Infographic Draft & Design Notes

Design Notes

Design Rationale:

• I wanted the color scheme to be monochromatic with grey, white, and black. I then used red to make certain information stand out, hence why the charts are all in red. It’s a color that stands out and draws in the audience's attention from the grayscale colors.
• I used a simple font, most of which is Times New Roman to make sure it is accessible and easy to read. I also didn’t want the font to take away from the information being presented.
• I also wanted to have variety in the types of charts that I used in order to keep the audience interested and to make the infographic look more appealing. Also, different people have different graphs that they prefer to look at/are easier to understand so I wanted to ensure that different types of users could still gather the information.
• I used the barbed wire graphic to separate the death row information from the execution method. It serves a purpose but also fits the theme of the entire infographic.

Data Rationale:

• I decided what data to include based on the title that I decided upon when initially creating the infographic. Since I mention both death row and execution costs in the title, I wanted to present info on both of those things.
• For the bar chart at the bottom the discusses cost of executions, I couldn’t find information on the cost of lethal gas, so does it make sense to put “data not available”? Or is there a different way to address that?
• For the pie chart, the smaller two sections are unlabeled because they are too small. Should I label them? Or can that be inferred by the audience based on the bar graph to the left?

Things I Might Add:

• I keep finding sources that compare the overall cost, from arrest to execution/release, between death penalty cases and non-death penalty cases. The difference in cost is both compelling and shocking. Would this be interesting to add? Or does it seem off focus from the rest of the infographic?

Questions:

• How/Where do I include citations for where I gathered the information from?
• Are there any graphs that feel like they don’t have enough information in terms of labeling? Like the audience may be confused as to what I’m trying to show.
• Are there any obvious information gaps that feel like they should be included but are missing completely?