‘If people understand there’s no need to explain.
If they don’t there’s no use explaining.’
– Jean Prouvé
Research ‘Big Data’
On analyzing the five infographics this week, I decided to explore the visual representation of the moon as presented by Accept + Proceed. What drew me initially to the visual was the interplay of the spherical/ circular elements, which traditionally related to the idea of the divine/ eternity.
I was interested in how circles are used repetitively to translate the information contained within the artwork giving the first impression is of a graduated circle on a black surface and, on closer inspection, the revelation of it containing information that relates to the moon landings. The information design elicited in me a visual interest with the economical use of a single-weight font, a black and white color palette, and the modernist aesthetic of non-fiction book covers from the 50s and 60s. (Primarily Pelican Originals).
A beautiful gesture, of a time when dreamt bigger than ourselves and suffice to say, that there is a beautiful narrative presented with the graphic that it is supported by a wonderful interplay of type and spirals (Dancing in a circle - no circle os first, no circle is last). Furthermore, the circle is essentially unstable and dynamic, all rotary movements and impossible searches for perpetual motion derive from the circle (Bruno Munari, Square Circle Triangle).
Out o this some initial questions that arose:
Does the visual give a clearly communicate that it represents the moon and journies/ landings undertaken?
Does it convey a sense of emotion that was traditionally attached to moon landings but has been lost in the proceeding years as space discovery and the knowledge required to get us there has taken a back seat? (https://www.space.com/after-apollo-why-not-go-back-to-the-moon.html)
Do the circles represent the moon in its planetary position relating to Earth when the landing occurred? or can we read into the circles the slingshot effect that it takes to propel a spacecraft toward the moon?
Does the typographic layout / captioning engage or frustrate? O does it strive for a deeper philosophical captioning?
What doe the Black and Silver tones convoy? Dark and Light sides of the moon? The power of the moon in relation to our planetary body and its position within the Human psyche of darkness? How humans first saw the moon landings, through footage shown on B&W Tvs.
Further Thought 1:
What we discover when we examine the piece as a whole is that it Is full of signifiers that help reveal the information presented in a way that I designed for a specific audience set. The graphic has clearly been designed by a graphic designer and the visual cues presented are clearly designed to be read by visually literate persons. This raises the question as to whether information design and specifically abstract forms such as what’s present by Accept and Proceed neglect the reader (and scientific information )in favor of graphic styling and code that could be interpreted as keeping knowledge ad intentions secret.
’Every bureaucracy seeks to increase the superiority of the professionally informed by keeping their knowledge and intentions secret.’ (Ref: Max Ewber, Sociologist, Caps Lock, Valiz, 2022)
Further Thought 2:
‘Through the dogma of branding, graphic designers are learning to commodify all forms of information. Just as what goods signify matters more these days than their basic utility, so it goes that first, information must signify ownership and secondly does it inform.’
(Ref: Nick Bell, Designer, Caps Lock, Valiz, 2022)
Synopsis
Moon Landings: Extracting the hidden beauty within data
On analysis, this is a concerted effort by Accept and Proceed to bring together the important details and create a compelling bite-sized infographic that focuses on key takeaways for readers to learn from.
The story, idea, consideration, and context that give form to this infographic by Accept and Proceed draws character, play, and visual interest from the economical use of a single and fairly austere font, and a black and white color palette. Relying less on a timeline approach, the infographic strives to reveal the key moments in history and convert an emotive connection to the moon landings. This emotive connection is achieved through the simplistic presentation of the names, dates, coordinates, and amount of time spent on the moon. The reinforcing of this seminal information through the silver and black palette also serves to remind us of the period in time in which these landings took place, the era of the black and white TV.
By simplifying the information presented, Accept and Proceed strive for a sense of discovery, encouraging the reader to educate themselves further through their own research and through that research further the emotional connection to the men (a different time) who were at the forefront of space discovery.
One criticism is that within design circles, there is probably no one who will argue that Accepts and Proceeds infographic is not an excellent presentation and interpretation of the information presented. This asks the question raised earlier: What do we discover when we examine the piece as a whole is that it Is full of signifiers that help reveal the information presented in a way that I designed for a specific audience set. The graphic has clearly been designed by a graphic designer and the visual cues presented are clearly designed to be read by visually literate persons. This raises the further question as to whether information design and specifically abstract forms such as what’s present by Accept and Proceed neglect the reader (and scientific information )in favor of graphic styling and code that could be interpreted as keeping knowledge ad intentions secret.
Accept and Proceeds infographic is a restrained but distinctive expression of modernity and creates a visual arresting interplay between type and form. The type double does a good job expressing the information presented, relying on a clean san serif form in a simple visual gesture.
Repetition of the circular forms furthers this idea, becoming an eye-catching visual element that recalls the idea of movement and counter movement, They call to mind something of the modernist aesthetic of non-fiction book covers from the 50s and 60s and combined with the visual economy of its limited color the infographics offer something in the way of contrast to the usual and hackneyed interpretations of ‘Space’ graphics.
The accompanying motion graphics work well to highlight the sense of movement through time and space and arguably help convey the data in a more clear manner to the non-visual person. The simplicity of the underlying movement also helps to connect the viewer with a sense of floating and ‘non-gravity’, building an emotive bond between the viewer and astronauts whose names are contained within.
Development
Breaking down the infographic, I was reminded of some of the earlier international style works that Spin Studios execute and I wanted to translate that stripped-back minimalist typographic approach into my editorial. Referencing the circular aspect f the design and the time of the moon landings, I envisaged a piece of vinyl (a record) that contained the editorial narrative and could also include sounds/ soundscapes from the moon missions, creating a more immersive storytelling device. This is in part driven by Brian Eno’s work around installation music for the environment. (eg, Music for Airports).
The addition of the silver foil is in reference to the thermal materials used in space combining at once the idea of the moon landings and the future together.
Final Outcome
Having settled on the letterforms, I was left with the question of does this represent the Dublin that I am trying to communicate. On its own, it achieves the desire to translate the found letterforms and clearly felt look a Dublin typeface while as Wes said pointing towards a new Ireland. This was achieved by eschewing any experimental graphical styling and instead relying on more sustainable and less exploitive practices in developing the letterforms.
On its own, I would have been happy with the outcome, but I also wanted to pay homage to Ulsysess and looked towards a form that would help me communicate the identity of Dublin. I settled on a book cover and developed a playful illustration and typographic style to enforce the contemporary nature of the items we live in and avoid a pastiched approach to editorial design, something that I took away from Frauke Stegmann’s wonderful presentation. In addition, having spent time exploring the bookstore above, I observed the wonderful array of colours that influenced book design 100 years ago and looked to establish a similar colour palette in the final design. The illustration is a redrawn of Leopold Bloom, the central hero contained within Ulysess.
(Ref: https://www.bloomsandbarnacles.com/blog/2020/02/19/who-was-the-real-leopold-bloom)
References
https://www.space.com/after-apollo-why-not-go-back-to-the-moon.html
Max Ewber, Sociologist, Caps Lock, Valiz, 2022
Spin, UK, https://spin.co.uk/
Pelican Originals
Nick Bell, Designer, Caps Lock, Valiz, 2022