual encoding: Specific values correspond to the diameter of the circle and not the area of the circle. • Use of legend requires the user to constantly refer to it. • Money raised for the particular disease vs the death rate related to that disease isn’t in the same line or together which creates more confusion for the user.

[NiveaChoudhary]

1. Every trip to the Moon

• All the moon missions categorised by time, range and status.
• Time coded on quadrants.
• Success status coded on shapes.
• Range coded on orbit order.
• Could be better if every mission is included in one page. (broken infographic gives half information)

2. Tombow monograph pencil

• This is like a usual mechanical pencil but for the pencil lead you have to push down the clipper instead of pushing the upper part of the pencil. If someone is using it for the first time it creates confusion and it does not convey the information clearly.

[Ishitasharmax]

Infographic: ‘Programming Languages through the years’

1. Confusing format of chronology Typically top to bottom is oldest to new(1950’s-2010’s) like a family tree. Yet the reverse approach in this graph makes it difficult to understand immediately and takes a closer look to realize.

2. Use of Color Coding Orange and blue combination makes the program names stand out from the background but unfortunately make all of them appear to be of a similar category. Perhaps color coding programming languages depending on their purpose in the same color would provide the reader with a better understanding, (example: object oriented languages, scripting languages, procedural languages, etc.)

3. The Position of the blocks The blocks at the bottom of their section are assumed as those created earlier chronologically but on a closer inspection have no specific reason to be placed there. (Example: Fortran(1957) and Autocode (1952) in the 1950’s Section.)

4. The Size of the Blocks The varying size of the blocks have been used to indicate the popularity/usage of the particular language at the period. The bigger the block, the more popular the language. But it is not easy to understand for a layman without having prior knowledge of the languages or without a key present in the infographic.

5. Confusing Aesthetic The Geometrical lines in the background provide a tech-aesthetic but unfortunately do not convey the exact relationship between the multiple programs. Leaving the reader more confused rather than clear, with the overlapping lines, it’s not clear if they’re used to express a hierarchy between the languages.

6. Segregation between Era’s The color scheme of the background, the lighter and darker shades of blue, allow segregation to be created between each time period and works well.

Information Object: Bluetooth Headset

1. Operating Direction There is no clear direction as to which side the device should be worn as it is symmetrical. A common mistake made is wearing it the wrong way because of that.

2. Accessibility The earphones are connected by a wire that rests around your neck, so it makes it better for usage during workouts/at the gym.

3. Buttons There are three buttons on the right side of the device with clear marking of ‘+’, ‘-’ and ‘o’ that indicate the volume up, volume down and power button.

4. Power on The power on button takes a minimum of 5 seconds of pressing to switch on with no feedback till that point. For a first time user, it is hard to figure out without an instruction manual. After 5 seconds, if the earphones are worn, a voice saying ‘Power on, the device is ready to pair’ is heard.

5. Volume up/down A clear beeping sound is heard when the maximum/minimum value of sound is reached on the device.

6. Magnetic Earbuds The earbuds contain magnets so when they are not worn, the earbuds connect and hang around the neck, avoiding misplacement of the device.

7. Blinking light A light beside the buttons blinks red to signify low battery, static blue when switched on and blinking blue to indicate it is ready to pair.

[AbhimanyuUllas]

1. Bluetooth headphone

• The headphone has a minimal and comfortable design.

• It is labelled ‘L’ on the left ear side and ‘R’ on the right ear side which gives us the information to wear it.

• On the right earcup, it has 3 buttons which are marked with ‘+’, ‘-’ and the play/pause icon for understanding the use of the buttons.

• The power indicating light is so tiny that we can't see it in daylight.

The play/pause button is used to turn on the device, even though it does not have an on/off icon on it. And the buttons are made very flat which makes it difficult for the user to identify the buttons while wearing it. It would have been easier if the icons were slightly projected out of the buttons.

2. YouTube streaming interface

While streaming a YouTube video in our smartphones, we are provided with this interface. It has a number of icons in it, which can be used to trigger different actions.

• On the top left corner we have an arrow pointing down which will minimize the video, along with the title of the video.

• Top edge of a few video boxes are seen at the bottom which gives us the idea that it can be scrolled up.

• Similarly the play/pause button, the buttons for skipping to the next/previous video, cast button, subtitle button, etc are all designed accurately.

The window has a feature in which we can double tap the right/left side of the screen to skip the video forward/backward by 10 seconds. The only fault I noticed was that unless we try this out, we won't know it exists. The interface does not have any button for this action. The app never suggests this feature, which it could have done while an unknown user struggles to skip small portions of lengthy videos.

[mdawkhar]

1) The G''evolution - Mukesh Mohanan

From - https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bxXa6kNhPyA/Xd999nihBNI/AAAAAAAADlg/ExS_6Ipo59kN56MtQGkTO-7geGew0Xq0ACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/5g.jpg

• The evolution from 1G to 5G is explained.
• Each G network is given a different color. Does it has a specific motive for color coding? But the same color coding is kept similar in entire infographics which conveys the information very well.
• The timeline of G is shown from 5G to 1G. Why not from 1G being at top to 5G? Usually people read from top to bottom.
• Each G network is denoted by a big cube. Each feature of that network is shown in an extra cube connected to the big cube. But the 1G network does not have an extra cube to denote its feature, Why is not clear. Then does adding small cube to the big cube is necessary?
• The video download time information is conveyed very nicely.
• Above the video download time, 'How fast are they?' is pretty much clear to understand. But beside it 'How fast webpage load?' that information is not clear. So, 1G take 25kb to load a page then the same page can take 3.2gb for 5G its not clear.
• Overall the Infographics is simple to understand and conveys the Evolution of G network very well.

2) Pressure Cooker

• The Pressure Cooker has a regulatory valve at the top which regulates the pressure inside the cooker. At high pressure the regulator will lift to release steam and while releasing it creates whistling sound.
• This whistling sound conveys the information that the desired pressure is reached inside the cooker.
• In many households this whistles are counted to determine if the food is ready or not. The number of whistles are based on experience and type or brand of pressure cooker.
• The pressure cooker can have some mechanism to count the number of whistles or have a different sound when it completes the required number.
• The Whistle is a by product may be the designer never decided to use it as a food readiness indicator.
• The image above is old cooker whose lid is easy to open as you just need to rotate and open the lid. But some lids are complicated to lock (like keeping the lid at an angle then put inside the vessel and clamp it at the handle)

[KrishShah2]

1. The milestones are demarcated very well on the time graph and the column on right.

2. The time periods are shown clearly and the mass extinction events are also easy to see due to use of red colour.

3. The increasing distance from the centre as time moves on shows evolution clearly.

4. The use of different tints and shades for an era and its division makes it easy to differentiate.

5. The correlation between continental drifts and the timeline of earth isn't clear.

6. The time gaps are not equal whereas visually they are shown same. This can be confusing if not paid attention.

1. The transparent container makes it easy to see the amount of liquid present.
2. When you turn it on, it makes a clicking sound so that you are aware of it.
3. The flame comes out of the metal side which can be easily spotted but it also heats up. If someone touches it accidentally it can cause harm.
4. The slider to adjust the flame size is at the bottom of the metal side making it easy to spot but the size is too small.
5. The size and shape is perfect to hold and use it by one hand.

[minhasmohammed]

Infographic: Kerala election results 2021

It's the information showing the Kerala election result of 2021. The information is in the shape of geographical Kerala state and shows which party won which constituency. Hence the area of the shape does not matter in this situation. The colors used and the shapes are recognized by everyone, even the people who don't know the language or don’t know how to read. The red color depicts LDF(Left) , the blue color depicts UDF(congress), saffron for the BJP, and grey for Others, which all are the common colors used for them. The figure has the data of four years among which the result of current year (2021) is shown biggest and the rest three are of identical smaller shapes.

Object: clock

An object showing a simple quantity like time. The tick tock in the form of the sound of the clock lets us know the passing of each second. It sometimes makes us conscious about time. The wheels used to correct the time are flat with a zigzag edge which lets them hang comfortably from the wall. The difference in the length of the hands helps us to differentiate between them.

[Kushagra-Kishore]

1. Mechanix toy set - pieces

The image above is from a booklet provided with the toy set. It gives information about the different kind of pieces available in the set and their respective quantities.

What works:

• The pieces are accurately drawn and thus easily recognizable.
• The colors are also accurate, thus aiding in identification.
• Some of the pieces have been grouped together: the long flat sticks are placed together, the wheel parts together, the nuts, bolts, screwdriver together. This sort of organization again makes it easier to identify pieces.
• Within these groups, the parts are relative in size to each other.

What doesn’t work:

The naming of the pieces is unnecessary. The images are enough. The presence of the names causes a slight delay in the time it takes to find and read the quantity of a certain piece that one is looking for.

2. Dual flush of toilet

The aim of a flush button is to activate the cleansing mechanism of a toilet bowl when pressed.

What works here:

• It is metallic and hence easily noticeable against the white.
• It's bumpy and looks like a button (like it can be pressed).
• Here, a simple thing like difference in area signifies the possible outcomes. The area of the button corresponds to the volume of water that flushes out. The smaller button causes less water to discharge while the larger button causes more water to discharge.
• A sort of metallic sound is made when the button is pressed, which is then followed by the sound of gushing water. If the water in the tank is empty and refilling, and the flush isn't working, a different kind of hollow metallic sound is made upon pressing the button.

Also, the logo of the company has been placed right near the flush, maybe because the user is forced to glimpse this part of the toilet with every use, and thus the logo is most likely to be seen/noticed.

[20U130022]

This image shows the amount of oil exported to USA and consumed on a daily basis.

What Works :-

• The sizes of the bubbles on the image gives a fast and general idea of the amount of contribution.
• Additional information gives the necessary details of how the oil is being used and till when it will last.

What Doesn't work :-

• The numbers on the bubbles are not labeled. It is very confusing to see what the numbers signify on first glance.
• What makes the numbers on the bubble understandable is in small text which can be almost over looked on first glance.
• The measurement is in barrels which doesn't specify how much big a barrel really is. A layman will not be able to understand how much liquid is being talked about in the image.
• Imports is being compared with the consumption in the graph. Opposing graphs would be much better. E.g. Imports vs Exports , Consumption vs Production.

A mouse has 2 information signals when it is being used.

• 2 clicking sounds which enables the user to realize that the mouse has been clicked. The first click signifies the device being used while the second sound signifies the release of the button.
• resistance felt by touch of the fingers when using them.

What is not working -

• New designs are more focused towards silent mouse. This will affect the user when they use it as there is no signal as to when it is being used and when it is not.
• The buttons on the mouse are being replaced by touch sensors. The chances of mistakes during clicking are exponentially increased when touch sensors are being used.

[romapandya49]

The infographic is about women standing for politics in Kerala.

This is indicated clearly by the heading as well as the symbol in the top right corner.

The information provided in the paragraph under the heading is a correct summarization of the information and it explains well what the infographic is about. Without it, it would be slightly more difficult to understand and connect the information.

It shows several graphs that show different statistics about female voters and candidates and it takes some thought and effort to infer and understand everything, but the graphs on the left convey the background information quite well.

Most of the text and information is legible apart from the text on the second graph about women voters. The text is less readable because of the way the lines of the graph interact with the text.

The colours chosen for the graph on the right about women candidates and elected women are red and blue and this can lead to a misconception because of the association of the colour blue with masculinity and red with femininity.

The graph on the right has an impact on the reader because it visualizes the stark difference that the whole infographic is trying to convey.

The infographic also has photos of two politicians from kerala which are perfectly relevant to the point.

Overall, apart from a few small drawbacks the infographic is successful in communicating the information.

Air conditioner remote

The power button is indicated by the symbol and a pink colour although it could be more obvious if it was red since we associate the colour red with power on and off more.

Some of the symbols do not make sense: the dry mode is shown by a drop which indicates wet or water instead, the fan mode is shown by a pictogram of a house with a circular arrow inside it which does not immediately strike as a fan, the fan speed is shown by a static fan whereas it could be improved by showing the movement of the fan using simple circular lines, the h. swing icon too is not comprehensive.

The temperature button is well made with the two arrows and the °c that indicate the increase and decrease in temperature without any confusion.

The pressing of any button is accompanied by an auditory cue as feedback from the air conditioner, a long beep for power on and off and a short beep for any other function. The screen in the remote gives feedback about the functions and lights up when used which makes it more legible.

The buttons are very close together and people with bad eyesight or old people can get confused about the various buttons especially because the text is rather small.

[Anusree-NS]

High Intensity Interval Training Infographic

• Instructions in the centre is clear and concise. • Circular path of diagrams, implying a circuit to be repeated. However, most exercise routines have a starting that is invisible or unapparent here. • Do the colours of the graphics signify something? There are repeating colours, but no relation between the exercises. • The figures themselves don’t provide enough information on the exercise. If the text was not present, it would be indistinguishable. • Rounded figures and varying bright colours do not match with the concept of “high intensity”. • The evident presence of the off-centre logo in the area your eyes first go to is not visually appealing.

Ice maker trays • The instructions and graphics are both easy to understand. However, the arrows are in white, which make them a little difficult to see. A person may try turning it both ways. • The tray makes loud clunking noise if there is ice. If it lacks ice, the noise is considerably lesser/ non-existent. It works as a good indicator without having to take the trays out and verify. • The degree of turning is important as the ice falls down after a certain point. The noise is a little alarming for a beginner as they worry about turning too much and breaking the device.

[Suraj-Sadanandan]

1. Common residential HVAC diagram

• cross section view of the house and ductwork makes it easy to understand the working of the system.
• direction of arrows clearly show the flow of air
• color coding of the arrows (red for warm/blue for cold) is intuitive to understand supply and return based on heating or air conditioning
• every functional and non functional element is defined and clearly visible

2. Door latch

what works -

• easy to use and intuitive due to its horizontal sliding motion being the only moving part in the mechanism.
• highly reliable due to minimum moving parts and requires no maintenance whatsoever while also lasting a lifetime
• two of them on either side of the door allows for optimum privacy

what doesn't work -

• very primitive locking mechanism and outdated compared to modern standards of door-knobs
• may cause injuries when not used carefully since, the sudden sliding of the latch can pinch skin between the parts
• friction caused due to the sliding action wears away the metal and is susceptible to rust

[Ishaan-idc]

1. Oxygen Concentrator Display features:

• There was no need for showing 3-d view of display area. It adds unnecessary distortion making it hard to read display.
• The segmented display looks turned off, if it is only showing no.8, it gives the feeling it is unreadable at large angles
• The font is very small, if all capital letters were used in this small font it will be better
• Rendering of ambient light on the product makes it so that you can't look at the icons on the display
• A lot of negative space is there even after leaving breathing space where more information could be added
• You cannot see hierarchy in features such as SOS button and Oxygen switch which are main buttons to be easily located
• As it shows a 3-d view it could have used the extra space to label; some of the other parts such as the outlet valve which is in picture unlabeled

• Largest selling digital watch worldwide for nearly 3 decades. Low cost, small form factor, muted design features that doesn't attract much attention, acrylic watch face easily scratched but shatterproof, good watch for everyday use.
• Uses 3 pushers to operate the watch, which comes with feature Time, date, day, alarm, chime, stopwatch, LED light.
• Segmented Display readable at large angles due to closeness to screen
• all information except stopwatch available on time screen
• Doesn't have year function, which means need to recalibrate watch in leap year.
• LED only illuminates half the screen due to it flashing toward viewer instead of being parallel to the display
• audible sound for every click
• reset button same as light, impossible to read stopwatch in dark
• all buttons labelled except light/reset button which causes confusion at first

[HarshSPatil]

1. Infographic showing broadcasting channels for a race

positive

• heading and titles convey what the infographic is about.
• map of world suggestive of worldwide broadcasting.
• date is stated separately.
• green panels indicate wide area specific broadcaster.
• uses channel logos instead of names so they are easily recognizable by viewer.
• pointers show the location of the broadcast. negative
• map doesn't have boundaries. the pointers are only loosely indicative about the area, not exact.
• no indication of date changing according to time zones.
• no indication of time
• no indication of time changing according to time zones
• colours in the left panels are not indicative; only present as the brand identity colours

2. Keyless entry system

• lock and unlock icons on the remote convey the message easily.
• car gives audio+visual indication when the remote is used, making it easy to confirm that it is locked/unlocked
• there is no indication of the function happening on the remote, so if the car is not visible you cannot know the locking /unlocking function has completed successfully.

[AjinkyaRaskar4]

Infographics

The Information expressed through is not concluded very efficiently. The uneven lines starting from the source goes on increasing. The only meaning depicted through this poster is the increase of coronavirus. It does not give any information about the details of the number of cases on a particular day. It just depicts the increase in cases in a particular country with respect to other countries. It would have been better if there would have been a point mentioning the number of total case at the end of each coloured line giving more information. There is no delivery of accurate data through this image.

Scissors

Scissors is a very simple object. The information of the object is pretty much displayed by its form. Sharp edges define its ability to cut and the grip provided defines the function of holding. The information provided is easy to understand and important for the object to be used in the proper manner. A pair of scissors contain two sharp edges joined by a tension screw which holds the pair of scissors and also provide it firmness and sturdiness which becomes very useful while cutting. A small part which connects the two handles known as stopper helps us to define the reach of the scissors and the ensure the locking of the scissors to ensure safety.

[swapnildeycr]

1. Millennials and Media Consumption The infograph uses very light colors for background such as blue, yellow and pink which is easy on the eyes. While the infograph works well on most fronts, the white text (especially small sized text) is very hard to read and often is straining. Other than this one drawback, the infograph does a very good job of depicting information. It uses very concise sentences, and highlights important numbers and statistics. It uses pie charts whenever needed, and uses small pictures to clarify on what it is about.

2. Self-closing water tap The self closing water tap functions by having its button pressed, after which it drops water for a certain amount lf time before stopping. The tap is very confusing to people who have never seen such a tap before, as the tap resembles a normal tap a lot. Also there is no indication that the tap will close automatically, which may lead to the assumption that the tap might have broken.

[Pratham-IDC]

1. Menu /Option Symbol

• Used in most of the web platforms and easy to understand the meaning. -Simple design but informative and unrecognisable.
• mostly used in very small size, but can be identified.

2. Calender

• easy to know whether it's a holiday or working day through the nature of colour even from a little distance due to good contrast between numbers and background color.
• don't even have need of instructions.
• dates are written just in front of the name of day which makes it easier to know.

Drawbacks - lot of other information is available on sides.

3.Clock hands and divisions.

• anyone can easily understand which hand indicates second, minute or hour with the help of variations in size and length (sometimes colors also).
• the divisions drawn behind the numbers helps in getting exact time information. Sometimes they are drawn in different colours to build hierarchy.

[AbhiramNS6]

1.This infographics depicts the data of deforestation in tropical rain forest in America along with details of its flora and fauna. The information about the numbers of each species is visualized with pictures representing each. The size of the picture proportional to its number, making it easy to receive the information. But in the right bottom the words and pictures intermixing together makes it a chaos. Other than the pie charts, in the left bottom the graph representing remaining forest in each country is well presented. The percentage is shown with height, along with the colour becoming darker green for greater percentage. Depiction of data with both size and colour makes it easy to differentiate.

2.Object: mobile power bank. shape, size and roughness at the sides makes it easy to handle. But the switch at the side is inward which is not easily recognizable and uncomfortable. All the plugging ports given at same side helps to keep it comfortably while charging and to find it easily, but makes it difficult while using multiple plugs at a time. The four lights in the face where plugging is done shows the remaining charge, with each light representing 25 percentage, which is easily communicated.

[PalakKatiyar09]

1) BOARDING PASS The blue watermark makes it difficult to read

• The fonts used are not clear

• The spaces between the information in the columns appears uneven and hence is confusing

• New flyers might tear the boarding pass by mistake. It should be specified that it is not to be torn

• Flight number, gate, seat number, and boarding time should be given priority and made clearer

• The bar code, text at the bottom and watermark should be repositioned to reduce noise and distraction from the important information

2) COLIN SPRAY BOTTLE

• The indents on the bottle make clear exactly how the bottle is to be held. It also comfortable to hold and the trigger is positioned perfectly.

• The nozzle has stream, off, and spray written on it making it easy to switch between the modes but the text isn’t very clear so perhaps that can be changed

• The clear body shows exactly how much of the liquid is left

• It is easy to unscrew and refill

• The label has the name of the brand clearly displayed

• The shape of the bottle’s body makes it easy to hold it at an angle.

[Juii28]

INFORMATION OBJECT : Oximeter

1. simple yet effective design, also economical.
2. quite accurate
3. There's only one button by which the device turns on, once it is on the button is used to change the orientation of the display (0, 90, 180, 270 degrees.)
4. Easy to read, font is large enough.
5. %SPO2 and PRbpm two important readings on the display are highlighted with yellow colour.

What can be improved

1. If the %SPO2 value is less than normal it starts to beep for few seconds, which alerts and sometimes panic the user. Instead of that green and red colour can be used to show that the readings are below or above average.

INFOGRAPHIC: Bar graph of death reported per 100 confirmed cases

1. It's a very simple bar graph representing the deaths reported per 100 confirmed cases.
2. font is large enough.
3. orientation of the bar graph makes it easy for the reader to understand and read it.
4. However, there could be a gradient in the colour, from yellow-orange to red that would show which state has more deaths and which state has less number of deaths.

INFORMATION OBJECT: Camlin Scale

1. Numbers are bold and visible.
2. Margins are precise.
3. the logo doesn't affect the function of scale.
4. it is in black and transparent to see through any other figure or diagram beneath it.

What can be improved?

The 0cm mark can be highlighted in red colour so that it's clear that measurement starts from 0 cm mark and not the edge of the scale.

[Shivankar03]

1. Good knight fabric roll-on a. As written and by the human illustration , the message of "4 dot protection" is properly conveyed here, like where should we have to apply it. b. The word fabric is in bold, so that people won’t apply it on the skin by mistake. c. The illustration of leaf is made to enhance the written 100% natural and also the green colour is used to depict nature. d. It is made circular at the bottom as it’s a roll-on.
2. The evolution of the internet and technology a. Timeline to arrange the events in a chronological manner is good. b. The display font is also good. c. Use of colours with the respective icon can make it more approachable. d. Blue colour will do better instead of this yellow orange

[A-b-h-i-s-h-e-k-D-u-t-t-a]

Infographic - This is the registration page of Vidyalaxmi Portal (IITB Educational loan site)

Upsides

• A fairly clean UI

• No cluttering of information

• Legible and readable text, because of contrasting colours

  Downsides (Major)

• Lack of information on the password format, character usage, combinations and character limit.

• No character limit in the password input box. (I have typed more than the upper limit of password)

• Information only shows after you mess up the password format. (Screenshot 2)

• Also, the captcha is using sans serif typeface where it becomes difficult to differentiate between uppercase "i" and lower case "L"

Information Object- This is a 3-pin plug of an extension cord.

Major design flaw - There is a rough texture on the outer surface of the plug, there are slight curves on the side where we hold it to pull it out but there is no grip on it.
3 pin plugs are when plugged are often tightly fitted and so is the case with this plug. But plugging this out becomes extremely difficult since there is no traction or something to provide grip. And because of this, we often avoid plugging it out.

Correction/Solution (see sketches) - 1) Maybe giving the rough texture on the side (instead of)/ (along with) the outer surface might provide some traction.

2) Making slight dents with a curved edge will also make it easier for plugging this 3-pin plug.

[20U130005]

1. Information Graphics in a Newspaper:

ICONS The icons used are relevant and the overall display of information is also good. The photo above gives us a reference or reminds us of the truck drivers.

COMPOSITION At first, the composition looks a bit random, and our eye moves from one random part of it to another, as we get to see data on different topics (organised), and realise their problems. On a closer look, we can find that it is divided into four rows, but the division of columns look slightly arbitary. Our eye at first moves from any one part to another, in no sequential order, which keeps us a little confused about the how we should read it. But when we read the subtitles, they are in a sequence, and even form a sentence when put together. So why is it that my eyes moved arbitrarily at first? I think it is because there is lot of information and it is slightly crowded. If the space between sections was increased a bit, it would be easier to differentiate the columns. And if there was a better way to guide us through columns sequentially, it would be better to read. Possible ways to do this could be marking the row divisions slightly thicker than the column divisions, taking help of arrows or numbers, arranging it in a different way, etc.

COMPREHENDING INFORMATION: All the information is arranged in a descending order. Therefore, it becomes easier to make a judgement about the graphs visually. But there is a problem. For example, in the graph of the numerous problems faced on the road, we cannot make judgements only visually, because the topics above each bar of the graph is written in a much smaller size than the percentage indicated in number format besides the graph. It is obviously essential to read the topic for each line, so it should be bigger. But it is not necessary to make the readers read the numbers, they could be smaller. Also, it would be better if they indicated a 100% mark or bar with other colour, so that we can find out just visually how much percentage of people face a particular problem.

QUESTIONS that arise: How many truck drivers are there? What are the possible solutions for their problems? According to them? Apart from problems, is there something they like about their profession? What is the other side?

IMPACT To find possible solutions to make their lives better is left for the reader to figure out, if he is interested. But it successfully achieves empathy from the readers towards the truck drivers, and makes us think of what we can or should do. The parliament can use this information to make laws or implement something to make their lives better.

2. Object:

WHILE CLOSING, We understand that the lid is properly closed, if the handles are properly aligned one on top of the other. We also get a great tactile feedback when it is perfectly closed and it can't move any further or in other directions. If there is steam coming out from the sides, it either means that the lid is not closed properly, or the gasket (rubber ring) is damaged or not fit properly, or the safety valve is not in a good condition.

WHILE COOKING, The sound of whistle And the smell of cooked food And the steam coming out of it Are the feedbacks, for whether the food is cooked or not.

PROBLEMS: While opening the cooker after the food is cooked, we should not open it if there is still steam inside. If the steam has gone, it stops making sound. But sometimes, In order to understand, we need to check if there is steam by lifting up the whistle. People who may not know this and open the cooker soon, or people who lift the whistle with their hand too soon, can end up hurting themselves. Secondly, The sound feedback from the whistle is too loud and disturbing for some.

GUIDANCE:

The arrow there shows us where we should align the lid for closing. READ Instructions Before Use.

Equal sized grooves.

[deep-savalia]

1. Plastic profusion

• The poster is easy to understand. • Arrangement of tubes is done creatively such that the representation of big data is fitted into the picture. • Plastic is the center of the story both in information and the materials used for the chart. • Colors of the tubes are matched according to the colors of the plastic materials. • Information is kept short giving more space which makes picture more visually appealing. • Visual matches the title as it shows the big tubes around the border. • Url: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/article/microplastics-impact-on-fish-shown-in-pictures

2. A.C. Remote

• Design of remote is with a good grip, and with few important buttons on top. • All these buttons are placed in a way that in dark they could be easily accessible, as the power button has a raised dot, temp buttons are big, and fan speed button has three raised dots. • Also, the screen has a low light which is not too hard for eyes in dark. • Other setting buttons are placed under a flap which remains closed, so that it creates less confusion. • When a button is pressed there is a beep sound which conforms that the change is made.

[AadishGeorge36]

INFORMATION GRAPHIC

• This is a simple infographic poster on the Election results of Kerala.
• They have tried to represent the parties leading in various constituencies of Kerala
• Four different parties participating in elections are shown in four distinctive colors that match them. for example, the left (Communist) is shown in red and the NDA is shown in orange.
• Also the up and down arrows are shown in green and red respectively which is the best way of representation.
• There is a clear distinction between different constituencies and is easy to distinguish from the other.
• Even the heading - Kerala is not necessary beacuse the graphic in done on the actual outline map of kerala.

INFORMATION OBJECT

• Water pipes or taps are a very good example of simple but good design intervention.
• Imagine if the pipes didn't have the kind of stopping system. How difficult it would be and how it had made our lives easier.
• I realized this when one of our kitchen taps was damaged and lost the stop/Limit. We had to work on them for 1- 2 minutes each time we use the pipe and as a whole, it consumed a huge time span.

[tanushkasarang]

1. Medical Prescription

Effectiveness:

1. From the look and feel of the sheet of paper most people can easily recognize it to be a medical prescription. So no confusion arises.
2. A dedicated printed space for date is very effective when it come to medical prescriptions as a person can go back to it many years later too.
3. The space given for the writing matter is sufficiently big for the doctor and patient to write notes.

What could be better:

1. A thicker sheet of paper, which wouldn't become flimsy like the one above. This conveys the information that the patient probably folded it and put it in his pocket instead of a proper file.

2. Screw

Effectiveness:

1. The pointy part tells us that it goes into the wall and it is dangerous. Should be kept away from children.
2. The length and diameter tells us how strong the screw is.
3. The shiny surface is easily distinguishable in the walls thus making it safer.

What could be better:

1. The thread count doesn't really tell any details to the naked eye.
2. This screw doesn't give details as to where it might be used.

[pavanxs]

App Development Infographic

• This poster shows an application development process from Idea to Launch.
• Simple and easy to understand.
• Arrangement in alternative sides though not an effective way but fits more content in less space.
• The content of each part is not differentiated correctly.
• Though using fewer colours is nice and aesthetically pleasing, I prefer to use more colours to differentiate content properly.
• It's arranged from top to bottom, so it's easy to understand.

REMOTE

• An amazing invention can control a specific device for a distance.
• easy to hold due to its long cuboid shape.
• The volume buttons are big since they are the most used.
• It's also advantageous for people with disabilities.
• The white text and icons on the button clearly shows their function.
• The infrared light, if blocked by some object it may not work
• They have small buttons.
• They need batteries. So we have to use batteries Every time its not working .

[Naman-Verma-gg]

Information Graphic

1. Game Menu, Stats Interfaces and their UI/UX choices (Games used : Genshin Impact, Azur Lane and Arknights) Stats infographic radar chart of the ship HMS Belfast from Azur Lane What works : -Easy to grasp the general idea in the first glance. -Avoids looking boring What does not work: -Fails to provide the finer details and any sort of accurate numbers that could establish absolute statistics. -This (Radar charts in general) are usually found to be confusing for most people. -Fails to accommodate all the details in a radar chart, because if they did, it would be too clustered thus only a fraction of all the information is possible to be projected as you can see the number of all the statistic information categories of the same ship in the images below:

Meanwhile other games like Arknights: do a great job doing the same with providing written information for the numerical stats and combining graphical representation of the range of the given character as well.

Genshin impact on the other hand lists each and every detail separately: Images of the stats of the character Ganyu from my own account's build They do a splendid job in listing every single required and existing statistic separately, and in detail which does not cause any confusion whatsoever, is easy to read, understand and grasp and work with.

Arknight's menu Interface Arknight's in game main screen menu interface is one of the cleanest, most aesthetically pleasing, functional, easy to navigate and ergonomically designed menu interfaces I have ever seen. It has all the necessary details about ones account, their possessions, their tasks, missions and notifications all in one place, all organized extremely well and the color scheme and design makes it quickly easy to navigate through even without reading the actual buttons.

Game UI (Genshin Impact) Design Flaw: In the game's open world, when one approaches the Alchemical bench, the option to access it and the option to talk to the NPC standing pops up together, and the order it does so is not fixed, that is, sometimes the Craft option is on top and sometimes the Timaeus one, thus causing misclicks and then the NPC dialogues taking up a certain amount of your time which is honestly irritating and time consuming.

Information Object

Push-in switches what works: -Have a tactile sound and feel to confirm the click -Easy to understand how to use, anyone can figure out how to press it. what does not work: -If the small LED on the top is absent or it somehow is damaged, it is impossible to tell by looking whether it is in on state or off which might cause electrical issues and accidents.

[NavdeepPKumar]

Information Object - Phone Stand It is quite easy to use this stand. It locks into place for different viewing angles. It makes a subtle sound while locking to inform the user. It has a curved area with rubber padding at the bottom to keep the phone in place. When in closed position, the utility of this device is not easily evident because of the rather strange shape. It can also be used as a tablet stand but the curvature will not allow it to keep it steady.

Infographic - Mask Instructions It is overall well put together. The instructions are right on point. The illustrations are also easily understandable. The branding and the name is unnecessarily big in my opinion. The font size as well as the illustrations of the instructions could have been bigger. On the right side there are half printed pictures of virus which is not clear and could confuse the reader.

[Numaan-Akhtar18]

Information object- Iron

The device is very clear with its design. It consists of a handle, a dial, and also an LED indicator, which has mainly all the visual information regarding its usage. A user can easily understand how to use the device just by looking at it. The power will start flowing into the device once its power plug is plugged into a circuit board. Since it has a handle it is very clear for a user to understand that they have to hold it for accessibility. The designer has placed the dial just below the handle so that the user can have easy and one-hand access to it. The dial helps the user to adjust the temperature of the device according to the medium of cloth they are using it on. The LED indicator on the right side of the device helps the user to know that when the device is ready to use.

Also, the temperature plate below is designed something like to iron every clothing item at its ease.

Information graphic- The famous covid poster.

This poster consists of lots of information in a very smart and simple way. Let’s talk about the motif first. The pictures explain a lot about how a person should be in the lockdown period. Masks and covering most of the body is the most important thing to do. Now talking about the text and its color, the designer has tried to break down the word ‘corona’ very smartly into how to prevent it, which is staying inside our houses. This poster has very few texts and motifs, yet it is capable of delivering most of the information on preventing the covid-19 virus.