This is the first in a series of posts about the projects I’ve been doing as part of my Masters in Information Design at the University of Reading. Information design is a diverse subject that takes in many disciplines. One of those is wayfinding — the art and psychology of leading people in the right direction, whether they […]
Read more "Wayfinding: Harris Garden"What is information design? I often get asked this question, and just as frequently struggle to answer. It’s known loosely by other names, graphic communication, for example, and communication design. But it also overlaps with another term you might have heard, service design. Any closer? No? Oh. To others it’s a collection of design disciplines, with a little psychology […]
Read more "What is information design?"As part of the part-time Masters I’m doing in Information Design, we had to design an iPhone app. I’d already done a screenshot idea for a London Bus app after Countdown the live bus tracking system was launched, so I thought — hey, why not design a bus app? There’s loads out there just for tracking buses, so I thought, what’s the […]
Read more "Designing an iPhone app"I confess, I have a problem. I’m typophobic. No, I’m not scared of typos (pedantry is the lowest form of internet argument). However, the idea of having to make decisions about typography in virtually any situation does bring me out in a cold sweat. Not to mention my not-so-secret belief that typography doesn’t really mean nearly as much […]
Read more "Book review: Thinking with type"Infographics can be beautiful, informative, fascinating, genuinely entertaining and educational. On a personal level, I’m a big fan. My own overwhelming need to understand things to the best of my ability has been nicely enhanced by this recent trend. Infographics come in a few flavours (chocolate, strawberry and banana). There are straight-up graph types, area types, and in the […]
Read more "Infographics: the outer limits?"Part of what I am (or at least, will be) learning in my Masters in Information Design at the University of Reading is ‘wayfinding’. Yes, signs. Surely, you might ask, that’s something that town planners, architects, etc take care of? Well, they can if they want, but if you want the job done properly, you might think about […]
Read more "Finding the way"