West Virginia/Kentucky Coal Sludge Spill: AJohnson, KCayamcela, K

                   

a. What went well? 

Our work ethic was great. We all worked together and researched information. Unlike the other catastrophes, this sludge spill was minor and did not have much argument behind it. 

b. What did not? 

Finding a way we were going to portray the information was the difficult part. 

c. What would you do differently next time? 
I wouldn't do anything differently except perhaps, if I could, pick a topic myself according to my comfort zone. I feel as though the topic we were given didn't give us much to work with. I think complexity is key. The more information one has, the more effective the info graphic will be.

d. Specifically comment on the 10 tips for effective infographics 

Be Concise- To be brief but not give little information.

Be Visual- To not include too much writing but images. 

Be Smarter- Must be helpful, informative, and entertaining. 

Be Transparent- To make our focus point obvious. 

Be Different- Be unique/creative. You don't always have to go by someone else's idea. 

Be Accurate- The research cannot be false. 

Be Attractive- The info graphic must be eye-catching, not boring. 

Be Varied- To keep the variation to a minimum. If it were to be too varied, the info graphic would look messy (The main idea wouldn't be there anymore).

Be Gracious- To not have too many things going on all at once. For example "this means this, and this means this, and this means this." 

Be Creative- This is similar to being different. Being simple can be bad sometimes, therefore being creative can take the boringness of a project away! 

Which of these areas did you excel in? Which were not so well represented? Why do you think some elements of design were easier or harder to include in the end product?
We excelled in almost every factor of having an effective info graphic except for the, "Be smarter" portion. I think we could have done a better job incorporating all the information we found rather than just focusing on the damage of the spill. Some elements of the design were easier than others because, depending on how "on topic" the information was to our main topic (the damage of the spill), we couldn't include other information we researched, such as: how the government responded to the spill, or how the area is today.