Information Design - Exercise 1 (Quantifiable Information)

5/2/2025 - 10/2/2025 (Week 1 - Week 2)
Katelyn Tan Kye Ling (0354148)
Bachelor Of Design In Creative Media (Information Design)
Exercise 1 - Quantifiable Information

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LECTURES

Week 1:

Lecture: 3/2/2025

To kick start the semester, we had an online lecture where Mr. Fauzi and Mr. Shamsul briefed us on the MIB for this module. We were informed of the exercise that we had to start off with by bringing materials to school during our tutorial class. Also the group project was shared about and we had to start by creating a group of 6 - 10 students. 

Tutorial: 5/2/2025

During the tutorial this week, we focused on figuring out exercise 1 and played around with creating our template during different steps. I brought pasta with different shapes and colours as my "data". Mr. Fauzi also guided us throughout the tutorial. Then we also had to make our groups for the group project and file in our details in a google sheet.

Week 2:

Lecture: 10/2/2025

We started off the class by having a lecture. Mr. Fauzi taught us about the many types of infographics and the L.A.T.C.H theory.

Types of Infographic:

1. Lists Infographic
2. Statistics Infographic
3. How to Infographic
4. Timeline Infographic
5. Comparison Infographic
6. Map or Location Infographic
7. Flowchart Infographic
8. Process Description Infographic

L.A.T.C.H. Theory: a framework for organizing information into five basic categories: location, alphabet, time, category, and hierarchy.

Fig 1.1 L.A.T.C.H theory

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INSTRUCTIONS

Exercise 1 - Quantifiable Information

In this exercise you're required to quantify our chosen objects and arrange them into a presentable layout or chart. The information must be presented as is, and you need to arrange the objects with relevant indicators written out with pens to help you to visualize the quantity and data. The examples of objects that can be use are buttons, coins, lego pieces, M&Ms, and more.

Week 1:

In this week's tutorial class, we focused on exercise 1. We were asked to bring A3 papers, coloured pens, and an object that can be sorted out into different categories. I wanted to use something more unique so I bought pasta that had different shapes and colours (Fig 1.1 & 1.2). 

Fig 1.1 Exercise 1 Object

Fig 1.2 Pasta

First I poured out some of the pasta as the whole bag was way too much.

Fig 1.3 Unsorted Data

Sorted:

Then I sorted it out into different colours (Fig 1.4).

Fig 1.4 Sorted

I was thinking of a template that could make my sorted data illustration look more interesting so I tried to make it into shapes of the ingredient each coloured pasta is made of (Fig 1.5).

Fig 1.5 Shapes of ingredient each pasta is made of

Then I started to work on my sorted template. I used calligraphy pens and different colours that represented each ingredient (Fig 1.6).

Fig 1.6 Final Sorted Template

We did not have enough time so I continued the rest at home.

Arranged:

Next, I worked on the arrangement template.
For arranged I decided to also sort by colour but arrange it by its shapes. I played around and tried to arrange it and ended up going for the arrangement in Fig 1.7.

Fig 1.7 Arranged Pasta (Sorted by colours, arranged by shapes)

Next, I wrote down the info of the pasta and decorated the template (Fig 1.8).

Fig 1.8 Final Arranged Template

Visually Presented:

For the last template, I decided to sort it by shapes and arrange it by colour (Fig 1.9). 

Fig 1.9 Sorted by shapes

I tried to go for a circle layout to represent the plate to put the pasta. I drew 3 circles with a compass, each circle having 2 shapes from most amount to least (Fig 1.10).

Fig 1.10 Drawing the template

After drawing the template, I arranged the pasta. I didn't end up using all the pasta I sorted. And then I decorated the rest of the template and added a legend as well (Fig 1.11).

Fig 1.11 Final Visually Presented Template

I felt like I needed to write down the amount of coloured pasta for each shape so I added that (Fig 1.12). However I wasn't sure if I liked it with or without the addition as I felt it made the template a bit messy, so I decided to submit both.

Fig 1.12 Final Visually Presented Template

Tell A Story:

Lastly I did the tell a story template. My story was ingredients of what I put in my pasta dish. I created the tomato and spinach first, this was inspired by my sorted template. After that I added the pot. I felt it was a bit empty then I added the fire below the pot as well (Fig 1.13).

Fig 1.13 Tell A Story Layout

Fig 1.13 Final Tell A Story Template

FINAL SUBMISSIONS

P.s. The colour is different after using a scanner

Sorted:

Arranged:

Visually Presented:

Without the number of each coloured shape

With the number of each coloured shape

Tell A Story:

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REFLECTION

Experience
This exercise was really hands-on and enjoyable. At first, I wasn’t sure how to arrange my pasta in a way that looked good and made sense and also was a bit confused with the difference between sorted and arranged and visually presented, but experimenting with different layouts helped. I especially liked working on the “Tell A Story” template because it let me be more creative. Overall, this exercise was really different compared to the other assignments I've done which makes it interesting yet challenging.

Observation
I noticed that organizing data can be more fun and creative than I expected. Using pasta as my dataset made me realize how different colors and shapes naturally create categories. I also saw how small changes in layout could make the information look clearer or more confusing. I observed that trial and error works best as ideas will slowly come to your mind when you try different things.

Findings
I learned that presenting data isn’t just about sorting things—it’s also about making it easy to understand and visually appealing. The way I arrange and design information can really change how people see it. I also realized that storytelling plays a big role in making data more engaging, and that small details like labels and colors can make a big difference in how clear the final design is.