Blogpost #2: Sustained Investigation Ideation

For my SI, I have decided that I want to focus on the "art of charts." Like many others, I enjoy looking at infographics and charts that are filled with fun graphics and drawings. One of my favorite posters that I own is a chart of the different types of fish located on the Hawaiian Islands. The detailed drawings of each fish in a vibrant and clear style highlights the differences of each fish while unifying them at the same time. In my SI, I would also like to showcase a visual list like the fish chart.

However, I want to create a more illustrative feel to each chart---I would like to do my own fish chart, with all the fish swimming in an ocean scene rather than laid out plainly over a white background. I plan to approach other processes, such as bodily or geological processes, in a similar manner: telling a story through illustration while educating about different processes and systems.

I believe that using charts is a great tool for education, but most are sterile and corporate style. Although there are important accessibility purposes to the cut-and-paste style of many visual aids, I want to see how much these limits can be pushed so that information is still communicated while being more creative. Something I want to work on is visual aids geared towards children vs. adults.

I think the charts will also allow me to have more versatility in my subject matter and let me experiment with different styles and mediums. A couple of inquries that I've come up with are, how do visuals affect our ability to learn about new subjects?" and "how can corporate infographics and charts be interpreted in an illustrative matter?"