Information Design Specialization for Infographics and Visual Storytelling

Lesson 1 • Anatomy of an Infographic

Deconstructs infographics into headline, data layer, annotation, and source components. Students gain a shared vocabulary for critiquing and building visual artifacts.

Lesson 2 • Core Principles of Visual Communication

Introduces signal-to-noise ratio, hierarchy, and clarity as foundational design values. These principles govern every design decision made throughout the course.

Lesson 3 • Understanding Your Audience and Purpose

Defines audience personas and communication objectives as prerequisites to design. Connects purpose-setting to downstream decisions about format, complexity, and tone.

Lesson 1 • Reading and Evaluating Data Sources

Teaches source credibility assessment, sampling bias detection, and metadata interpretation. Students learn to question data before committing it to a visual narrative.

Lesson 2 • Types of Data and Their Properties

Distinguishes categorical, ordinal, interval, and ratio data and their visual implications. Correct data classification prevents misleading chart choices later in the course.

Lesson 3 • Descriptive Statistics for Designers

Covers mean, median, mode, range, and distribution shapes as tools for summarizing data. Equips designers to make statistically informed visual encoding decisions.

Lesson 4 • Ethical Responsibilities with Data

Examines how truncated axes, cherry-picked ranges, and misleading aggregations distort truth. Establishes an ethical standard that students apply to every project.

Lesson 1 • Pre-Attentive Attributes in Design

Covers colour, size, shape, orientation, and motion as channels that bypass conscious attention. Students learn to deploy these attributes to direct focus instantly.

Lesson 2 • Gestalt Principles Applied to Infographics

Translates proximity, similarity, continuity, closure, and figure-ground into layout decisions. Each principle is demonstrated through infographic critique and redesign exercises.

Lesson 3 • Reducing Cognitive Load in Visuals

Introduces chunking, progressive disclosure, and visual anchoring as load-reduction strategies. Students redesign cluttered examples to demonstrate measurable clarity improvements.

Lesson 1 • Trend and Time-Series Visualization

Teaches line charts, area charts, and horizon charts for temporal data with varying density. Students learn axis scaling, baseline choices, and annotation placement for trends.

Lesson 2 • Geospatial and Network Visualizations

Covers choropleth maps, proportional symbol maps, and basic network diagrams. Students evaluate when geography adds meaning versus when it distracts from the data story.

Lesson 3 • Distribution and Relationship Charts

Introduces histograms, box plots, scatter plots, and bubble charts for statistical relationships. Connects chart choice to the analytical question being answered.

Lesson 4 • Part-to-Whole and Proportion Charts

Examines pie, donut, treemap, and waffle charts with their appropriate use cases and pitfalls. Emphasizes when proportional encoding succeeds and when it misleads.

Lesson 1 • Building a Typographic Hierarchy

Teaches headline, subhead, label, annotation, and source-line sizing and weight relationships. Students apply a consistent hierarchy to a multi-element infographic layout.

Lesson 2 • Accessibility and Inclusive Colour Design

Addresses colour vision deficiency, contrast ratios, and redundant encoding strategies. Students audit their own work against accessibility standards and revise accordingly.

Lesson 3 • Establishing a Visual Brand System

Guides students in creating a reusable colour and type style guide for consistent infographic output. Connects brand consistency to audience trust and recognition.

Lesson 4 • Colour Theory for Data Visualization

Distinguishes sequential, diverging, and categorical colour palettes and their appropriate data contexts. Students select palettes that encode meaning without introducing perceptual bias.

Lesson 1 • Visual Weight and Balance

Explains how size, colour, density, and contrast create visual weight and affect compositional balance. Students adjust layouts to achieve symmetrical and asymmetrical balance.

Lesson 2 • Directing Visual Flow and Reading Path

Uses Z-pattern, F-pattern, and radial flow models to design intentional reading sequences. Students map eye-tracking paths before finalizing layout decisions.

Lesson 3 • Infographic Format and Orientation

Compares vertical scrollers, horizontal timelines, poster formats, and dashboard layouts. Students select format based on content type, platform, and audience behaviour.

Lesson 1 • Integrating Text and Visuals Cohesively

Addresses the text-visual relationship: when text explains, when it labels, and when it should be removed. Students practice writing tight, purposeful copy for each infographic element.

Lesson 2 • Emotional Resonance and Persuasion

Examines how metaphor, human-scale comparisons, and iconography create emotional connection. Students apply persuasion techniques ethically to strengthen narrative impact.

Lesson 3 • Sequencing Information for Impact

Covers information sequencing strategies: known-to-unknown, simple-to-complex, and chronological. Students reorder the same dataset to demonstrate how sequence changes meaning.

Lesson 4 • Crafting a Compelling Headline and Hook

Teaches declarative, question-based, and provocative headline styles that prime audience engagement. The headline is treated as the single most important design element.

Lesson 1 • Wireframing and Prototyping Infographics

Introduces low-fidelity wireframes and mid-fidelity prototypes as tools for testing layout before full production. Reduces costly revisions by validating structure early.

Lesson 2 • Production Tools and File Management

Covers vector-based design tools, spreadsheet-to-chart pipelines, and file organisation conventions. Students establish a repeatable production setup that scales to team environments.

Lesson 3 • Iteration, Refinement, and Final Delivery

Guides students through revision cycles, quality checks, and final export for print and digital channels. Establishes professional delivery standards for client and editorial contexts.

Lesson 4 • Structured Critique and Peer Review

Teaches a critique framework based on accuracy, clarity, aesthetics, and audience fit. Students give and receive actionable feedback using a standardised rubric.