Essay: Design as Social Intervention: Equality Through Information Design: Reflective Essay: SD379...

Essay: Design as Social Intervention: Equality Through Information Design:

Reflective Essay: SD379 Information Design

1 Written by Chan Tin Ying (11958402T)

Design as Social Intervention: Equality Through Information Design

Information Design has a social value beyond its artistic and educational value as it

helps preserve and advance equality by diminishing the obstacles in impartation of

knowledge.

Introduction

Social value is defined as non-financial benefits refer to well-beings of individual and

community, social capital and the environment which are widely enhanced by

programs, organizations and interventions (Wood & Leighton, 2010). Apart from

artistic and educational value, Information Design has a social value as it advances

equality by diminishing the obstacles in impartation of knowledge.

According to Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (2005), the definition of Language

is “the use by humans of a system of sounds and words to communicate”. Written

and spoken language is the most conventional tool of communication, and so do

recording and imparting knowledge. However, acquisition of language is defined as a

process with intense complexity (Mahoney, 2014). The boundary between syntax and




semantics brings about the problem of language learning (Goro, 2007). Therefore,

written and spoken language alone is hindering the function of impartation of

knowledge at the meantime.

Without the assistance of written and spoken language, acquisition of knowledge

and information is to be narrowed or even blocked. People have obstacles in

acquiring information and knowledge will be blindfolded, which result in jeopardizing

the equality of human beings.

To espouse the preservation of equality among society, it is necessary to facilitate the

flow of information and knowledge. And, Information Design is favorable in serving a

good facilitator.

How powerful is Information Design?

The world is full of information and knowledge. But with the lack of adequate

contextual background or sufficient educational quality, problems in acquiring those

information and knowledge by spoken or written language may incur. There is a need

for people who are lack of resources and ability to obtain certain information and




knowledge in order to prevent inequality situations happen to them.

Information Design is an innovation for allowing information itself to be revealed and

sparking the new understanding (Wurman, 2001). It is powerful for communicating

ideas and knowledge in many ways. For instant, metaphors are always employed in

information design. The proper use of metaphor is capable of helping people

instantly comprehend data and information (Shedroff, 1994). Further, the

well-developed organizational principles which are information design employing

enable general public to quickly grasp the relationships amongst separated parts of

information (Wurman, 2001). Under such vantage conditions produced by

information design, general public is enabled to receive accurate information and

knowledge with or without sufficient educational quality or knowledge background.

Obstacles in receiving and impartation of knowledge and information are then

diminished.

Apart from the vantage points above, what else enhances the effectiveness of

information design in spreading of knowledge? Visual Language (Horn, 1998) is the

most significant element.




The might of Visual Language

Visual Language incorporates words, images and shapes into a single form of

communication (Horn, 1998). Images empower people of different races, education

levels, cultural milieu, and classes with perceivable capability as much imagery, such

as image of vehicle or house, are shared inter-culturally, inter-geographically and

internationally. Aided with limited numbers of words, and shapes to display the

relationships amongst bodies of information and data (Wurman, 2001), Visual

Language advantages in communicating. Hence, it emerged by the need of its

strengths on dealing with complex knowledge which is hard to deliver in ordinary

written or spoken language alone (Horn, 1998).

Also, the might of Visual Language derived from the neurosis system of human being

(Horn, 1998). For the sake of up to approximately 80% of information that human

beings are able to get by visual means in light of the study of neuroscientists (Horn,

1998). Therefore, visual language help amplify the speed and duration of information

comprehension by human beings. When complex information and knowledge is

expressed in form of visual language, people with weaker language skills are enabled

to understand information with images. Thus, equality is able to be advanced.




How does Information Design achieve advancement of Equality?

Inequality and injustice happen when people don’t get the precise and full picture of

information and knowledge. Such situations were revealed in the case from the

incidence of revitalization and reconstruction in Sham Shui Po district followed by the

tutor of SD379 Information Design, Ms. Maggie Chau.

There was a group of residence living in Sham Shui Po where the area was being

planned to precede reconstruction project by the HKSAR Government. That group of

residences mostly consisted of under-educated and even uneducated people, and

elderly. They encountered inequality and injustice treatment over the matters of

repossession by the government to their properties as their right to make the most

proper decisions that preserved their optimal well-beings was deprived of

disinformation over the issue provided by government.

In generally, information provided by or published by government is usually

documentation of long and complicated written text. In that case, ordinances and

laws were involved largely in the process of dealing with repossession. Those

uneducated, and undereducated people, and elderly were lack of ability to precisely




read through and grasp the information by themselves. Disinformation thus occurred.

Disinformation impaired the right for those residences to make the most proper

decisions as well as protect their properties and well-beings against government’s

authority.

The case above discloses that inequality and injustice happened when information is

communicated or delivered inefficiently and improperly. To help with the powerless

residences to acquire accurate information and knowledge on the matters of

repossession, Maggie led a team of designers to re-organize and reform the

impartation of knowledge with techniques and principles of Information Design.

Information then was expressed in clear and precise way, aided with verbal

elaboration, for those victims to understand precisely what were happening and

what moves they could have taken to protect their properties, and execute their

rights.

The process described above was not only a process of education and impartation of

knowledge. It was a process of preserving justice and equality for the victims by

unblocking the barriers and imparting knowledge and information in a more effective

way. Information Design took a significant role in advance equality. It is true to say




that information design has its social value. To achieve such goal more efficiently,

effective information design is necessary to be produce.

Ways to make effective Information Design

Information Design should transform the task as simple as possible to minimize the

possibilities of planning and problems solving required for tackle the task as there is

limitation of short-term memory (STM) and attention (Norman, 1988). Therefore,

according to Norman (1988), it is essential for effective information design to provide

mental aid to users.

Proper mental mapping determines the information design being effective or not

(Norman, 1988). Natural mappings are the fundamental element to bring about

“response compatibility” which is generated by the spatial connections between

intentions and actions possible to take which are perceivable audibly, visually and

tactually (Norman, 1988). But what elements nurture the natural mappings within

long history of human beings? Cultural constraints do that part of work.

Cultural constraints refer to social behavior that is acceptable as norm overruled by




many artificial conventions have been evolved by society (Norman, 1988). With

those artificial norms, human memory is formed to specify the knowledge that

reduces the numbers of possibilities of alternatives for any peculiar conditions.

Working with those principles, information design is said to be effective as mental aid

is provided, and mental load is minimized (Norman, 1988).

The importance of Mental Model

Without employment of proper mental model, information design fails. There was a

case of designing a way finding system, a design artifact of seat plan, for a certificate

distribution ceremony in a Lecture Theatre (Figure 1.0). Seat plan was attached in the

booklets which were distributed before the entry. It was the only instrument to

navigate participants to their assigned seats.

From the seat plan (Figure 2.0), numbers of seat were arranged to be ascending from

left to right. Also, the direction of the stage in seat plan was placed opposite to the

direction of real stage in the theatre.




Figure 1.0

The direction of sight of people firstly stepped in Lecture Theatre

Figure 2.0




The direction of view for people read from the seat plan

The function of seat plan was supposed to direct the participants to their seats

assigned that helped release manpower for other task at the same time. However, its

weakness was immediately uncovered as most of the participants asked for staff to

help direct them to small numbers or large numbers. It was because seat number of

the actual setting of the theatre was descending from left to right. There was a lady

yelling, “No wonder why I sit on the wrong seat. The seat plan is drawn in opposite

direction to the real setting.”

The mappings for participants were naturally formulated by the real setting of the

theatre when they firstly stepped in there. But the mapping of seat plan was

arranged upside down which confused the understanding between of which was

perceived from the seat plan and from the real setting. Therefore, the information

design was ineffective and failed. However, when proper mental model is employed,

effective information mappings and blockings constitute effective information design

artifacts afterward.




Rules and Mechanism of Information Mapping and Blocking in information artifacts

Information Mapping is defined as tools and techniques which are synthesized for

analyzing complexity of subject matters and jobs (Horn, 1989). Planning, organizing,

sequencing and presenting information are the main part in the procedure (Horn,

1989). That is, chaotic and arbitrary data and information can be organized by

meaningful structure (Norman, 1988).

Metaphor mentioned earlier works for a meaning structure. Besides, proper

chunking principle adopted in the information design forms meaningful structure

either (Horn, 1989). Long term memory can store 5-9 chunks of information within

1.5 minutes.

Further, information blocking is as important as chunking. It refers to actions of

subdividing the subject matter in a basic way, as a replacement of paragraph

appeared in written language (Horn, 1989). To produce effective blocks, 5-9 blocks

are suggested to be made. No more than 5-9 sentences should be placed in single

block (Horn, 1989). Consistency for blocking should be considered as well.




Block labeling serves a good tool to deliver prompt and brief understanding towards

the information (Horn, 1989). To minimize the mental load, no more than 3-5 words

should be used for display labels (Horn, 1989). Vocabulary in the label should be used

conforming to the wordings from the blocks (Horn, 1989). Moreover, vocabulary is

suggested to be used familiar for general public audience. Technical jargon should be

avoided to diminish as many obstacles as possible (Horn, 1989).

By employing the above principles, as many obstacles as possible can be diminished.

Effective information design artifacts are able to be made, and thus information and

knowledge is able to communicate and impart more efficiently and effectively. Social

value of information design is to be incremented as equality is able to be advanced.

Limitations of Information Design

Although Information Design is proved to be a good tool for communicating

information and knowledge, there are limitations of which hinder the generation of

effectiveness.




Ineffective Information Design leads to disinformation and misinformation

As earlier speaking, mental model dominates the key to produce effective

information design. However, there are possibilities for model hampering the

effectiveness of information design due to the following reasons:

1. Mental model between client and designer

Client is the role to provide information or data for designer to transform information

design. Client and designer are possible to have totally different mental model in

terms of physical appearance, the operation, the actions to be induced, manual and

instructions of which the information artifacts produced (Norman, 1988). In the role

of designers, system image should be produced with the concern of consistency,

functional effect, design-wise, and feasibility (Norman, 1988). However, there is more

likely some deviations for client to expect. Client is possible to prioritize the concern

with the metaphor over the concern of designing effect and feasibility. And, there is a

larger possibility that client already conceive their own metaphor to express in the

time they offer the data and information to designers. With insufficient

communication between client and designer, meaning and theme the client plans to

express is possible to be wrenched by designer, in the view of client.




2. Mental model between designer and user

The system itself is the only way to achieve communication between designer and

user (Norman, 1988). In the view of users, their mental model will be different from

designers’ as they have different contextual background from designer do. Therefore,

to enhance the communication effectiveness, it is necessary for designer to research

for and study about the contextual background of targeted user.

3. Mental model between user and client

There is a case of user commenting an information design to be too confused and too

much approach of information and points stated in one single classification block

throughout the whole design whereas the system image to integrate 2 points in one

single block was required by client (Figure 3.0).

The Original classification was planned to cater the users’ ability of reading and

comprehend. Therefore, 2 levels of classification were produced in the system image

to minimize the mental load of users (Figure 4.0). The version with system image

revised (Figure 3.0) was meeting the requirement of client who possesses specified

mental model in the form of integration.




Figure 3.0

Figure 4.0




In that case, user and client failed to communicate due to the different perceivable

ability and mental model. As a result, the information design fails as well.

To guide the user to obtain knowledge of the system from the system image, thus get

the accurate user’s model and look for the support of interpretation from the

translation of intentions, system image is supposed to be revealed by appropriate

system image of which the designer should make (Norman, 1988). Hence, mental

model for client, designer and user should be equivalent (Norman, 1988). Deviation

of expectation and ability to perceive among client, designer and user may impair the

effectiveness of information design which results in causing users misled. Thus,

consequence of disinformation and misinformation occur. When disinformation and

misinformation happen, advancement of equality achieved by barrier free

impartation of information fails. With the failure of advance equality, the social value

of information design is to be undermined.

Conclusion

Policy change is able to be achieved as well as awareness is able to be increased by

Information design (Emerson, 2008). Patterns that are not apparent may be revealed




by the help with translation of data into visual format in information design (Emerson,

2008). Further, change may be forced to occur with the outcome of making

information visible at the point of action by information design (Emerson, 2008).

Information Design serves a more effective role to impart knowledge and further

change the behavior of people. With the might of information design, equality is able

to be preserved and advance to a certain extent as it helps unblock the blockage of

information delivery, diminish the obstacles in impartation of knowledge, and

facilitate the communication between different parties. It contribute to non-financial

benefits refer to well-beings of individual and community through its interventions

(Wood & Leighton, 2010). Therefore, Information Design has a social value beyond its

artistic and educational value

Although the limitations of the alienation of mental model among client, designer,

and user, the effectiveness of communication for information design will be

hampered, problems encountered by designer in producing information design may

be solved by enhancing the communication with client. Apart from the technical

problems, the advantages of information design allow itself to bring about

non-financial benefits refer to well-beings of individual and community by advancing

equality, and thus, possess a social value.




References:

Emerson, J. (2008). Visualizing information for advocacy: Introduction to information

design. : Tactical Technology Collective.

Goro, T. (2007). Language-specific constraints on scope interpretation in first

language acquisition, Maryland: University of Maryland.

Horn, R. (1989). Mapping hypertext: The analysis, organization, and display of

knowledge for the next generation of on-line text and graphics. Michigan:

Lexington Institute.

Horn, R. (1998). Visual language: Global communication for the 21st century. :

MacroVU, Incorporated.

Mahoney, N. (2014). Language and linguistics: Language acquisition. Retrieved May

6, 2014 from USA Government, The National Science Foundation Web

site: http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/linguistics/learn.jsp

Norman, D. (1988). The design of everyday things. New York: Doubleday.

Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (7thed.).(2005). Oxford, New York: Oxford

University

Shedroff, Nathan (1994) "Information Interaction Design: A Unified Field Theory of

Design" in Jacobson, 80 Robert (ed.) (1999) Information Design. MIT Press.

(http://www.nathan.com)

Wood, C. & Leighton, D. (2010). Measuring social value: The gap between policy and

practice. London: Demos.

Wurman, R. (2001). Information anxiety 2. New York: Indianapolis: QUE.

-End of paper-

http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/linguistics/learn.jsp

http://www.nathan.com/

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