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Design and Make Infographics (Project-Centered Course)

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Design and Make Infographics (Project-Centered Course)

Michigan State University

About this course: In this project-centered course*, you will create a content-rich infographic on a topic of your choice using Adobe Illustrator (which you can download for a free, 30-day trial). You might choose to create a visual representation of data from the world of sports, entertainment, politics, or science, to explain a business trend or environmental issue, or even to present a theme or development from your personal life. Your finished infographic will engage your target audience and convey information clearly through effective use of design elements such as typography, color, and structure. Whether you’re a graphic designer, a writer or the intern in the department, you’ll learn: • what an infographic is and what makes a good one • how to work within your limits • how to work with a team (if you have one) • why infographics are effective • techniques for spotting data in stories • six valuable steps for planning an effective infographic • how to use and make some of the building blocks of infographics: maps, charts and flow charts • ways data can be visualized to clarify it and give it meaning • how to effectively design a good infographic by effectively using elements like type, color and an underlying grid structure • some free or cheap, online tools for making various kinds of infographics As you work on your project, you’ll learn more about why infographics are effective, what makes a good infographic, and how to plan and design an infographic for maximum impact. You’ll explore various approaches to data visualization, and you’ll practice creating visualizations like maps, charts, flow charts, and simple drawings in your free version of Adobe Illustrator. Please note that if you are new to learning graphics software, making these graphics could take much longer than estimated as you learn and grow. What you’ll need to get started: This project-based course is aimed at anyone interested in understanding, designing, and using infographics - from students and hobbyists to professional graphic designers. We’ll use Adobe Illustrator for some components of the project. If you don’t have access to the full version of Illustrator,you can download a free version at www.Adobe.com/Illustrator. If the free 30-day trial runs out, you can "purchase" it for a month for about $20. *About Project-Centered Courses: Project centered courses are designed specifically to help you complete a personally meaningful real-world project, with your instructor and a community of like-minded learners providing guidance and suggestions along the way. By actively applying new concepts as you learn, you’ll master the course content more efficiently; you’ll also get a head start on using the skills you gain to make positive changes in your life and career. When you complete the course, you’ll have a finished project that you’ll be proud to use and share. When you enroll in certain courses, you’ll be asked to pay a small fee to share your work with others for peer review.


Created by:  Michigan State University
Michigan State University

  • Karl Gude

    Taught by:  Karl Gude, Graphics Editor in Residence

    School of Journalism
Commitment6 hours of study, 8 hours of project work
Language
English
How To PassPass all graded assignments to complete the course.
User Ratings
4.6 stars
Average User Rating 4.6See what learners said
Syllabus
WEEK 1
Plan and layout an infographic
This week is broken into two key themes: things that you need to know about infographics and this week's two peer-reviewed assignments: 1) plan an infographic and 2) sketch a layout of your infographic.
16 videos, 1 reading
  1. Video: Meet The Professor
  2. Video: What You'll Learn
  3. Video: What is an Infographic?
  4. Video: Why are infographics useful?
  5. Video: Types of Infographics
  6. Video: What are some things you can do to visualize data
  7. Video: What Makes an Infographic good?
  8. Video: How to work alone or with a team
  9. Discussion Prompt: What are your thoughts on this infographic?
  10. Video: Planning STEP 1: What's Your Goal?
  11. Video: Planning STEP 2: Who is your Audience?
  12. Video: Planning STEP 3: What is your Story?
  13. Video: Planning STEP 4: What is your Message?
  14. Video: Planning STEP 5: How to Find Stories in Data?
  15. Video: Planning STEP 6: What is your supporting content/data?
  16. Discussion Prompt: SHARE your thoughts about these popular online sites for making infographics
  17. Reading: GREAT sites for making infographics online (with reviews & tutorials)
  18. Video: Video: The importance of sketching
  19. Video: Video: START TO FINISH: How I make an infographic
Graded: 1) PLAN your infographic with these six steps
Graded: 2) SKETCH a layout of your infographic
WEEK 2
Make a chart
This week we're going to focus on three popular kinds of charts: bar, line and pie and you'll learn what kind of data each one is used for as well as some things you shouldn't do with them. The assignment this week is to make a chart using Adobe Illustrator. If learning graphic software is new to you, this could take you much more time than you think. In the fourth and final module of this project you will be creating an infographic that will contain at least one chart in it, so this might be a good point for you to think about what topic you would like to make your infographic about and then plot your chart here using data that you can apply to your infographic. You can download a 30-day trial version of the Adobe Illustrator by going to www.Adobe.com/Illustrator, or, if you prefer not to use Illustrator, you could try Inkscape (https://inkscape.org/en/), which is free. It won't plot charts, but I've heard that people plot charts in another program, such as Excel, and then carefully trace them in Inkscape so that they can style them up to their needs. Here are some good Youtube tutorials: https://youtu.be/zUIOEXssTSE. Technically, charts are called graphs, but I’m not a purist. I call them charts and I have for 30 years. You may call them whatever you like. ☺ Why Illustrator? It’s the industry standard for creating maps, charts and other graphic images. My Adobe Illustrator tutorial this week shows you how to make a pie chart, and the same styling and editing techniques will apply to the other chart types. If you prefer, here is a link to my tutorial for “How to Make a Bar Chart in Adobe Illustrator,” though. It’s not Illustrator CC, but you won’t be able to tell the difference and it’s a little more comprehensive than my pie chart tutorial.
4 videos, 2 readings
  1. Video: The three amigos: bar, pie and line charts. What they do.
  2. Video: A few chart dos and don'ts
  3. Video: Six ways to visualize the same data in a chart
  4. Reading: Print out: What kind of data goes on bar, pie and line charts?
  5. Video: How to make a PIE chart in Adobe Illustrator
  6. Reading: Video: How to make a BAR chart in Adobe Illustrator
Graded: Make a line, pie or bar chart using Adobe Illustrator
WEEK 3
Make a map
6 videos, 3 readings
  1. Video: Map components: visual variables
  2. Video: Types of maps
  3. Video: Type on maps
  4. Video: Drawing roads and info pointer boxes on maps that aren't awful
  5. Reading: Example images of good roads for maps drawn in Illustrator
  6. Reading: Examples of pointer (info) boxes for maps drawn in Illustrator
  7. Video: How to make a map in Adobe Illustrator (Oregon)
  8. Reading: Link to more detailed video tutorial: How to make a map in Adobe Illustrator (Michigan)
  9. Video: How to use and how NOT to use the pen tool
Graded: Make a map with a theme
WEEK 4
Make an infographic
You've learned some things about content, layout, design, color and making maps and charts and now it's time to pull them all together into an infographic. It will help if you review my video from module one where I make an infographic (the one on melanoma) from start to finish. I have a tutorial here that will show you how to draw an illustration in Illustrator, in case your infographic calls for one. I hope you try it!
3 videos, 1 reading
  1. Video: Color in infographics
  2. Video: Don't hurt your image with bad, sloppy work
  3. Video: How to draw a simple illustration in Adobe Illustrator
  4. Reading: Video: How working with type in Adobe Illustrator
Graded: Make an infographic on the topic of your choice

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Michigan State University
Michigan State University has been advancing the common good with uncommon will for more than 150 years. One of the top research universities in the world, MSU pushes the boundaries of discovery and forges enduring partnerships to solve the most pressing global challenges while providing life-changing opportunities to a diverse and inclusive academic community through more than 200 programs of study in 17 degree-granting colleges.
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Ratings and Reviews
Rated 4.6 out of 5 of 443 ratings

CD

Very useful class for understanding and designing infographics. Before this class I was familiar with InDesign and Photoshop, but not with Illustrator. I learned a lot about using Illustrator and how to create graphs, charts, and images to all use within infographics. Highly recommend this class!

Mercedes del Rocío Pulido Castilla

Un curso genial, donde he aprendido bastantes técnicas dentro de illustrator y cómo recolectar datos de manera gráfica. Sin duda un curso esencial para aquellos que nos dedicamos al diseño. Creo que las correcciones de los compañeros deberían ser más objetivas. Por lo demás un 10.

SS

great course

Celeste Jaramillo

Great course. thank you!



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