Click around on the phone screen below to explore the infographic! If you aren’t sure where to click, just click anywhere and parts of the screen will flash blue to guide you.
InVision Prototype, 2017
Project Description
This interactive infographic was created at the end of my first graphic design class, and it conveys information about a rapidly worsening problem in the United States — overcrowding in national parks and wilderness areas. As an avid outdoorsman, I am passionate about protecting our public lands and the fragile environments within that provide so much beauty and excitement. I had known a little bit about the overcrowding problem before this class, but saw this project as an opportunity to really delve into the issue and identify some of the best ways forward, presenting everything in a visually appealing and easily understood format.
I used InVision for this project, a prototyping software that allows designers to quickly flesh out ideas and start user testing early on, without having to write any technical code. Most of the technical skills used to create this infographic involved working in Adobe Illustrator, creating layouts and utilizing different typefaces. Once the design for each screen was created, I simply imported the screen as an image file into InVision and created clickable areas that bring users to different parts of the prototype. Taken all together, this prototype gives the look-and-feel of being a functional product without having to invest valuable time and energy in the actual programming or implementation. InVision proved to be a great tool for rapid prototyping, and I have used it in many projects since.
The Process
After choosing my topic, I started out by researching the actual issue of overcrowding, trying to find powerful stats that I could easily translate into an infographic. I knew I wanted to find information about how many people are visiting major national parks, what the negative impacts are from so much use, and what potential solutions might be moving forward. Once in Adobe Illustrator, I started to develop an overall aesthetic by experimenting with different fonts and colors.
To make sure the graphics for the “Numbers” section were accurate, I used math to calculate the area of each circle based on the numbers that I had found in my research, so that each circle would be proportionate to the circle it was being compared to. In the “Problem” and “Solution” portions, I developed some simple icons that would help to drive the point home without being distracting. Last, I created a map for navigating the infographic. I exported all of my screens as individual PNG files so that I could upload them to InVision, and implemented the architecture of the prototype so that it feels interactive for the user. After completing this project, I felt confident in developing graphics for a range of different situations and making information digestible and understandable for any potential users.
