MODULE ILL3002M | CONTEMPORARY ILLUSTRATION
DATA VISUALISATION
“Battle related deaths for 2016 by region.”
Visual Research/Inspirations & Direction
Sketches/initial ideas and responses to the brief.
I wanted to focus on a visual style that combined a reduced colour palette, common with editorial illustration, with complex and expressive use of line to balance the bold/ contrasting colours, particularly red, black and white. I believed this would create an eye-catching and dramatic look to the piece, lending itself for use on the cover of The Sunday Times, as outlined by the brief.
I was interested in using macabre elements, such as blood or skeletons/skulls to represent death, and began sketching these elements, experimenting with the idea of the distance of a blood splatter corresponding to different data points. I furthered this, by thinking how a large number of deaths is shocking, and thought about emphasizing this through drawing figures being shot, and, (when representing exceptionally high number) having a figure be decapitated. After reconsideration of the brief’s target audience of educated adults, and the format of the illustration being presented as if it were the cover of The Sunday Times, I wanted to take a more tasteful direction, toning down the graphic look, but still sticking to iconography that represents death well, such as skulls/skeletons.
Refining Initial ideas
Based on the direction of my initial sketches, I refined my ideas more into looking at how to represent data in more inventive ways, looking at using scale and blending of elements.
I experimented with representing the number of deaths through the number of bullets in a magazine, drawn as people to emphasize the number as individuals. This was heavily inspired by my initial visual research.
I also experimented with imagery of weaponry by showing data points through the distance of a tank’s shot, evoking a stronger sense of ‘battle’ and conflict, in keeping with the title of the data I want to represent.
I also revisited the imagery of the distance of blood splatters more tastefully, by removing any imagery of bodies or human figures, instead just showing blood.
Based on the fact that The Sunday Times is a publication, I thought about only implying that the blood was blood, instead, showing it as printing ink, like that used in the process of printing a publication, thus avoiding any explicit/direct references to gore.
I was attracted to using skeletons to represent death as visual data. I refined an idea previously sketched out, showing a higher number of deaths through more of a figure’s skeleton being shown.
One idea I was attracted to the most was adjusting the scale of these skeletons to indicate higher or lower numbers of deaths while also playing with perspective, implying that the skeletons were a procession of marching soldiers. I liked this idea as I believe it combined the base elements of battle-related deaths simply and effectively and thus, was subtle enough to appear mature and thought-provoking, (in-keeping with an editorial illustration for an adult audience), while also representing the data in a unique and inventive way.
Focus of Direction
Based on feedback from my lecturers, I decided to continue with the idea of having a procession of soldier-skeletons indicate the data for my infographic.
I proceeded to sketch an altered composition for my idea following dimensions closer to the ones set by the brief, which resulted in a greater sense of depth, as the skeletons followed a steeper angle of increasing size. I also looked at modernizing and refining the look of the gun they’d carry, from a shotgun to a rifle to closer reflect the year 2016 that the data would correspond to.
One idea I experimented with was the use of headstones. As the data I was visualizing recorded deaths in battle, I thought it would be appropriate to reference imagery of war memorials, like the Ypres graves. The iconic uniform arrangement of these graves would lend itself to the display of data, as it would mimic the look of a bar chart. However, as I began to experiment with the idea more, I found it less engaging of an approach, as I believed it was a somewhat predictable composition.
As a result, I decided to go back to my original idea of using soldier-skeletons – and expanded upon it after reading TANGIBLE: High Touch Visuals for further inspiration on how to approach my work. Based on the book’s content of illustration using 3D elements, I decided to transfer my composition into 3D, having the skeletons be screen printed onto a sheet of card and crafted into standees, which would then be photographed, having text added on the surface that the standees were placed on, giving a stronger impression of depth.
Style Approach
With a new direction on the project established, I began thinking about what kind of colour palette I would use. I began looking online at popular contemporary colour palettes, the type that is commonplace in editorial illustration.
From this research, I compiled 4 colour palette choices that I thought about using for the standees. Out of the 4, I believe that the subdued grey palette with the red highlight was the best choice as its simple look won’t detract from the tone of the finished illustration, which will be mature and focused on conveying information, as an infographic.
I also was drawn to the orange and blue palette as I thought the colors complimented each other well, having a more stylized, pop-esque look which is familiar in contemporary, editorial illustration. But, because of this, I don’t think it was suitable for my intended audience and tone, which required a more understated look.
To convey the data in my work as accurately as possible, and thus, be a successful infographic, I converted the data I was given for battle-related deaths for 2016 into a line graph on Excel to get a sense of scale. I also turned the data into percentages, with the highest figure, the Middle East, acting as 100%, to scale down the rest of my standees when printing. With the Middle East at 100%, I could print its corresponding standee as the full size of a sheet of card, and have the rest scale down in percentages accordingly.
Creating Mockups
Based on the data I had calculated, I made a set of mockups (scaled to A3) as a way to test out the success of my final outcome. As some of the percentages calculated from the data were too small to feasibly use, I altered the sizes to a more manageable size, still keeping a visual similarity to the data when plotted into a graph.
After creating the artwork for my mockups and deciding on the sizes, I screen printed and constructed them into standees.
I only decided on printing the largest and smallest sizes to see how well the change in size would affect the quality of the print, which had me reconsider the linework I would use in my finalised work, as thinner lines from the scaled-down artwork failed to print correctly.
I also photographed the standees to get a feel for how the finished work would look like.
Finalizing The Look
After photographing the mockups, I experimented with adding text in various compositions, mimicking how I would add text to the final image. I focused on a clean professional look, capturing the mature direction that would appeal to the target audience of the brief, using Times New Roman to create a cohesive look with The Sunday Times logo.
After deciding on how I would place the text in my illustration, I reworked the style of my approach, as the thinner lines and extra details in my mockups struggled to show up when screenprinted. When creating my final artwork, I drew various versions of the same skeleton with its details and lineweight appropriately scaled, so little of the artwork would be lost when printed.
Creating the Final Outcome
After screenprinting these finalized designs, I photographed them. I took many photos, trying to capture the right angle I wanted that would show all the skeletons in focus, as well as provide a good distance for me to include text. Below are some of the best photos I took:
After editing I settled on these two outcomes:
Although I liked the steeper angle of the first outcome, I believe it looks more crowded, which distracts from the simplicity of the composition, which I wanted to emphasize to create a mature tone. Therefore, I decided that the second outcome was the better of the two, as the pulled-back angle gives a better sense of balance to the image.
Based on the feedback I received in my formative assessment, I altered the perspective of the photograph to show a greater decent in height between the skeletons.
This was then further edited to produce this result:
Final Outcome
