From dtp at she-philosopher.com Wed Jun 3 23:24:20 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:24:20 -0700 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: countergenres for ID In-Reply-To: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Hi, all -- This has nothing to do with information design -- except possibly as an example "countergenre" (a concept borrowed from the literary critic, Claudio Guill?n, author of _Literature as System_) -- but I thought the piece was really good, and would be of interest to others working with/in medical communications: Gawande, Atul. "The Cost Conundrum: What a Texas Town Can Teach Us about Health Care." _The New Yorker_, digital edn. for 1 June 2009. available online at http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/06/01/090601fa_fact_gawande Atul Gawande is a physician (specifically, a surgeon at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health) who has been writing for _The New Yorker_ (a U.S. literary mag known for its funny, quirky cartoons) for a while now. (Some of Gawande's earlier essays for _The New Yorker_ were re-printed in his books, _Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science_ [2002] and _Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance_ [2007].) This is an especially good piece, I believe, and while I was reading it, I couldn't help but think about how top-notch IDers might illustrate it differently! ;-) At any rate, the topic is an important one in the U.S., as we prepare to tackle health care reform this summer, and Gawande's treatment of the issues is, as always, both thoughtful and provocative (at least for USers, many of whom are ardent defenders of a mythical can-do entrepreneurial spirit, wherever it surfaces, and whatever the costs ;-). Also, Gawande was interviewed on International Public Radio's _Marketplace_ yesterday: "Why Health Care Costs Are So High," an interview with Dr. Atul Gawande. _Marketplace_, segment for Tuesday, June 2, 2009. http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/06/02/pm_health_care_costs_q/ Deborah (still desperately trying to finish another research project on C17 painting and visual rhetoric, before I can return to working on C17 calligraphy ... so, more delays ahead here :( ... sorry, but it can't be helped) _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From dtp at she-philosopher.com Wed Jun 3 23:24:20 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:24:20 -0700 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: countergenres for ID In-Reply-To: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Hi, all -- This has nothing to do with information design -- except possibly as an example "countergenre" (a concept borrowed from the literary critic, Claudio Guill?n, author of _Literature as System_) -- but I thought the piece was really good, and would be of interest to others working with/in medical communications: Gawande, Atul. "The Cost Conundrum: What a Texas Town Can Teach Us about Health Care." _The New Yorker_, digital edn. for 1 June 2009. available online at http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/06/01/090601fa_fact_gawande Atul Gawande is a physician (specifically, a surgeon at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health) who has been writing for _The New Yorker_ (a U.S. literary mag known for its funny, quirky cartoons) for a while now. (Some of Gawande's earlier essays for _The New Yorker_ were re-printed in his books, _Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science_ [2002] and _Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance_ [2007].) This is an especially good piece, I believe, and while I was reading it, I couldn't help but think about how top-notch IDers might illustrate it differently! ;-) At any rate, the topic is an important one in the U.S., as we prepare to tackle health care reform this summer, and Gawande's treatment of the issues is, as always, both thoughtful and provocative (at least for USers, many of whom are ardent defenders of a mythical can-do entrepreneurial spirit, wherever it surfaces, and whatever the costs ;-). Also, Gawande was interviewed on International Public Radio's _Marketplace_ yesterday: "Why Health Care Costs Are So High," an interview with Dr. Atul Gawande. _Marketplace_, segment for Tuesday, June 2, 2009. http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/06/02/pm_health_care_costs_q/ Deborah (still desperately trying to finish another research project on C17 painting and visual rhetoric, before I can return to working on C17 calligraphy ... so, more delays ahead here :( ... sorry, but it can't be helped) _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From info at userdesign.co.uk Thu Jun 4 15:10:33 2009 From: info at userdesign.co.uk (info at userdesign.co.uk) Date: Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:10:33 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research Message-ID: <20090604141033.abelp6m3kkc0ck4w@webmail.userdesign.co.uk> - Trebuchet is a fairly accessible typeface, for instance the characters: l, I, 1, cl (d), rn (m), are all fairly well defined, unlike typefaces like: Arial or Myraid. - Preference based opinions will not lead to useful data, what do you want them to do? (CRI) - For typefaces: www.fonts.com, www.linotype.com, www.fontshop.com, www.adobe.com/type/. Kind regards Thomas User design Graphic communication design, illustration and production service W www.userdesign.co.uk E info at userdesign.co.uk --- On Tue, 26/5/09, katie at raincharm.co.uk wrote: > From: katie at raincharm.co.uk > Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research > To: infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > Date: Tuesday, 26 May, 2009, 2:43 PM > Hi > > I am working on a small project with a local council with > regard to the > accessibility and readability of their corporate font. They > currently use > Trebuchet but have been criticised by a local disability > organisation for > doing this. They say it is not accessible. As a result they > have engaged > my services to explore and gain opinions from others about > the general > accessibility of Trebuchet in comparison to other (mainly) > system fonts. > They are willing to consider moving to a new font but would > prefer this to > be a system font so that everyone in the organisation can > access it. I > have conducted some primary consultations via telephone and > email > opinion-based research. Before I send out mockups of fonts > chosen to trial > with selected user groups - these have been selected to > cover a range of > impairment, age and other audiences - I would like to ask > the following: > > i) what people think about Trebuchet with regard to > accessibility > ii) current preferred fonts re: accessibility. NB They are > also looking > for a font which has a good range of weights and a good xy > height > difference so please take this into consideration > iii) ideas on user testing to gain feedback - we are > planning to send each > user group a selection of fonts using the same text to ask > them which they > prefer and why. Has anyone carried out anything similar and > if so do you > have any advice on how to structure/phrase the questions? > > All comments/feedback gratefully received. > > With thanks > > Katie Grant > Raincharm Communications > www.raincharm.co.uk > 07971 909007 From dtp at she-philosopher.com Wed Jun 3 23:24:20 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:24:20 -0700 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: countergenres for ID In-Reply-To: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Hi, all -- This has nothing to do with information design -- except possibly as an example "countergenre" (a concept borrowed from the literary critic, Claudio Guill?n, author of _Literature as System_) -- but I thought the piece was really good, and would be of interest to others working with/in medical communications: Gawande, Atul. "The Cost Conundrum: What a Texas Town Can Teach Us about Health Care." _The New Yorker_, digital edn. for 1 June 2009. available online at http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/06/01/090601fa_fact_gawande Atul Gawande is a physician (specifically, a surgeon at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health) who has been writing for _The New Yorker_ (a U.S. literary mag known for its funny, quirky cartoons) for a while now. (Some of Gawande's earlier essays for _The New Yorker_ were re-printed in his books, _Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science_ [2002] and _Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance_ [2007].) This is an especially good piece, I believe, and while I was reading it, I couldn't help but think about how top-notch IDers might illustrate it differently! ;-) At any rate, the topic is an important one in the U.S., as we prepare to tackle health care reform this summer, and Gawande's treatment of the issues is, as always, both thoughtful and provocative (at least for USers, many of whom are ardent defenders of a mythical can-do entrepreneurial spirit, wherever it surfaces, and whatever the costs ;-). Also, Gawande was interviewed on International Public Radio's _Marketplace_ yesterday: "Why Health Care Costs Are So High," an interview with Dr. Atul Gawande. _Marketplace_, segment for Tuesday, June 2, 2009. http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/06/02/pm_health_care_costs_q/ Deborah (still desperately trying to finish another research project on C17 painting and visual rhetoric, before I can return to working on C17 calligraphy ... so, more delays ahead here :( ... sorry, but it can't be helped) _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From info at userdesign.co.uk Thu Jun 4 15:10:33 2009 From: info at userdesign.co.uk (info at userdesign.co.uk) Date: Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:10:33 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research Message-ID: <20090604141033.abelp6m3kkc0ck4w@webmail.userdesign.co.uk> - Trebuchet is a fairly accessible typeface, for instance the characters: l, I, 1, cl (d), rn (m), are all fairly well defined, unlike typefaces like: Arial or Myraid. - Preference based opinions will not lead to useful data, what do you want them to do? (CRI) - For typefaces: www.fonts.com, www.linotype.com, www.fontshop.com, www.adobe.com/type/. Kind regards Thomas User design Graphic communication design, illustration and production service W www.userdesign.co.uk E info at userdesign.co.uk --- On Tue, 26/5/09, katie at raincharm.co.uk wrote: > From: katie at raincharm.co.uk > Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research > To: infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > Date: Tuesday, 26 May, 2009, 2:43 PM > Hi > > I am working on a small project with a local council with > regard to the > accessibility and readability of their corporate font. They > currently use > Trebuchet but have been criticised by a local disability > organisation for > doing this. They say it is not accessible. As a result they > have engaged > my services to explore and gain opinions from others about > the general > accessibility of Trebuchet in comparison to other (mainly) > system fonts. > They are willing to consider moving to a new font but would > prefer this to > be a system font so that everyone in the organisation can > access it. I > have conducted some primary consultations via telephone and > email > opinion-based research. Before I send out mockups of fonts > chosen to trial > with selected user groups - these have been selected to > cover a range of > impairment, age and other audiences - I would like to ask > the following: > > i) what people think about Trebuchet with regard to > accessibility > ii) current preferred fonts re: accessibility. NB They are > also looking > for a font which has a good range of weights and a good xy > height > difference so please take this into consideration > iii) ideas on user testing to gain feedback - we are > planning to send each > user group a selection of fonts using the same text to ask > them which they > prefer and why. Has anyone carried out anything similar and > if so do you > have any advice on how to structure/phrase the questions? > > All comments/feedback gratefully received. > > With thanks > > Katie Grant > Raincharm Communications > www.raincharm.co.uk > 07971 909007 From dtp at she-philosopher.com Wed Jun 3 23:24:20 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:24:20 -0700 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: countergenres for ID In-Reply-To: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Hi, all -- This has nothing to do with information design -- except possibly as an example "countergenre" (a concept borrowed from the literary critic, Claudio Guill?n, author of _Literature as System_) -- but I thought the piece was really good, and would be of interest to others working with/in medical communications: Gawande, Atul. "The Cost Conundrum: What a Texas Town Can Teach Us about Health Care." _The New Yorker_, digital edn. for 1 June 2009. available online at http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/06/01/090601fa_fact_gawande Atul Gawande is a physician (specifically, a surgeon at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health) who has been writing for _The New Yorker_ (a U.S. literary mag known for its funny, quirky cartoons) for a while now. (Some of Gawande's earlier essays for _The New Yorker_ were re-printed in his books, _Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science_ [2002] and _Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance_ [2007].) This is an especially good piece, I believe, and while I was reading it, I couldn't help but think about how top-notch IDers might illustrate it differently! ;-) At any rate, the topic is an important one in the U.S., as we prepare to tackle health care reform this summer, and Gawande's treatment of the issues is, as always, both thoughtful and provocative (at least for USers, many of whom are ardent defenders of a mythical can-do entrepreneurial spirit, wherever it surfaces, and whatever the costs ;-). Also, Gawande was interviewed on International Public Radio's _Marketplace_ yesterday: "Why Health Care Costs Are So High," an interview with Dr. Atul Gawande. _Marketplace_, segment for Tuesday, June 2, 2009. http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/06/02/pm_health_care_costs_q/ Deborah (still desperately trying to finish another research project on C17 painting and visual rhetoric, before I can return to working on C17 calligraphy ... so, more delays ahead here :( ... sorry, but it can't be helped) _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From info at userdesign.co.uk Thu Jun 4 15:10:33 2009 From: info at userdesign.co.uk (info at userdesign.co.uk) Date: Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:10:33 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research Message-ID: <20090604141033.abelp6m3kkc0ck4w@webmail.userdesign.co.uk> - Trebuchet is a fairly accessible typeface, for instance the characters: l, I, 1, cl (d), rn (m), are all fairly well defined, unlike typefaces like: Arial or Myraid. - Preference based opinions will not lead to useful data, what do you want them to do? (CRI) - For typefaces: www.fonts.com, www.linotype.com, www.fontshop.com, www.adobe.com/type/. Kind regards Thomas User design Graphic communication design, illustration and production service W www.userdesign.co.uk E info at userdesign.co.uk --- On Tue, 26/5/09, katie at raincharm.co.uk wrote: > From: katie at raincharm.co.uk > Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research > To: infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > Date: Tuesday, 26 May, 2009, 2:43 PM > Hi > > I am working on a small project with a local council with > regard to the > accessibility and readability of their corporate font. They > currently use > Trebuchet but have been criticised by a local disability > organisation for > doing this. They say it is not accessible. As a result they > have engaged > my services to explore and gain opinions from others about > the general > accessibility of Trebuchet in comparison to other (mainly) > system fonts. > They are willing to consider moving to a new font but would > prefer this to > be a system font so that everyone in the organisation can > access it. I > have conducted some primary consultations via telephone and > email > opinion-based research. Before I send out mockups of fonts > chosen to trial > with selected user groups - these have been selected to > cover a range of > impairment, age and other audiences - I would like to ask > the following: > > i) what people think about Trebuchet with regard to > accessibility > ii) current preferred fonts re: accessibility. NB They are > also looking > for a font which has a good range of weights and a good xy > height > difference so please take this into consideration > iii) ideas on user testing to gain feedback - we are > planning to send each > user group a selection of fonts using the same text to ask > them which they > prefer and why. Has anyone carried out anything similar and > if so do you > have any advice on how to structure/phrase the questions? > > All comments/feedback gratefully received. > > With thanks > > Katie Grant > Raincharm Communications > www.raincharm.co.uk > 07971 909007 From dtp at she-philosopher.com Wed Jun 3 23:24:20 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:24:20 -0700 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: countergenres for ID In-Reply-To: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Hi, all -- This has nothing to do with information design -- except possibly as an example "countergenre" (a concept borrowed from the literary critic, Claudio Guill?n, author of _Literature as System_) -- but I thought the piece was really good, and would be of interest to others working with/in medical communications: Gawande, Atul. "The Cost Conundrum: What a Texas Town Can Teach Us about Health Care." _The New Yorker_, digital edn. for 1 June 2009. available online at http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/06/01/090601fa_fact_gawande Atul Gawande is a physician (specifically, a surgeon at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health) who has been writing for _The New Yorker_ (a U.S. literary mag known for its funny, quirky cartoons) for a while now. (Some of Gawande's earlier essays for _The New Yorker_ were re-printed in his books, _Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science_ [2002] and _Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance_ [2007].) This is an especially good piece, I believe, and while I was reading it, I couldn't help but think about how top-notch IDers might illustrate it differently! ;-) At any rate, the topic is an important one in the U.S., as we prepare to tackle health care reform this summer, and Gawande's treatment of the issues is, as always, both thoughtful and provocative (at least for USers, many of whom are ardent defenders of a mythical can-do entrepreneurial spirit, wherever it surfaces, and whatever the costs ;-). Also, Gawande was interviewed on International Public Radio's _Marketplace_ yesterday: "Why Health Care Costs Are So High," an interview with Dr. Atul Gawande. _Marketplace_, segment for Tuesday, June 2, 2009. http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/06/02/pm_health_care_costs_q/ Deborah (still desperately trying to finish another research project on C17 painting and visual rhetoric, before I can return to working on C17 calligraphy ... so, more delays ahead here :( ... sorry, but it can't be helped) _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From info at userdesign.co.uk Thu Jun 4 15:10:33 2009 From: info at userdesign.co.uk (info at userdesign.co.uk) Date: Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:10:33 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research Message-ID: <20090604141033.abelp6m3kkc0ck4w@webmail.userdesign.co.uk> - Trebuchet is a fairly accessible typeface, for instance the characters: l, I, 1, cl (d), rn (m), are all fairly well defined, unlike typefaces like: Arial or Myraid. - Preference based opinions will not lead to useful data, what do you want them to do? (CRI) - For typefaces: www.fonts.com, www.linotype.com, www.fontshop.com, www.adobe.com/type/. Kind regards Thomas User design Graphic communication design, illustration and production service W www.userdesign.co.uk E info at userdesign.co.uk --- On Tue, 26/5/09, katie at raincharm.co.uk wrote: > From: katie at raincharm.co.uk > Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research > To: infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > Date: Tuesday, 26 May, 2009, 2:43 PM > Hi > > I am working on a small project with a local council with > regard to the > accessibility and readability of their corporate font. They > currently use > Trebuchet but have been criticised by a local disability > organisation for > doing this. They say it is not accessible. As a result they > have engaged > my services to explore and gain opinions from others about > the general > accessibility of Trebuchet in comparison to other (mainly) > system fonts. > They are willing to consider moving to a new font but would > prefer this to > be a system font so that everyone in the organisation can > access it. I > have conducted some primary consultations via telephone and > email > opinion-based research. Before I send out mockups of fonts > chosen to trial > with selected user groups - these have been selected to > cover a range of > impairment, age and other audiences - I would like to ask > the following: > > i) what people think about Trebuchet with regard to > accessibility > ii) current preferred fonts re: accessibility. NB They are > also looking > for a font which has a good range of weights and a good xy > height > difference so please take this into consideration > iii) ideas on user testing to gain feedback - we are > planning to send each > user group a selection of fonts using the same text to ask > them which they > prefer and why. Has anyone carried out anything similar and > if so do you > have any advice on how to structure/phrase the questions? > > All comments/feedback gratefully received. > > With thanks > > Katie Grant > Raincharm Communications > www.raincharm.co.uk > 07971 909007 From dtp at she-philosopher.com Wed Jun 3 23:24:20 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:24:20 -0700 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: countergenres for ID In-Reply-To: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Hi, all -- This has nothing to do with information design -- except possibly as an example "countergenre" (a concept borrowed from the literary critic, Claudio Guill?n, author of _Literature as System_) -- but I thought the piece was really good, and would be of interest to others working with/in medical communications: Gawande, Atul. "The Cost Conundrum: What a Texas Town Can Teach Us about Health Care." _The New Yorker_, digital edn. for 1 June 2009. available online at http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/06/01/090601fa_fact_gawande Atul Gawande is a physician (specifically, a surgeon at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health) who has been writing for _The New Yorker_ (a U.S. literary mag known for its funny, quirky cartoons) for a while now. (Some of Gawande's earlier essays for _The New Yorker_ were re-printed in his books, _Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science_ [2002] and _Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance_ [2007].) This is an especially good piece, I believe, and while I was reading it, I couldn't help but think about how top-notch IDers might illustrate it differently! ;-) At any rate, the topic is an important one in the U.S., as we prepare to tackle health care reform this summer, and Gawande's treatment of the issues is, as always, both thoughtful and provocative (at least for USers, many of whom are ardent defenders of a mythical can-do entrepreneurial spirit, wherever it surfaces, and whatever the costs ;-). Also, Gawande was interviewed on International Public Radio's _Marketplace_ yesterday: "Why Health Care Costs Are So High," an interview with Dr. Atul Gawande. _Marketplace_, segment for Tuesday, June 2, 2009. http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/06/02/pm_health_care_costs_q/ Deborah (still desperately trying to finish another research project on C17 painting and visual rhetoric, before I can return to working on C17 calligraphy ... so, more delays ahead here :( ... sorry, but it can't be helped) _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From info at userdesign.co.uk Thu Jun 4 15:10:33 2009 From: info at userdesign.co.uk (info at userdesign.co.uk) Date: Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:10:33 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research Message-ID: <20090604141033.abelp6m3kkc0ck4w@webmail.userdesign.co.uk> - Trebuchet is a fairly accessible typeface, for instance the characters: l, I, 1, cl (d), rn (m), are all fairly well defined, unlike typefaces like: Arial or Myraid. - Preference based opinions will not lead to useful data, what do you want them to do? (CRI) - For typefaces: www.fonts.com, www.linotype.com, www.fontshop.com, www.adobe.com/type/. Kind regards Thomas User design Graphic communication design, illustration and production service W www.userdesign.co.uk E info at userdesign.co.uk --- On Tue, 26/5/09, katie at raincharm.co.uk wrote: > From: katie at raincharm.co.uk > Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research > To: infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > Date: Tuesday, 26 May, 2009, 2:43 PM > Hi > > I am working on a small project with a local council with > regard to the > accessibility and readability of their corporate font. They > currently use > Trebuchet but have been criticised by a local disability > organisation for > doing this. They say it is not accessible. As a result they > have engaged > my services to explore and gain opinions from others about > the general > accessibility of Trebuchet in comparison to other (mainly) > system fonts. > They are willing to consider moving to a new font but would > prefer this to > be a system font so that everyone in the organisation can > access it. I > have conducted some primary consultations via telephone and > email > opinion-based research. Before I send out mockups of fonts > chosen to trial > with selected user groups - these have been selected to > cover a range of > impairment, age and other audiences - I would like to ask > the following: > > i) what people think about Trebuchet with regard to > accessibility > ii) current preferred fonts re: accessibility. NB They are > also looking > for a font which has a good range of weights and a good xy > height > difference so please take this into consideration > iii) ideas on user testing to gain feedback - we are > planning to send each > user group a selection of fonts using the same text to ask > them which they > prefer and why. Has anyone carried out anything similar and > if so do you > have any advice on how to structure/phrase the questions? > > All comments/feedback gratefully received. > > With thanks > > Katie Grant > Raincharm Communications > www.raincharm.co.uk > 07971 909007 From r.waller at reading.ac.uk Mon Jun 8 15:28:21 2009 From: r.waller at reading.ac.uk (Rob Waller) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 14:28:21 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem Message-ID: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the proportational representation system used for the European Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you voted. In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm __________________________________ Rob Waller Department of Typography & Graphic Communication University of Reading -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090608/b8da4843/attachment.htm From waarde at glo.be Mon Jun 8 16:38:06 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 16:38:06 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem In-Reply-To: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> References: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> Message-ID: Rob, Thanks for this information: I've just scanned the Dutch Ballot form (49,9 cm by 35,0 cm) as a reference. (If anyone wonders how I smuggled a scanner into the booth, I didn't. I'm living abroad and can only vote by mail.) I've uploaded the voting form on: http://users.telenet.be/waarde/Papers/DutchEU-votingform2009-2.jpg I'm not sure if these are clear and easy to use. I have several questions and qualms about these. [Two questions for those who download the form into their browsers: 1. Why are the 'parties with even numbers' positioned slightly below the parties with odd numbers. Does this 'dancing top line' have a meaning? 2. There is a small text below the names of some of the parties. It states: 'combined with list x (= gecombineerd met lijst x). List 1 is combined with list 6, list 2 is combined with list 4, list 3 is combined with list 7, list 4 is combined with list 2. Who exactly do I vote for if I cross position 13 on list 2 if I know that there are only 3 or 4 seats available?] Kind regards, Karel. waarde at glo.be >>> >In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the >proportational representation system used for the European >Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. >Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that >would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you >voted. > >In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on >the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: > >http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm > >__________________________________ > >Rob Waller >Department of Typography & Graphic Communication >University of Reading From dtp at she-philosopher.com Wed Jun 3 23:24:20 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:24:20 -0700 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: countergenres for ID In-Reply-To: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Hi, all -- This has nothing to do with information design -- except possibly as an example "countergenre" (a concept borrowed from the literary critic, Claudio Guill?n, author of _Literature as System_) -- but I thought the piece was really good, and would be of interest to others working with/in medical communications: Gawande, Atul. "The Cost Conundrum: What a Texas Town Can Teach Us about Health Care." _The New Yorker_, digital edn. for 1 June 2009. available online at http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/06/01/090601fa_fact_gawande Atul Gawande is a physician (specifically, a surgeon at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health) who has been writing for _The New Yorker_ (a U.S. literary mag known for its funny, quirky cartoons) for a while now. (Some of Gawande's earlier essays for _The New Yorker_ were re-printed in his books, _Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science_ [2002] and _Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance_ [2007].) This is an especially good piece, I believe, and while I was reading it, I couldn't help but think about how top-notch IDers might illustrate it differently! ;-) At any rate, the topic is an important one in the U.S., as we prepare to tackle health care reform this summer, and Gawande's treatment of the issues is, as always, both thoughtful and provocative (at least for USers, many of whom are ardent defenders of a mythical can-do entrepreneurial spirit, wherever it surfaces, and whatever the costs ;-). Also, Gawande was interviewed on International Public Radio's _Marketplace_ yesterday: "Why Health Care Costs Are So High," an interview with Dr. Atul Gawande. _Marketplace_, segment for Tuesday, June 2, 2009. http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/06/02/pm_health_care_costs_q/ Deborah (still desperately trying to finish another research project on C17 painting and visual rhetoric, before I can return to working on C17 calligraphy ... so, more delays ahead here :( ... sorry, but it can't be helped) _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From info at userdesign.co.uk Thu Jun 4 15:10:33 2009 From: info at userdesign.co.uk (info at userdesign.co.uk) Date: Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:10:33 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research Message-ID: <20090604141033.abelp6m3kkc0ck4w@webmail.userdesign.co.uk> - Trebuchet is a fairly accessible typeface, for instance the characters: l, I, 1, cl (d), rn (m), are all fairly well defined, unlike typefaces like: Arial or Myraid. - Preference based opinions will not lead to useful data, what do you want them to do? (CRI) - For typefaces: www.fonts.com, www.linotype.com, www.fontshop.com, www.adobe.com/type/. Kind regards Thomas User design Graphic communication design, illustration and production service W www.userdesign.co.uk E info at userdesign.co.uk --- On Tue, 26/5/09, katie at raincharm.co.uk wrote: > From: katie at raincharm.co.uk > Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research > To: infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > Date: Tuesday, 26 May, 2009, 2:43 PM > Hi > > I am working on a small project with a local council with > regard to the > accessibility and readability of their corporate font. They > currently use > Trebuchet but have been criticised by a local disability > organisation for > doing this. They say it is not accessible. As a result they > have engaged > my services to explore and gain opinions from others about > the general > accessibility of Trebuchet in comparison to other (mainly) > system fonts. > They are willing to consider moving to a new font but would > prefer this to > be a system font so that everyone in the organisation can > access it. I > have conducted some primary consultations via telephone and > email > opinion-based research. Before I send out mockups of fonts > chosen to trial > with selected user groups - these have been selected to > cover a range of > impairment, age and other audiences - I would like to ask > the following: > > i) what people think about Trebuchet with regard to > accessibility > ii) current preferred fonts re: accessibility. NB They are > also looking > for a font which has a good range of weights and a good xy > height > difference so please take this into consideration > iii) ideas on user testing to gain feedback - we are > planning to send each > user group a selection of fonts using the same text to ask > them which they > prefer and why. Has anyone carried out anything similar and > if so do you > have any advice on how to structure/phrase the questions? > > All comments/feedback gratefully received. > > With thanks > > Katie Grant > Raincharm Communications > www.raincharm.co.uk > 07971 909007 From r.waller at reading.ac.uk Mon Jun 8 15:28:21 2009 From: r.waller at reading.ac.uk (Rob Waller) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 14:28:21 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem Message-ID: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the proportational representation system used for the European Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you voted. In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm __________________________________ Rob Waller Department of Typography & Graphic Communication University of Reading -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090608/b8da4843/attachment-0001.htm From waarde at glo.be Mon Jun 8 16:38:06 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 16:38:06 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem In-Reply-To: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> References: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> Message-ID: Rob, Thanks for this information: I've just scanned the Dutch Ballot form (49,9 cm by 35,0 cm) as a reference. (If anyone wonders how I smuggled a scanner into the booth, I didn't. I'm living abroad and can only vote by mail.) I've uploaded the voting form on: http://users.telenet.be/waarde/Papers/DutchEU-votingform2009-2.jpg I'm not sure if these are clear and easy to use. I have several questions and qualms about these. [Two questions for those who download the form into their browsers: 1. Why are the 'parties with even numbers' positioned slightly below the parties with odd numbers. Does this 'dancing top line' have a meaning? 2. There is a small text below the names of some of the parties. It states: 'combined with list x (= gecombineerd met lijst x). List 1 is combined with list 6, list 2 is combined with list 4, list 3 is combined with list 7, list 4 is combined with list 2. Who exactly do I vote for if I cross position 13 on list 2 if I know that there are only 3 or 4 seats available?] Kind regards, Karel. waarde at glo.be >>> >In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the >proportational representation system used for the European >Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. >Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that >would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you >voted. > >In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on >the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: > >http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm > >__________________________________ > >Rob Waller >Department of Typography & Graphic Communication >University of Reading From dtp at she-philosopher.com Wed Jun 3 23:24:20 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:24:20 -0700 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: countergenres for ID In-Reply-To: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Hi, all -- This has nothing to do with information design -- except possibly as an example "countergenre" (a concept borrowed from the literary critic, Claudio Guill?n, author of _Literature as System_) -- but I thought the piece was really good, and would be of interest to others working with/in medical communications: Gawande, Atul. "The Cost Conundrum: What a Texas Town Can Teach Us about Health Care." _The New Yorker_, digital edn. for 1 June 2009. available online at http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/06/01/090601fa_fact_gawande Atul Gawande is a physician (specifically, a surgeon at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health) who has been writing for _The New Yorker_ (a U.S. literary mag known for its funny, quirky cartoons) for a while now. (Some of Gawande's earlier essays for _The New Yorker_ were re-printed in his books, _Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science_ [2002] and _Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance_ [2007].) This is an especially good piece, I believe, and while I was reading it, I couldn't help but think about how top-notch IDers might illustrate it differently! ;-) At any rate, the topic is an important one in the U.S., as we prepare to tackle health care reform this summer, and Gawande's treatment of the issues is, as always, both thoughtful and provocative (at least for USers, many of whom are ardent defenders of a mythical can-do entrepreneurial spirit, wherever it surfaces, and whatever the costs ;-). Also, Gawande was interviewed on International Public Radio's _Marketplace_ yesterday: "Why Health Care Costs Are So High," an interview with Dr. Atul Gawande. _Marketplace_, segment for Tuesday, June 2, 2009. http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/06/02/pm_health_care_costs_q/ Deborah (still desperately trying to finish another research project on C17 painting and visual rhetoric, before I can return to working on C17 calligraphy ... so, more delays ahead here :( ... sorry, but it can't be helped) _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From info at userdesign.co.uk Thu Jun 4 15:10:33 2009 From: info at userdesign.co.uk (info at userdesign.co.uk) Date: Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:10:33 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research Message-ID: <20090604141033.abelp6m3kkc0ck4w@webmail.userdesign.co.uk> - Trebuchet is a fairly accessible typeface, for instance the characters: l, I, 1, cl (d), rn (m), are all fairly well defined, unlike typefaces like: Arial or Myraid. - Preference based opinions will not lead to useful data, what do you want them to do? (CRI) - For typefaces: www.fonts.com, www.linotype.com, www.fontshop.com, www.adobe.com/type/. Kind regards Thomas User design Graphic communication design, illustration and production service W www.userdesign.co.uk E info at userdesign.co.uk --- On Tue, 26/5/09, katie at raincharm.co.uk wrote: > From: katie at raincharm.co.uk > Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research > To: infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > Date: Tuesday, 26 May, 2009, 2:43 PM > Hi > > I am working on a small project with a local council with > regard to the > accessibility and readability of their corporate font. They > currently use > Trebuchet but have been criticised by a local disability > organisation for > doing this. They say it is not accessible. As a result they > have engaged > my services to explore and gain opinions from others about > the general > accessibility of Trebuchet in comparison to other (mainly) > system fonts. > They are willing to consider moving to a new font but would > prefer this to > be a system font so that everyone in the organisation can > access it. I > have conducted some primary consultations via telephone and > email > opinion-based research. Before I send out mockups of fonts > chosen to trial > with selected user groups - these have been selected to > cover a range of > impairment, age and other audiences - I would like to ask > the following: > > i) what people think about Trebuchet with regard to > accessibility > ii) current preferred fonts re: accessibility. NB They are > also looking > for a font which has a good range of weights and a good xy > height > difference so please take this into consideration > iii) ideas on user testing to gain feedback - we are > planning to send each > user group a selection of fonts using the same text to ask > them which they > prefer and why. Has anyone carried out anything similar and > if so do you > have any advice on how to structure/phrase the questions? > > All comments/feedback gratefully received. > > With thanks > > Katie Grant > Raincharm Communications > www.raincharm.co.uk > 07971 909007 From r.waller at reading.ac.uk Mon Jun 8 15:28:21 2009 From: r.waller at reading.ac.uk (Rob Waller) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 14:28:21 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem Message-ID: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the proportational representation system used for the European Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you voted. In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm __________________________________ Rob Waller Department of Typography & Graphic Communication University of Reading -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090608/b8da4843/attachment-0002.htm From waarde at glo.be Mon Jun 8 16:38:06 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 16:38:06 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem In-Reply-To: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> References: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> Message-ID: Rob, Thanks for this information: I've just scanned the Dutch Ballot form (49,9 cm by 35,0 cm) as a reference. (If anyone wonders how I smuggled a scanner into the booth, I didn't. I'm living abroad and can only vote by mail.) I've uploaded the voting form on: http://users.telenet.be/waarde/Papers/DutchEU-votingform2009-2.jpg I'm not sure if these are clear and easy to use. I have several questions and qualms about these. [Two questions for those who download the form into their browsers: 1. Why are the 'parties with even numbers' positioned slightly below the parties with odd numbers. Does this 'dancing top line' have a meaning? 2. There is a small text below the names of some of the parties. It states: 'combined with list x (= gecombineerd met lijst x). List 1 is combined with list 6, list 2 is combined with list 4, list 3 is combined with list 7, list 4 is combined with list 2. Who exactly do I vote for if I cross position 13 on list 2 if I know that there are only 3 or 4 seats available?] Kind regards, Karel. waarde at glo.be >>> >In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the >proportational representation system used for the European >Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. >Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that >would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you >voted. > >In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on >the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: > >http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm > >__________________________________ > >Rob Waller >Department of Typography & Graphic Communication >University of Reading From dtp at she-philosopher.com Wed Jun 3 23:24:20 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:24:20 -0700 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: countergenres for ID In-Reply-To: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Hi, all -- This has nothing to do with information design -- except possibly as an example "countergenre" (a concept borrowed from the literary critic, Claudio Guill?n, author of _Literature as System_) -- but I thought the piece was really good, and would be of interest to others working with/in medical communications: Gawande, Atul. "The Cost Conundrum: What a Texas Town Can Teach Us about Health Care." _The New Yorker_, digital edn. for 1 June 2009. available online at http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/06/01/090601fa_fact_gawande Atul Gawande is a physician (specifically, a surgeon at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health) who has been writing for _The New Yorker_ (a U.S. literary mag known for its funny, quirky cartoons) for a while now. (Some of Gawande's earlier essays for _The New Yorker_ were re-printed in his books, _Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science_ [2002] and _Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance_ [2007].) This is an especially good piece, I believe, and while I was reading it, I couldn't help but think about how top-notch IDers might illustrate it differently! ;-) At any rate, the topic is an important one in the U.S., as we prepare to tackle health care reform this summer, and Gawande's treatment of the issues is, as always, both thoughtful and provocative (at least for USers, many of whom are ardent defenders of a mythical can-do entrepreneurial spirit, wherever it surfaces, and whatever the costs ;-). Also, Gawande was interviewed on International Public Radio's _Marketplace_ yesterday: "Why Health Care Costs Are So High," an interview with Dr. Atul Gawande. _Marketplace_, segment for Tuesday, June 2, 2009. http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/06/02/pm_health_care_costs_q/ Deborah (still desperately trying to finish another research project on C17 painting and visual rhetoric, before I can return to working on C17 calligraphy ... so, more delays ahead here :( ... sorry, but it can't be helped) _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From info at userdesign.co.uk Thu Jun 4 15:10:33 2009 From: info at userdesign.co.uk (info at userdesign.co.uk) Date: Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:10:33 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research Message-ID: <20090604141033.abelp6m3kkc0ck4w@webmail.userdesign.co.uk> - Trebuchet is a fairly accessible typeface, for instance the characters: l, I, 1, cl (d), rn (m), are all fairly well defined, unlike typefaces like: Arial or Myraid. - Preference based opinions will not lead to useful data, what do you want them to do? (CRI) - For typefaces: www.fonts.com, www.linotype.com, www.fontshop.com, www.adobe.com/type/. Kind regards Thomas User design Graphic communication design, illustration and production service W www.userdesign.co.uk E info at userdesign.co.uk --- On Tue, 26/5/09, katie at raincharm.co.uk wrote: > From: katie at raincharm.co.uk > Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research > To: infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > Date: Tuesday, 26 May, 2009, 2:43 PM > Hi > > I am working on a small project with a local council with > regard to the > accessibility and readability of their corporate font. They > currently use > Trebuchet but have been criticised by a local disability > organisation for > doing this. They say it is not accessible. As a result they > have engaged > my services to explore and gain opinions from others about > the general > accessibility of Trebuchet in comparison to other (mainly) > system fonts. > They are willing to consider moving to a new font but would > prefer this to > be a system font so that everyone in the organisation can > access it. I > have conducted some primary consultations via telephone and > email > opinion-based research. Before I send out mockups of fonts > chosen to trial > with selected user groups - these have been selected to > cover a range of > impairment, age and other audiences - I would like to ask > the following: > > i) what people think about Trebuchet with regard to > accessibility > ii) current preferred fonts re: accessibility. NB They are > also looking > for a font which has a good range of weights and a good xy > height > difference so please take this into consideration > iii) ideas on user testing to gain feedback - we are > planning to send each > user group a selection of fonts using the same text to ask > them which they > prefer and why. Has anyone carried out anything similar and > if so do you > have any advice on how to structure/phrase the questions? > > All comments/feedback gratefully received. > > With thanks > > Katie Grant > Raincharm Communications > www.raincharm.co.uk > 07971 909007 From r.waller at reading.ac.uk Mon Jun 8 15:28:21 2009 From: r.waller at reading.ac.uk (Rob Waller) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 14:28:21 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem Message-ID: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the proportational representation system used for the European Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you voted. In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm __________________________________ Rob Waller Department of Typography & Graphic Communication University of Reading -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090608/b8da4843/attachment-0003.htm From waarde at glo.be Mon Jun 8 16:38:06 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 16:38:06 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem In-Reply-To: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> References: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> Message-ID: Rob, Thanks for this information: I've just scanned the Dutch Ballot form (49,9 cm by 35,0 cm) as a reference. (If anyone wonders how I smuggled a scanner into the booth, I didn't. I'm living abroad and can only vote by mail.) I've uploaded the voting form on: http://users.telenet.be/waarde/Papers/DutchEU-votingform2009-2.jpg I'm not sure if these are clear and easy to use. I have several questions and qualms about these. [Two questions for those who download the form into their browsers: 1. Why are the 'parties with even numbers' positioned slightly below the parties with odd numbers. Does this 'dancing top line' have a meaning? 2. There is a small text below the names of some of the parties. It states: 'combined with list x (= gecombineerd met lijst x). List 1 is combined with list 6, list 2 is combined with list 4, list 3 is combined with list 7, list 4 is combined with list 2. Who exactly do I vote for if I cross position 13 on list 2 if I know that there are only 3 or 4 seats available?] Kind regards, Karel. waarde at glo.be >>> >In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the >proportational representation system used for the European >Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. >Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that >would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you >voted. > >In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on >the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: > >http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm > >__________________________________ > >Rob Waller >Department of Typography & Graphic Communication >University of Reading From dtp at she-philosopher.com Wed Jun 3 23:24:20 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:24:20 -0700 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: countergenres for ID In-Reply-To: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Hi, all -- This has nothing to do with information design -- except possibly as an example "countergenre" (a concept borrowed from the literary critic, Claudio Guill?n, author of _Literature as System_) -- but I thought the piece was really good, and would be of interest to others working with/in medical communications: Gawande, Atul. "The Cost Conundrum: What a Texas Town Can Teach Us about Health Care." _The New Yorker_, digital edn. for 1 June 2009. available online at http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/06/01/090601fa_fact_gawande Atul Gawande is a physician (specifically, a surgeon at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health) who has been writing for _The New Yorker_ (a U.S. literary mag known for its funny, quirky cartoons) for a while now. (Some of Gawande's earlier essays for _The New Yorker_ were re-printed in his books, _Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science_ [2002] and _Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance_ [2007].) This is an especially good piece, I believe, and while I was reading it, I couldn't help but think about how top-notch IDers might illustrate it differently! ;-) At any rate, the topic is an important one in the U.S., as we prepare to tackle health care reform this summer, and Gawande's treatment of the issues is, as always, both thoughtful and provocative (at least for USers, many of whom are ardent defenders of a mythical can-do entrepreneurial spirit, wherever it surfaces, and whatever the costs ;-). Also, Gawande was interviewed on International Public Radio's _Marketplace_ yesterday: "Why Health Care Costs Are So High," an interview with Dr. Atul Gawande. _Marketplace_, segment for Tuesday, June 2, 2009. http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/06/02/pm_health_care_costs_q/ Deborah (still desperately trying to finish another research project on C17 painting and visual rhetoric, before I can return to working on C17 calligraphy ... so, more delays ahead here :( ... sorry, but it can't be helped) _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From info at userdesign.co.uk Thu Jun 4 15:10:33 2009 From: info at userdesign.co.uk (info at userdesign.co.uk) Date: Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:10:33 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research Message-ID: <20090604141033.abelp6m3kkc0ck4w@webmail.userdesign.co.uk> - Trebuchet is a fairly accessible typeface, for instance the characters: l, I, 1, cl (d), rn (m), are all fairly well defined, unlike typefaces like: Arial or Myraid. - Preference based opinions will not lead to useful data, what do you want them to do? (CRI) - For typefaces: www.fonts.com, www.linotype.com, www.fontshop.com, www.adobe.com/type/. Kind regards Thomas User design Graphic communication design, illustration and production service W www.userdesign.co.uk E info at userdesign.co.uk --- On Tue, 26/5/09, katie at raincharm.co.uk wrote: > From: katie at raincharm.co.uk > Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research > To: infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > Date: Tuesday, 26 May, 2009, 2:43 PM > Hi > > I am working on a small project with a local council with > regard to the > accessibility and readability of their corporate font. They > currently use > Trebuchet but have been criticised by a local disability > organisation for > doing this. They say it is not accessible. As a result they > have engaged > my services to explore and gain opinions from others about > the general > accessibility of Trebuchet in comparison to other (mainly) > system fonts. > They are willing to consider moving to a new font but would > prefer this to > be a system font so that everyone in the organisation can > access it. I > have conducted some primary consultations via telephone and > email > opinion-based research. Before I send out mockups of fonts > chosen to trial > with selected user groups - these have been selected to > cover a range of > impairment, age and other audiences - I would like to ask > the following: > > i) what people think about Trebuchet with regard to > accessibility > ii) current preferred fonts re: accessibility. NB They are > also looking > for a font which has a good range of weights and a good xy > height > difference so please take this into consideration > iii) ideas on user testing to gain feedback - we are > planning to send each > user group a selection of fonts using the same text to ask > them which they > prefer and why. Has anyone carried out anything similar and > if so do you > have any advice on how to structure/phrase the questions? > > All comments/feedback gratefully received. > > With thanks > > Katie Grant > Raincharm Communications > www.raincharm.co.uk > 07971 909007 From r.waller at reading.ac.uk Mon Jun 8 15:28:21 2009 From: r.waller at reading.ac.uk (Rob Waller) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 14:28:21 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem Message-ID: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the proportational representation system used for the European Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you voted. In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm __________________________________ Rob Waller Department of Typography & Graphic Communication University of Reading -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090608/b8da4843/attachment-0004.htm From waarde at glo.be Mon Jun 8 16:38:06 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 16:38:06 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem In-Reply-To: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> References: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> Message-ID: Rob, Thanks for this information: I've just scanned the Dutch Ballot form (49,9 cm by 35,0 cm) as a reference. (If anyone wonders how I smuggled a scanner into the booth, I didn't. I'm living abroad and can only vote by mail.) I've uploaded the voting form on: http://users.telenet.be/waarde/Papers/DutchEU-votingform2009-2.jpg I'm not sure if these are clear and easy to use. I have several questions and qualms about these. [Two questions for those who download the form into their browsers: 1. Why are the 'parties with even numbers' positioned slightly below the parties with odd numbers. Does this 'dancing top line' have a meaning? 2. There is a small text below the names of some of the parties. It states: 'combined with list x (= gecombineerd met lijst x). List 1 is combined with list 6, list 2 is combined with list 4, list 3 is combined with list 7, list 4 is combined with list 2. Who exactly do I vote for if I cross position 13 on list 2 if I know that there are only 3 or 4 seats available?] Kind regards, Karel. waarde at glo.be >>> >In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the >proportational representation system used for the European >Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. >Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that >would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you >voted. > >In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on >the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: > >http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm > >__________________________________ > >Rob Waller >Department of Typography & Graphic Communication >University of Reading From dtp at she-philosopher.com Wed Jun 3 23:24:20 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:24:20 -0700 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: countergenres for ID In-Reply-To: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Hi, all -- This has nothing to do with information design -- except possibly as an example "countergenre" (a concept borrowed from the literary critic, Claudio Guill?n, author of _Literature as System_) -- but I thought the piece was really good, and would be of interest to others working with/in medical communications: Gawande, Atul. "The Cost Conundrum: What a Texas Town Can Teach Us about Health Care." _The New Yorker_, digital edn. for 1 June 2009. available online at http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/06/01/090601fa_fact_gawande Atul Gawande is a physician (specifically, a surgeon at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health) who has been writing for _The New Yorker_ (a U.S. literary mag known for its funny, quirky cartoons) for a while now. (Some of Gawande's earlier essays for _The New Yorker_ were re-printed in his books, _Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science_ [2002] and _Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance_ [2007].) This is an especially good piece, I believe, and while I was reading it, I couldn't help but think about how top-notch IDers might illustrate it differently! ;-) At any rate, the topic is an important one in the U.S., as we prepare to tackle health care reform this summer, and Gawande's treatment of the issues is, as always, both thoughtful and provocative (at least for USers, many of whom are ardent defenders of a mythical can-do entrepreneurial spirit, wherever it surfaces, and whatever the costs ;-). Also, Gawande was interviewed on International Public Radio's _Marketplace_ yesterday: "Why Health Care Costs Are So High," an interview with Dr. Atul Gawande. _Marketplace_, segment for Tuesday, June 2, 2009. http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/06/02/pm_health_care_costs_q/ Deborah (still desperately trying to finish another research project on C17 painting and visual rhetoric, before I can return to working on C17 calligraphy ... so, more delays ahead here :( ... sorry, but it can't be helped) _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From info at userdesign.co.uk Thu Jun 4 15:10:33 2009 From: info at userdesign.co.uk (info at userdesign.co.uk) Date: Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:10:33 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research Message-ID: <20090604141033.abelp6m3kkc0ck4w@webmail.userdesign.co.uk> - Trebuchet is a fairly accessible typeface, for instance the characters: l, I, 1, cl (d), rn (m), are all fairly well defined, unlike typefaces like: Arial or Myraid. - Preference based opinions will not lead to useful data, what do you want them to do? (CRI) - For typefaces: www.fonts.com, www.linotype.com, www.fontshop.com, www.adobe.com/type/. Kind regards Thomas User design Graphic communication design, illustration and production service W www.userdesign.co.uk E info at userdesign.co.uk --- On Tue, 26/5/09, katie at raincharm.co.uk wrote: > From: katie at raincharm.co.uk > Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research > To: infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > Date: Tuesday, 26 May, 2009, 2:43 PM > Hi > > I am working on a small project with a local council with > regard to the > accessibility and readability of their corporate font. They > currently use > Trebuchet but have been criticised by a local disability > organisation for > doing this. They say it is not accessible. As a result they > have engaged > my services to explore and gain opinions from others about > the general > accessibility of Trebuchet in comparison to other (mainly) > system fonts. > They are willing to consider moving to a new font but would > prefer this to > be a system font so that everyone in the organisation can > access it. I > have conducted some primary consultations via telephone and > email > opinion-based research. Before I send out mockups of fonts > chosen to trial > with selected user groups - these have been selected to > cover a range of > impairment, age and other audiences - I would like to ask > the following: > > i) what people think about Trebuchet with regard to > accessibility > ii) current preferred fonts re: accessibility. NB They are > also looking > for a font which has a good range of weights and a good xy > height > difference so please take this into consideration > iii) ideas on user testing to gain feedback - we are > planning to send each > user group a selection of fonts using the same text to ask > them which they > prefer and why. Has anyone carried out anything similar and > if so do you > have any advice on how to structure/phrase the questions? > > All comments/feedback gratefully received. > > With thanks > > Katie Grant > Raincharm Communications > www.raincharm.co.uk > 07971 909007 From r.waller at reading.ac.uk Mon Jun 8 15:28:21 2009 From: r.waller at reading.ac.uk (Rob Waller) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 14:28:21 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem Message-ID: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the proportational representation system used for the European Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you voted. In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm __________________________________ Rob Waller Department of Typography & Graphic Communication University of Reading -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090608/b8da4843/attachment-0005.htm From waarde at glo.be Mon Jun 8 16:38:06 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 16:38:06 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem In-Reply-To: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> References: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> Message-ID: Rob, Thanks for this information: I've just scanned the Dutch Ballot form (49,9 cm by 35,0 cm) as a reference. (If anyone wonders how I smuggled a scanner into the booth, I didn't. I'm living abroad and can only vote by mail.) I've uploaded the voting form on: http://users.telenet.be/waarde/Papers/DutchEU-votingform2009-2.jpg I'm not sure if these are clear and easy to use. I have several questions and qualms about these. [Two questions for those who download the form into their browsers: 1. Why are the 'parties with even numbers' positioned slightly below the parties with odd numbers. Does this 'dancing top line' have a meaning? 2. There is a small text below the names of some of the parties. It states: 'combined with list x (= gecombineerd met lijst x). List 1 is combined with list 6, list 2 is combined with list 4, list 3 is combined with list 7, list 4 is combined with list 2. Who exactly do I vote for if I cross position 13 on list 2 if I know that there are only 3 or 4 seats available?] Kind regards, Karel. waarde at glo.be >>> >In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the >proportational representation system used for the European >Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. >Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that >would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you >voted. > >In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on >the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: > >http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm > >__________________________________ > >Rob Waller >Department of Typography & Graphic Communication >University of Reading From dtp at she-philosopher.com Wed Jun 3 23:24:20 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:24:20 -0700 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: countergenres for ID In-Reply-To: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Hi, all -- This has nothing to do with information design -- except possibly as an example "countergenre" (a concept borrowed from the literary critic, Claudio Guill?n, author of _Literature as System_) -- but I thought the piece was really good, and would be of interest to others working with/in medical communications: Gawande, Atul. "The Cost Conundrum: What a Texas Town Can Teach Us about Health Care." _The New Yorker_, digital edn. for 1 June 2009. available online at http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/06/01/090601fa_fact_gawande Atul Gawande is a physician (specifically, a surgeon at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health) who has been writing for _The New Yorker_ (a U.S. literary mag known for its funny, quirky cartoons) for a while now. (Some of Gawande's earlier essays for _The New Yorker_ were re-printed in his books, _Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science_ [2002] and _Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance_ [2007].) This is an especially good piece, I believe, and while I was reading it, I couldn't help but think about how top-notch IDers might illustrate it differently! ;-) At any rate, the topic is an important one in the U.S., as we prepare to tackle health care reform this summer, and Gawande's treatment of the issues is, as always, both thoughtful and provocative (at least for USers, many of whom are ardent defenders of a mythical can-do entrepreneurial spirit, wherever it surfaces, and whatever the costs ;-). Also, Gawande was interviewed on International Public Radio's _Marketplace_ yesterday: "Why Health Care Costs Are So High," an interview with Dr. Atul Gawande. _Marketplace_, segment for Tuesday, June 2, 2009. http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/06/02/pm_health_care_costs_q/ Deborah (still desperately trying to finish another research project on C17 painting and visual rhetoric, before I can return to working on C17 calligraphy ... so, more delays ahead here :( ... sorry, but it can't be helped) _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From info at userdesign.co.uk Thu Jun 4 15:10:33 2009 From: info at userdesign.co.uk (info at userdesign.co.uk) Date: Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:10:33 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research Message-ID: <20090604141033.abelp6m3kkc0ck4w@webmail.userdesign.co.uk> - Trebuchet is a fairly accessible typeface, for instance the characters: l, I, 1, cl (d), rn (m), are all fairly well defined, unlike typefaces like: Arial or Myraid. - Preference based opinions will not lead to useful data, what do you want them to do? (CRI) - For typefaces: www.fonts.com, www.linotype.com, www.fontshop.com, www.adobe.com/type/. Kind regards Thomas User design Graphic communication design, illustration and production service W www.userdesign.co.uk E info at userdesign.co.uk --- On Tue, 26/5/09, katie at raincharm.co.uk wrote: > From: katie at raincharm.co.uk > Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research > To: infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > Date: Tuesday, 26 May, 2009, 2:43 PM > Hi > > I am working on a small project with a local council with > regard to the > accessibility and readability of their corporate font. They > currently use > Trebuchet but have been criticised by a local disability > organisation for > doing this. They say it is not accessible. As a result they > have engaged > my services to explore and gain opinions from others about > the general > accessibility of Trebuchet in comparison to other (mainly) > system fonts. > They are willing to consider moving to a new font but would > prefer this to > be a system font so that everyone in the organisation can > access it. I > have conducted some primary consultations via telephone and > email > opinion-based research. Before I send out mockups of fonts > chosen to trial > with selected user groups - these have been selected to > cover a range of > impairment, age and other audiences - I would like to ask > the following: > > i) what people think about Trebuchet with regard to > accessibility > ii) current preferred fonts re: accessibility. NB They are > also looking > for a font which has a good range of weights and a good xy > height > difference so please take this into consideration > iii) ideas on user testing to gain feedback - we are > planning to send each > user group a selection of fonts using the same text to ask > them which they > prefer and why. Has anyone carried out anything similar and > if so do you > have any advice on how to structure/phrase the questions? > > All comments/feedback gratefully received. > > With thanks > > Katie Grant > Raincharm Communications > www.raincharm.co.uk > 07971 909007 From r.waller at reading.ac.uk Mon Jun 8 15:28:21 2009 From: r.waller at reading.ac.uk (Rob Waller) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 14:28:21 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem Message-ID: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the proportational representation system used for the European Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you voted. In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm __________________________________ Rob Waller Department of Typography & Graphic Communication University of Reading -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090608/b8da4843/attachment-0006.htm From waarde at glo.be Mon Jun 8 16:38:06 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 16:38:06 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem In-Reply-To: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> References: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> Message-ID: Rob, Thanks for this information: I've just scanned the Dutch Ballot form (49,9 cm by 35,0 cm) as a reference. (If anyone wonders how I smuggled a scanner into the booth, I didn't. I'm living abroad and can only vote by mail.) I've uploaded the voting form on: http://users.telenet.be/waarde/Papers/DutchEU-votingform2009-2.jpg I'm not sure if these are clear and easy to use. I have several questions and qualms about these. [Two questions for those who download the form into their browsers: 1. Why are the 'parties with even numbers' positioned slightly below the parties with odd numbers. Does this 'dancing top line' have a meaning? 2. There is a small text below the names of some of the parties. It states: 'combined with list x (= gecombineerd met lijst x). List 1 is combined with list 6, list 2 is combined with list 4, list 3 is combined with list 7, list 4 is combined with list 2. Who exactly do I vote for if I cross position 13 on list 2 if I know that there are only 3 or 4 seats available?] Kind regards, Karel. waarde at glo.be >>> >In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the >proportational representation system used for the European >Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. >Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that >would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you >voted. > >In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on >the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: > >http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm > >__________________________________ > >Rob Waller >Department of Typography & Graphic Communication >University of Reading From dtp at she-philosopher.com Wed Jun 3 23:24:20 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:24:20 -0700 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: countergenres for ID In-Reply-To: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Hi, all -- This has nothing to do with information design -- except possibly as an example "countergenre" (a concept borrowed from the literary critic, Claudio Guill?n, author of _Literature as System_) -- but I thought the piece was really good, and would be of interest to others working with/in medical communications: Gawande, Atul. "The Cost Conundrum: What a Texas Town Can Teach Us about Health Care." _The New Yorker_, digital edn. for 1 June 2009. available online at http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/06/01/090601fa_fact_gawande Atul Gawande is a physician (specifically, a surgeon at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health) who has been writing for _The New Yorker_ (a U.S. literary mag known for its funny, quirky cartoons) for a while now. (Some of Gawande's earlier essays for _The New Yorker_ were re-printed in his books, _Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science_ [2002] and _Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance_ [2007].) This is an especially good piece, I believe, and while I was reading it, I couldn't help but think about how top-notch IDers might illustrate it differently! ;-) At any rate, the topic is an important one in the U.S., as we prepare to tackle health care reform this summer, and Gawande's treatment of the issues is, as always, both thoughtful and provocative (at least for USers, many of whom are ardent defenders of a mythical can-do entrepreneurial spirit, wherever it surfaces, and whatever the costs ;-). Also, Gawande was interviewed on International Public Radio's _Marketplace_ yesterday: "Why Health Care Costs Are So High," an interview with Dr. Atul Gawande. _Marketplace_, segment for Tuesday, June 2, 2009. http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/06/02/pm_health_care_costs_q/ Deborah (still desperately trying to finish another research project on C17 painting and visual rhetoric, before I can return to working on C17 calligraphy ... so, more delays ahead here :( ... sorry, but it can't be helped) _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From info at userdesign.co.uk Thu Jun 4 15:10:33 2009 From: info at userdesign.co.uk (info at userdesign.co.uk) Date: Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:10:33 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research Message-ID: <20090604141033.abelp6m3kkc0ck4w@webmail.userdesign.co.uk> - Trebuchet is a fairly accessible typeface, for instance the characters: l, I, 1, cl (d), rn (m), are all fairly well defined, unlike typefaces like: Arial or Myraid. - Preference based opinions will not lead to useful data, what do you want them to do? (CRI) - For typefaces: www.fonts.com, www.linotype.com, www.fontshop.com, www.adobe.com/type/. Kind regards Thomas User design Graphic communication design, illustration and production service W www.userdesign.co.uk E info at userdesign.co.uk --- On Tue, 26/5/09, katie at raincharm.co.uk wrote: > From: katie at raincharm.co.uk > Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research > To: infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > Date: Tuesday, 26 May, 2009, 2:43 PM > Hi > > I am working on a small project with a local council with > regard to the > accessibility and readability of their corporate font. They > currently use > Trebuchet but have been criticised by a local disability > organisation for > doing this. They say it is not accessible. As a result they > have engaged > my services to explore and gain opinions from others about > the general > accessibility of Trebuchet in comparison to other (mainly) > system fonts. > They are willing to consider moving to a new font but would > prefer this to > be a system font so that everyone in the organisation can > access it. I > have conducted some primary consultations via telephone and > email > opinion-based research. Before I send out mockups of fonts > chosen to trial > with selected user groups - these have been selected to > cover a range of > impairment, age and other audiences - I would like to ask > the following: > > i) what people think about Trebuchet with regard to > accessibility > ii) current preferred fonts re: accessibility. NB They are > also looking > for a font which has a good range of weights and a good xy > height > difference so please take this into consideration > iii) ideas on user testing to gain feedback - we are > planning to send each > user group a selection of fonts using the same text to ask > them which they > prefer and why. Has anyone carried out anything similar and > if so do you > have any advice on how to structure/phrase the questions? > > All comments/feedback gratefully received. > > With thanks > > Katie Grant > Raincharm Communications > www.raincharm.co.uk > 07971 909007 From r.waller at reading.ac.uk Mon Jun 8 15:28:21 2009 From: r.waller at reading.ac.uk (Rob Waller) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 14:28:21 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem Message-ID: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the proportational representation system used for the European Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you voted. In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm __________________________________ Rob Waller Department of Typography & Graphic Communication University of Reading -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090608/b8da4843/attachment-0007.htm From waarde at glo.be Mon Jun 8 16:38:06 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 16:38:06 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem In-Reply-To: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> References: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> Message-ID: Rob, Thanks for this information: I've just scanned the Dutch Ballot form (49,9 cm by 35,0 cm) as a reference. (If anyone wonders how I smuggled a scanner into the booth, I didn't. I'm living abroad and can only vote by mail.) I've uploaded the voting form on: http://users.telenet.be/waarde/Papers/DutchEU-votingform2009-2.jpg I'm not sure if these are clear and easy to use. I have several questions and qualms about these. [Two questions for those who download the form into their browsers: 1. Why are the 'parties with even numbers' positioned slightly below the parties with odd numbers. Does this 'dancing top line' have a meaning? 2. There is a small text below the names of some of the parties. It states: 'combined with list x (= gecombineerd met lijst x). List 1 is combined with list 6, list 2 is combined with list 4, list 3 is combined with list 7, list 4 is combined with list 2. Who exactly do I vote for if I cross position 13 on list 2 if I know that there are only 3 or 4 seats available?] Kind regards, Karel. waarde at glo.be >>> >In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the >proportational representation system used for the European >Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. >Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that >would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you >voted. > >In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on >the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: > >http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm > >__________________________________ > >Rob Waller >Department of Typography & Graphic Communication >University of Reading From dtp at she-philosopher.com Wed Jun 3 23:24:20 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:24:20 -0700 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: countergenres for ID In-Reply-To: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Hi, all -- This has nothing to do with information design -- except possibly as an example "countergenre" (a concept borrowed from the literary critic, Claudio Guill?n, author of _Literature as System_) -- but I thought the piece was really good, and would be of interest to others working with/in medical communications: Gawande, Atul. "The Cost Conundrum: What a Texas Town Can Teach Us about Health Care." _The New Yorker_, digital edn. for 1 June 2009. available online at http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/06/01/090601fa_fact_gawande Atul Gawande is a physician (specifically, a surgeon at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health) who has been writing for _The New Yorker_ (a U.S. literary mag known for its funny, quirky cartoons) for a while now. (Some of Gawande's earlier essays for _The New Yorker_ were re-printed in his books, _Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science_ [2002] and _Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance_ [2007].) This is an especially good piece, I believe, and while I was reading it, I couldn't help but think about how top-notch IDers might illustrate it differently! ;-) At any rate, the topic is an important one in the U.S., as we prepare to tackle health care reform this summer, and Gawande's treatment of the issues is, as always, both thoughtful and provocative (at least for USers, many of whom are ardent defenders of a mythical can-do entrepreneurial spirit, wherever it surfaces, and whatever the costs ;-). Also, Gawande was interviewed on International Public Radio's _Marketplace_ yesterday: "Why Health Care Costs Are So High," an interview with Dr. Atul Gawande. _Marketplace_, segment for Tuesday, June 2, 2009. http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/06/02/pm_health_care_costs_q/ Deborah (still desperately trying to finish another research project on C17 painting and visual rhetoric, before I can return to working on C17 calligraphy ... so, more delays ahead here :( ... sorry, but it can't be helped) _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From info at userdesign.co.uk Thu Jun 4 15:10:33 2009 From: info at userdesign.co.uk (info at userdesign.co.uk) Date: Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:10:33 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research Message-ID: <20090604141033.abelp6m3kkc0ck4w@webmail.userdesign.co.uk> - Trebuchet is a fairly accessible typeface, for instance the characters: l, I, 1, cl (d), rn (m), are all fairly well defined, unlike typefaces like: Arial or Myraid. - Preference based opinions will not lead to useful data, what do you want them to do? (CRI) - For typefaces: www.fonts.com, www.linotype.com, www.fontshop.com, www.adobe.com/type/. Kind regards Thomas User design Graphic communication design, illustration and production service W www.userdesign.co.uk E info at userdesign.co.uk --- On Tue, 26/5/09, katie at raincharm.co.uk wrote: > From: katie at raincharm.co.uk > Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research > To: infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > Date: Tuesday, 26 May, 2009, 2:43 PM > Hi > > I am working on a small project with a local council with > regard to the > accessibility and readability of their corporate font. They > currently use > Trebuchet but have been criticised by a local disability > organisation for > doing this. They say it is not accessible. As a result they > have engaged > my services to explore and gain opinions from others about > the general > accessibility of Trebuchet in comparison to other (mainly) > system fonts. > They are willing to consider moving to a new font but would > prefer this to > be a system font so that everyone in the organisation can > access it. I > have conducted some primary consultations via telephone and > email > opinion-based research. Before I send out mockups of fonts > chosen to trial > with selected user groups - these have been selected to > cover a range of > impairment, age and other audiences - I would like to ask > the following: > > i) what people think about Trebuchet with regard to > accessibility > ii) current preferred fonts re: accessibility. NB They are > also looking > for a font which has a good range of weights and a good xy > height > difference so please take this into consideration > iii) ideas on user testing to gain feedback - we are > planning to send each > user group a selection of fonts using the same text to ask > them which they > prefer and why. Has anyone carried out anything similar and > if so do you > have any advice on how to structure/phrase the questions? > > All comments/feedback gratefully received. > > With thanks > > Katie Grant > Raincharm Communications > www.raincharm.co.uk > 07971 909007 From r.waller at reading.ac.uk Mon Jun 8 15:28:21 2009 From: r.waller at reading.ac.uk (Rob Waller) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 14:28:21 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem Message-ID: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the proportational representation system used for the European Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you voted. In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm __________________________________ Rob Waller Department of Typography & Graphic Communication University of Reading -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090608/b8da4843/attachment-0008.htm From waarde at glo.be Mon Jun 8 16:38:06 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 16:38:06 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem In-Reply-To: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> References: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> Message-ID: Rob, Thanks for this information: I've just scanned the Dutch Ballot form (49,9 cm by 35,0 cm) as a reference. (If anyone wonders how I smuggled a scanner into the booth, I didn't. I'm living abroad and can only vote by mail.) I've uploaded the voting form on: http://users.telenet.be/waarde/Papers/DutchEU-votingform2009-2.jpg I'm not sure if these are clear and easy to use. I have several questions and qualms about these. [Two questions for those who download the form into their browsers: 1. Why are the 'parties with even numbers' positioned slightly below the parties with odd numbers. Does this 'dancing top line' have a meaning? 2. There is a small text below the names of some of the parties. It states: 'combined with list x (= gecombineerd met lijst x). List 1 is combined with list 6, list 2 is combined with list 4, list 3 is combined with list 7, list 4 is combined with list 2. Who exactly do I vote for if I cross position 13 on list 2 if I know that there are only 3 or 4 seats available?] Kind regards, Karel. waarde at glo.be >>> >In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the >proportational representation system used for the European >Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. >Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that >would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you >voted. > >In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on >the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: > >http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm > >__________________________________ > >Rob Waller >Department of Typography & Graphic Communication >University of Reading From dtp at she-philosopher.com Wed Jun 3 23:24:20 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:24:20 -0700 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: countergenres for ID In-Reply-To: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Hi, all -- This has nothing to do with information design -- except possibly as an example "countergenre" (a concept borrowed from the literary critic, Claudio Guill?n, author of _Literature as System_) -- but I thought the piece was really good, and would be of interest to others working with/in medical communications: Gawande, Atul. "The Cost Conundrum: What a Texas Town Can Teach Us about Health Care." _The New Yorker_, digital edn. for 1 June 2009. available online at http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/06/01/090601fa_fact_gawande Atul Gawande is a physician (specifically, a surgeon at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health) who has been writing for _The New Yorker_ (a U.S. literary mag known for its funny, quirky cartoons) for a while now. (Some of Gawande's earlier essays for _The New Yorker_ were re-printed in his books, _Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science_ [2002] and _Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance_ [2007].) This is an especially good piece, I believe, and while I was reading it, I couldn't help but think about how top-notch IDers might illustrate it differently! ;-) At any rate, the topic is an important one in the U.S., as we prepare to tackle health care reform this summer, and Gawande's treatment of the issues is, as always, both thoughtful and provocative (at least for USers, many of whom are ardent defenders of a mythical can-do entrepreneurial spirit, wherever it surfaces, and whatever the costs ;-). Also, Gawande was interviewed on International Public Radio's _Marketplace_ yesterday: "Why Health Care Costs Are So High," an interview with Dr. Atul Gawande. _Marketplace_, segment for Tuesday, June 2, 2009. http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/06/02/pm_health_care_costs_q/ Deborah (still desperately trying to finish another research project on C17 painting and visual rhetoric, before I can return to working on C17 calligraphy ... so, more delays ahead here :( ... sorry, but it can't be helped) _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From info at userdesign.co.uk Thu Jun 4 15:10:33 2009 From: info at userdesign.co.uk (info at userdesign.co.uk) Date: Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:10:33 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research Message-ID: <20090604141033.abelp6m3kkc0ck4w@webmail.userdesign.co.uk> - Trebuchet is a fairly accessible typeface, for instance the characters: l, I, 1, cl (d), rn (m), are all fairly well defined, unlike typefaces like: Arial or Myraid. - Preference based opinions will not lead to useful data, what do you want them to do? (CRI) - For typefaces: www.fonts.com, www.linotype.com, www.fontshop.com, www.adobe.com/type/. Kind regards Thomas User design Graphic communication design, illustration and production service W www.userdesign.co.uk E info at userdesign.co.uk --- On Tue, 26/5/09, katie at raincharm.co.uk wrote: > From: katie at raincharm.co.uk > Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research > To: infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > Date: Tuesday, 26 May, 2009, 2:43 PM > Hi > > I am working on a small project with a local council with > regard to the > accessibility and readability of their corporate font. They > currently use > Trebuchet but have been criticised by a local disability > organisation for > doing this. They say it is not accessible. As a result they > have engaged > my services to explore and gain opinions from others about > the general > accessibility of Trebuchet in comparison to other (mainly) > system fonts. > They are willing to consider moving to a new font but would > prefer this to > be a system font so that everyone in the organisation can > access it. I > have conducted some primary consultations via telephone and > email > opinion-based research. Before I send out mockups of fonts > chosen to trial > with selected user groups - these have been selected to > cover a range of > impairment, age and other audiences - I would like to ask > the following: > > i) what people think about Trebuchet with regard to > accessibility > ii) current preferred fonts re: accessibility. NB They are > also looking > for a font which has a good range of weights and a good xy > height > difference so please take this into consideration > iii) ideas on user testing to gain feedback - we are > planning to send each > user group a selection of fonts using the same text to ask > them which they > prefer and why. Has anyone carried out anything similar and > if so do you > have any advice on how to structure/phrase the questions? > > All comments/feedback gratefully received. > > With thanks > > Katie Grant > Raincharm Communications > www.raincharm.co.uk > 07971 909007 From r.waller at reading.ac.uk Mon Jun 8 15:28:21 2009 From: r.waller at reading.ac.uk (Rob Waller) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 14:28:21 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem Message-ID: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the proportational representation system used for the European Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you voted. In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm __________________________________ Rob Waller Department of Typography & Graphic Communication University of Reading -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090608/b8da4843/attachment-0009.htm From waarde at glo.be Mon Jun 8 16:38:06 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 16:38:06 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem In-Reply-To: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> References: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> Message-ID: Rob, Thanks for this information: I've just scanned the Dutch Ballot form (49,9 cm by 35,0 cm) as a reference. (If anyone wonders how I smuggled a scanner into the booth, I didn't. I'm living abroad and can only vote by mail.) I've uploaded the voting form on: http://users.telenet.be/waarde/Papers/DutchEU-votingform2009-2.jpg I'm not sure if these are clear and easy to use. I have several questions and qualms about these. [Two questions for those who download the form into their browsers: 1. Why are the 'parties with even numbers' positioned slightly below the parties with odd numbers. Does this 'dancing top line' have a meaning? 2. There is a small text below the names of some of the parties. It states: 'combined with list x (= gecombineerd met lijst x). List 1 is combined with list 6, list 2 is combined with list 4, list 3 is combined with list 7, list 4 is combined with list 2. Who exactly do I vote for if I cross position 13 on list 2 if I know that there are only 3 or 4 seats available?] Kind regards, Karel. waarde at glo.be >>> >In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the >proportational representation system used for the European >Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. >Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that >would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you >voted. > >In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on >the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: > >http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm > >__________________________________ > >Rob Waller >Department of Typography & Graphic Communication >University of Reading From waarde at glo.be Wed Jun 17 09:20:31 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:20:31 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: IDA event - 29 June - London: Exhibition & talk by David Sless In-Reply-To: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: ** IDA event - 29 June - London: Exhibition & talk by David Sless Following the success of IDC2009, we have two events on the evening of 29 June at The Cass Business School. The IDA's June meeting will be a talk by David Sless at 6.30pm, and there?s also a chance to see the Business Mystery MBA exhibition from 5.30pm ** Where & when Monday 29 June 2009 Cass Business School, 106 Bunhill Row, EC1Y 8TZ Exhibition: from 5.30pm ? Lower ground floor ? Talk: 6.30pm Room 2005, level 2 Book tickets for the talk (if you?re not already an IDA member, you can join now to get a discounted member ticket) http://www.amiando.com/IDAJune09 ** The Communication Benchmark Project A talk by David Sless The Communication Research Institute (CRI) has been undertaking benchmarking research in information design for 20 years. David Sless will explain some of the background to that work and some of their findings. Earlier this year CRI put together an international group of volunteers who have now completed the first of what they hope will be many future Communication Benchmark studies. The subject of this first study was credit card statements?a type of document that has attracted a lot of recent political interest worldwide, as a result of the current economic mess. David will share with you some of the results of this study and their implications for information design. http://communication.org.au/modules/home ** The Business Mystery MBA exhibition Please come along earlier in the evening to see the Business Mystery MBA work The Business Mystery MBA elective was conceived in 2004 with the aim of applying perspectives from the arts as a route to gaining insights into management problem solving. It involved treating the arts as a lens or perspective on management. It also overtly sought to redress the lack of right brain emphasis which is endemic to MBA programmes internationally. The course consists of 5 experiences on a theme and usually in a specific space, in 2009 these include the Barbican Art Gallery (Corbusier), the streets of London (Flow), A recording studio in Hackney (Composition), the Whitechapel Gallery (Integration) and the Drill Hall Theatre (Performance). It was decided from the very beginning that there would be avoidance of formal lectures, leading to the idea of ?learning without teaching?. Students are immersed in the experience and have to carry out site-specific tasks and achieve results by the end of each session. Coursework 1: Describe the experience in one specific week taking one of the following roles: critic; supporter; employer; response to cynics Coursework 2: Keep a continuous sketchbook of your learnings Coursework 3: Produce an artifact which sums up either the elective, the MBA year or your career The work will be on display at this end-of-term exhibition. ? Find the event on upcoming: http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/2869970 Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/InfodesignUK Find out more about the IDA: http://www.infodesign.org.uk Contact us: eventadmin at infodesign.org.uk From W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk Wed Jun 17 11:09:55 2009 From: W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk (Will Stahl-Timmins) Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 10:09:55 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: online PhD study - health decision task Message-ID: Hi folks, Thanks to everyone on the list who helped me source studies on the empirical evaluation of information graphics for my PhD. The relevant literature comes from a number of different areas, and it's been quite a challenge pulling enough together for my purposes. I've just put a small Flash-based decision task online to test which of the measurements that are commonly used in such studies might apply in my area of interest (health policy decision-making). If anyone would be prepared to have a go, I'd really appreciate it... The target audience is the internet-using general public, and I'm afraid that if you're reading this, you pretty much qualify... The link is here: www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/evaluation Please feel free to pass this on to anyone you feel might be interested. Many thanks, Will. ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com PenTAG Noy Scott House Peninsula Medical School RD&E Hospital (Wonford) Heavitree Exeter EX2 5DW UK -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090617/c335bbaf/attachment.htm From dtp at she-philosopher.com Wed Jun 3 23:24:20 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:24:20 -0700 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: countergenres for ID In-Reply-To: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Hi, all -- This has nothing to do with information design -- except possibly as an example "countergenre" (a concept borrowed from the literary critic, Claudio Guill?n, author of _Literature as System_) -- but I thought the piece was really good, and would be of interest to others working with/in medical communications: Gawande, Atul. "The Cost Conundrum: What a Texas Town Can Teach Us about Health Care." _The New Yorker_, digital edn. for 1 June 2009. available online at http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/06/01/090601fa_fact_gawande Atul Gawande is a physician (specifically, a surgeon at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health) who has been writing for _The New Yorker_ (a U.S. literary mag known for its funny, quirky cartoons) for a while now. (Some of Gawande's earlier essays for _The New Yorker_ were re-printed in his books, _Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science_ [2002] and _Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance_ [2007].) This is an especially good piece, I believe, and while I was reading it, I couldn't help but think about how top-notch IDers might illustrate it differently! ;-) At any rate, the topic is an important one in the U.S., as we prepare to tackle health care reform this summer, and Gawande's treatment of the issues is, as always, both thoughtful and provocative (at least for USers, many of whom are ardent defenders of a mythical can-do entrepreneurial spirit, wherever it surfaces, and whatever the costs ;-). Also, Gawande was interviewed on International Public Radio's _Marketplace_ yesterday: "Why Health Care Costs Are So High," an interview with Dr. Atul Gawande. _Marketplace_, segment for Tuesday, June 2, 2009. http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/06/02/pm_health_care_costs_q/ Deborah (still desperately trying to finish another research project on C17 painting and visual rhetoric, before I can return to working on C17 calligraphy ... so, more delays ahead here :( ... sorry, but it can't be helped) _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From info at userdesign.co.uk Thu Jun 4 15:10:33 2009 From: info at userdesign.co.uk (info at userdesign.co.uk) Date: Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:10:33 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research Message-ID: <20090604141033.abelp6m3kkc0ck4w@webmail.userdesign.co.uk> - Trebuchet is a fairly accessible typeface, for instance the characters: l, I, 1, cl (d), rn (m), are all fairly well defined, unlike typefaces like: Arial or Myraid. - Preference based opinions will not lead to useful data, what do you want them to do? (CRI) - For typefaces: www.fonts.com, www.linotype.com, www.fontshop.com, www.adobe.com/type/. Kind regards Thomas User design Graphic communication design, illustration and production service W www.userdesign.co.uk E info at userdesign.co.uk --- On Tue, 26/5/09, katie at raincharm.co.uk wrote: > From: katie at raincharm.co.uk > Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research > To: infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > Date: Tuesday, 26 May, 2009, 2:43 PM > Hi > > I am working on a small project with a local council with > regard to the > accessibility and readability of their corporate font. They > currently use > Trebuchet but have been criticised by a local disability > organisation for > doing this. They say it is not accessible. As a result they > have engaged > my services to explore and gain opinions from others about > the general > accessibility of Trebuchet in comparison to other (mainly) > system fonts. > They are willing to consider moving to a new font but would > prefer this to > be a system font so that everyone in the organisation can > access it. I > have conducted some primary consultations via telephone and > email > opinion-based research. Before I send out mockups of fonts > chosen to trial > with selected user groups - these have been selected to > cover a range of > impairment, age and other audiences - I would like to ask > the following: > > i) what people think about Trebuchet with regard to > accessibility > ii) current preferred fonts re: accessibility. NB They are > also looking > for a font which has a good range of weights and a good xy > height > difference so please take this into consideration > iii) ideas on user testing to gain feedback - we are > planning to send each > user group a selection of fonts using the same text to ask > them which they > prefer and why. Has anyone carried out anything similar and > if so do you > have any advice on how to structure/phrase the questions? > > All comments/feedback gratefully received. > > With thanks > > Katie Grant > Raincharm Communications > www.raincharm.co.uk > 07971 909007 From r.waller at reading.ac.uk Mon Jun 8 15:28:21 2009 From: r.waller at reading.ac.uk (Rob Waller) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 14:28:21 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem Message-ID: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the proportational representation system used for the European Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you voted. In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm __________________________________ Rob Waller Department of Typography & Graphic Communication University of Reading -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090608/b8da4843/attachment-0011.htm From waarde at glo.be Mon Jun 8 16:38:06 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 16:38:06 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem In-Reply-To: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> References: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> Message-ID: Rob, Thanks for this information: I've just scanned the Dutch Ballot form (49,9 cm by 35,0 cm) as a reference. (If anyone wonders how I smuggled a scanner into the booth, I didn't. I'm living abroad and can only vote by mail.) I've uploaded the voting form on: http://users.telenet.be/waarde/Papers/DutchEU-votingform2009-2.jpg I'm not sure if these are clear and easy to use. I have several questions and qualms about these. [Two questions for those who download the form into their browsers: 1. Why are the 'parties with even numbers' positioned slightly below the parties with odd numbers. Does this 'dancing top line' have a meaning? 2. There is a small text below the names of some of the parties. It states: 'combined with list x (= gecombineerd met lijst x). List 1 is combined with list 6, list 2 is combined with list 4, list 3 is combined with list 7, list 4 is combined with list 2. Who exactly do I vote for if I cross position 13 on list 2 if I know that there are only 3 or 4 seats available?] Kind regards, Karel. waarde at glo.be >>> >In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the >proportational representation system used for the European >Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. >Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that >would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you >voted. > >In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on >the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: > >http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm > >__________________________________ > >Rob Waller >Department of Typography & Graphic Communication >University of Reading From waarde at glo.be Wed Jun 17 09:20:31 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:20:31 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: IDA event - 29 June - London: Exhibition & talk by David Sless In-Reply-To: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: ** IDA event - 29 June - London: Exhibition & talk by David Sless Following the success of IDC2009, we have two events on the evening of 29 June at The Cass Business School. The IDA's June meeting will be a talk by David Sless at 6.30pm, and there?s also a chance to see the Business Mystery MBA exhibition from 5.30pm ** Where & when Monday 29 June 2009 Cass Business School, 106 Bunhill Row, EC1Y 8TZ Exhibition: from 5.30pm ? Lower ground floor ? Talk: 6.30pm Room 2005, level 2 Book tickets for the talk (if you?re not already an IDA member, you can join now to get a discounted member ticket) http://www.amiando.com/IDAJune09 ** The Communication Benchmark Project A talk by David Sless The Communication Research Institute (CRI) has been undertaking benchmarking research in information design for 20 years. David Sless will explain some of the background to that work and some of their findings. Earlier this year CRI put together an international group of volunteers who have now completed the first of what they hope will be many future Communication Benchmark studies. The subject of this first study was credit card statements?a type of document that has attracted a lot of recent political interest worldwide, as a result of the current economic mess. David will share with you some of the results of this study and their implications for information design. http://communication.org.au/modules/home ** The Business Mystery MBA exhibition Please come along earlier in the evening to see the Business Mystery MBA work The Business Mystery MBA elective was conceived in 2004 with the aim of applying perspectives from the arts as a route to gaining insights into management problem solving. It involved treating the arts as a lens or perspective on management. It also overtly sought to redress the lack of right brain emphasis which is endemic to MBA programmes internationally. The course consists of 5 experiences on a theme and usually in a specific space, in 2009 these include the Barbican Art Gallery (Corbusier), the streets of London (Flow), A recording studio in Hackney (Composition), the Whitechapel Gallery (Integration) and the Drill Hall Theatre (Performance). It was decided from the very beginning that there would be avoidance of formal lectures, leading to the idea of ?learning without teaching?. Students are immersed in the experience and have to carry out site-specific tasks and achieve results by the end of each session. Coursework 1: Describe the experience in one specific week taking one of the following roles: critic; supporter; employer; response to cynics Coursework 2: Keep a continuous sketchbook of your learnings Coursework 3: Produce an artifact which sums up either the elective, the MBA year or your career The work will be on display at this end-of-term exhibition. ? Find the event on upcoming: http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/2869970 Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/InfodesignUK Find out more about the IDA: http://www.infodesign.org.uk Contact us: eventadmin at infodesign.org.uk From W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk Wed Jun 17 11:09:55 2009 From: W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk (Will Stahl-Timmins) Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 10:09:55 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: online PhD study - health decision task Message-ID: Hi folks, Thanks to everyone on the list who helped me source studies on the empirical evaluation of information graphics for my PhD. The relevant literature comes from a number of different areas, and it's been quite a challenge pulling enough together for my purposes. I've just put a small Flash-based decision task online to test which of the measurements that are commonly used in such studies might apply in my area of interest (health policy decision-making). If anyone would be prepared to have a go, I'd really appreciate it... The target audience is the internet-using general public, and I'm afraid that if you're reading this, you pretty much qualify... The link is here: www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/evaluation Please feel free to pass this on to anyone you feel might be interested. Many thanks, Will. ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com PenTAG Noy Scott House Peninsula Medical School RD&E Hospital (Wonford) Heavitree Exeter EX2 5DW UK -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090617/c335bbaf/attachment-0001.htm From dtp at she-philosopher.com Wed Jun 3 23:24:20 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:24:20 -0700 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: countergenres for ID In-Reply-To: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Hi, all -- This has nothing to do with information design -- except possibly as an example "countergenre" (a concept borrowed from the literary critic, Claudio Guill?n, author of _Literature as System_) -- but I thought the piece was really good, and would be of interest to others working with/in medical communications: Gawande, Atul. "The Cost Conundrum: What a Texas Town Can Teach Us about Health Care." _The New Yorker_, digital edn. for 1 June 2009. available online at http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/06/01/090601fa_fact_gawande Atul Gawande is a physician (specifically, a surgeon at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health) who has been writing for _The New Yorker_ (a U.S. literary mag known for its funny, quirky cartoons) for a while now. (Some of Gawande's earlier essays for _The New Yorker_ were re-printed in his books, _Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science_ [2002] and _Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance_ [2007].) This is an especially good piece, I believe, and while I was reading it, I couldn't help but think about how top-notch IDers might illustrate it differently! ;-) At any rate, the topic is an important one in the U.S., as we prepare to tackle health care reform this summer, and Gawande's treatment of the issues is, as always, both thoughtful and provocative (at least for USers, many of whom are ardent defenders of a mythical can-do entrepreneurial spirit, wherever it surfaces, and whatever the costs ;-). Also, Gawande was interviewed on International Public Radio's _Marketplace_ yesterday: "Why Health Care Costs Are So High," an interview with Dr. Atul Gawande. _Marketplace_, segment for Tuesday, June 2, 2009. http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/06/02/pm_health_care_costs_q/ Deborah (still desperately trying to finish another research project on C17 painting and visual rhetoric, before I can return to working on C17 calligraphy ... so, more delays ahead here :( ... sorry, but it can't be helped) _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From info at userdesign.co.uk Thu Jun 4 15:10:33 2009 From: info at userdesign.co.uk (info at userdesign.co.uk) Date: Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:10:33 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research Message-ID: <20090604141033.abelp6m3kkc0ck4w@webmail.userdesign.co.uk> - Trebuchet is a fairly accessible typeface, for instance the characters: l, I, 1, cl (d), rn (m), are all fairly well defined, unlike typefaces like: Arial or Myraid. - Preference based opinions will not lead to useful data, what do you want them to do? (CRI) - For typefaces: www.fonts.com, www.linotype.com, www.fontshop.com, www.adobe.com/type/. Kind regards Thomas User design Graphic communication design, illustration and production service W www.userdesign.co.uk E info at userdesign.co.uk --- On Tue, 26/5/09, katie at raincharm.co.uk wrote: > From: katie at raincharm.co.uk > Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research > To: infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > Date: Tuesday, 26 May, 2009, 2:43 PM > Hi > > I am working on a small project with a local council with > regard to the > accessibility and readability of their corporate font. They > currently use > Trebuchet but have been criticised by a local disability > organisation for > doing this. They say it is not accessible. As a result they > have engaged > my services to explore and gain opinions from others about > the general > accessibility of Trebuchet in comparison to other (mainly) > system fonts. > They are willing to consider moving to a new font but would > prefer this to > be a system font so that everyone in the organisation can > access it. I > have conducted some primary consultations via telephone and > email > opinion-based research. Before I send out mockups of fonts > chosen to trial > with selected user groups - these have been selected to > cover a range of > impairment, age and other audiences - I would like to ask > the following: > > i) what people think about Trebuchet with regard to > accessibility > ii) current preferred fonts re: accessibility. NB They are > also looking > for a font which has a good range of weights and a good xy > height > difference so please take this into consideration > iii) ideas on user testing to gain feedback - we are > planning to send each > user group a selection of fonts using the same text to ask > them which they > prefer and why. Has anyone carried out anything similar and > if so do you > have any advice on how to structure/phrase the questions? > > All comments/feedback gratefully received. > > With thanks > > Katie Grant > Raincharm Communications > www.raincharm.co.uk > 07971 909007 From r.waller at reading.ac.uk Mon Jun 8 15:28:21 2009 From: r.waller at reading.ac.uk (Rob Waller) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 14:28:21 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem Message-ID: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the proportational representation system used for the European Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you voted. In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm __________________________________ Rob Waller Department of Typography & Graphic Communication University of Reading -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090608/b8da4843/attachment-0012.htm From waarde at glo.be Mon Jun 8 16:38:06 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 16:38:06 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem In-Reply-To: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> References: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> Message-ID: Rob, Thanks for this information: I've just scanned the Dutch Ballot form (49,9 cm by 35,0 cm) as a reference. (If anyone wonders how I smuggled a scanner into the booth, I didn't. I'm living abroad and can only vote by mail.) I've uploaded the voting form on: http://users.telenet.be/waarde/Papers/DutchEU-votingform2009-2.jpg I'm not sure if these are clear and easy to use. I have several questions and qualms about these. [Two questions for those who download the form into their browsers: 1. Why are the 'parties with even numbers' positioned slightly below the parties with odd numbers. Does this 'dancing top line' have a meaning? 2. There is a small text below the names of some of the parties. It states: 'combined with list x (= gecombineerd met lijst x). List 1 is combined with list 6, list 2 is combined with list 4, list 3 is combined with list 7, list 4 is combined with list 2. Who exactly do I vote for if I cross position 13 on list 2 if I know that there are only 3 or 4 seats available?] Kind regards, Karel. waarde at glo.be >>> >In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the >proportational representation system used for the European >Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. >Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that >would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you >voted. > >In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on >the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: > >http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm > >__________________________________ > >Rob Waller >Department of Typography & Graphic Communication >University of Reading From waarde at glo.be Wed Jun 17 09:20:31 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:20:31 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: IDA event - 29 June - London: Exhibition & talk by David Sless In-Reply-To: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: ** IDA event - 29 June - London: Exhibition & talk by David Sless Following the success of IDC2009, we have two events on the evening of 29 June at The Cass Business School. The IDA's June meeting will be a talk by David Sless at 6.30pm, and there?s also a chance to see the Business Mystery MBA exhibition from 5.30pm ** Where & when Monday 29 June 2009 Cass Business School, 106 Bunhill Row, EC1Y 8TZ Exhibition: from 5.30pm ? Lower ground floor ? Talk: 6.30pm Room 2005, level 2 Book tickets for the talk (if you?re not already an IDA member, you can join now to get a discounted member ticket) http://www.amiando.com/IDAJune09 ** The Communication Benchmark Project A talk by David Sless The Communication Research Institute (CRI) has been undertaking benchmarking research in information design for 20 years. David Sless will explain some of the background to that work and some of their findings. Earlier this year CRI put together an international group of volunteers who have now completed the first of what they hope will be many future Communication Benchmark studies. The subject of this first study was credit card statements?a type of document that has attracted a lot of recent political interest worldwide, as a result of the current economic mess. David will share with you some of the results of this study and their implications for information design. http://communication.org.au/modules/home ** The Business Mystery MBA exhibition Please come along earlier in the evening to see the Business Mystery MBA work The Business Mystery MBA elective was conceived in 2004 with the aim of applying perspectives from the arts as a route to gaining insights into management problem solving. It involved treating the arts as a lens or perspective on management. It also overtly sought to redress the lack of right brain emphasis which is endemic to MBA programmes internationally. The course consists of 5 experiences on a theme and usually in a specific space, in 2009 these include the Barbican Art Gallery (Corbusier), the streets of London (Flow), A recording studio in Hackney (Composition), the Whitechapel Gallery (Integration) and the Drill Hall Theatre (Performance). It was decided from the very beginning that there would be avoidance of formal lectures, leading to the idea of ?learning without teaching?. Students are immersed in the experience and have to carry out site-specific tasks and achieve results by the end of each session. Coursework 1: Describe the experience in one specific week taking one of the following roles: critic; supporter; employer; response to cynics Coursework 2: Keep a continuous sketchbook of your learnings Coursework 3: Produce an artifact which sums up either the elective, the MBA year or your career The work will be on display at this end-of-term exhibition. ? Find the event on upcoming: http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/2869970 Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/InfodesignUK Find out more about the IDA: http://www.infodesign.org.uk Contact us: eventadmin at infodesign.org.uk From W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk Wed Jun 17 11:09:55 2009 From: W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk (Will Stahl-Timmins) Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 10:09:55 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: online PhD study - health decision task Message-ID: Hi folks, Thanks to everyone on the list who helped me source studies on the empirical evaluation of information graphics for my PhD. The relevant literature comes from a number of different areas, and it's been quite a challenge pulling enough together for my purposes. I've just put a small Flash-based decision task online to test which of the measurements that are commonly used in such studies might apply in my area of interest (health policy decision-making). If anyone would be prepared to have a go, I'd really appreciate it... The target audience is the internet-using general public, and I'm afraid that if you're reading this, you pretty much qualify... The link is here: www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/evaluation Please feel free to pass this on to anyone you feel might be interested. Many thanks, Will. ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com PenTAG Noy Scott House Peninsula Medical School RD&E Hospital (Wonford) Heavitree Exeter EX2 5DW UK -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090617/c335bbaf/attachment-0002.htm From dtp at she-philosopher.com Wed Jun 3 23:24:20 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:24:20 -0700 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: countergenres for ID In-Reply-To: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Hi, all -- This has nothing to do with information design -- except possibly as an example "countergenre" (a concept borrowed from the literary critic, Claudio Guill?n, author of _Literature as System_) -- but I thought the piece was really good, and would be of interest to others working with/in medical communications: Gawande, Atul. "The Cost Conundrum: What a Texas Town Can Teach Us about Health Care." _The New Yorker_, digital edn. for 1 June 2009. available online at http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/06/01/090601fa_fact_gawande Atul Gawande is a physician (specifically, a surgeon at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health) who has been writing for _The New Yorker_ (a U.S. literary mag known for its funny, quirky cartoons) for a while now. (Some of Gawande's earlier essays for _The New Yorker_ were re-printed in his books, _Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science_ [2002] and _Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance_ [2007].) This is an especially good piece, I believe, and while I was reading it, I couldn't help but think about how top-notch IDers might illustrate it differently! ;-) At any rate, the topic is an important one in the U.S., as we prepare to tackle health care reform this summer, and Gawande's treatment of the issues is, as always, both thoughtful and provocative (at least for USers, many of whom are ardent defenders of a mythical can-do entrepreneurial spirit, wherever it surfaces, and whatever the costs ;-). Also, Gawande was interviewed on International Public Radio's _Marketplace_ yesterday: "Why Health Care Costs Are So High," an interview with Dr. Atul Gawande. _Marketplace_, segment for Tuesday, June 2, 2009. http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/06/02/pm_health_care_costs_q/ Deborah (still desperately trying to finish another research project on C17 painting and visual rhetoric, before I can return to working on C17 calligraphy ... so, more delays ahead here :( ... sorry, but it can't be helped) _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From info at userdesign.co.uk Thu Jun 4 15:10:33 2009 From: info at userdesign.co.uk (info at userdesign.co.uk) Date: Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:10:33 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research Message-ID: <20090604141033.abelp6m3kkc0ck4w@webmail.userdesign.co.uk> - Trebuchet is a fairly accessible typeface, for instance the characters: l, I, 1, cl (d), rn (m), are all fairly well defined, unlike typefaces like: Arial or Myraid. - Preference based opinions will not lead to useful data, what do you want them to do? (CRI) - For typefaces: www.fonts.com, www.linotype.com, www.fontshop.com, www.adobe.com/type/. Kind regards Thomas User design Graphic communication design, illustration and production service W www.userdesign.co.uk E info at userdesign.co.uk --- On Tue, 26/5/09, katie at raincharm.co.uk wrote: > From: katie at raincharm.co.uk > Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research > To: infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > Date: Tuesday, 26 May, 2009, 2:43 PM > Hi > > I am working on a small project with a local council with > regard to the > accessibility and readability of their corporate font. They > currently use > Trebuchet but have been criticised by a local disability > organisation for > doing this. They say it is not accessible. As a result they > have engaged > my services to explore and gain opinions from others about > the general > accessibility of Trebuchet in comparison to other (mainly) > system fonts. > They are willing to consider moving to a new font but would > prefer this to > be a system font so that everyone in the organisation can > access it. I > have conducted some primary consultations via telephone and > email > opinion-based research. Before I send out mockups of fonts > chosen to trial > with selected user groups - these have been selected to > cover a range of > impairment, age and other audiences - I would like to ask > the following: > > i) what people think about Trebuchet with regard to > accessibility > ii) current preferred fonts re: accessibility. NB They are > also looking > for a font which has a good range of weights and a good xy > height > difference so please take this into consideration > iii) ideas on user testing to gain feedback - we are > planning to send each > user group a selection of fonts using the same text to ask > them which they > prefer and why. Has anyone carried out anything similar and > if so do you > have any advice on how to structure/phrase the questions? > > All comments/feedback gratefully received. > > With thanks > > Katie Grant > Raincharm Communications > www.raincharm.co.uk > 07971 909007 From r.waller at reading.ac.uk Mon Jun 8 15:28:21 2009 From: r.waller at reading.ac.uk (Rob Waller) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 14:28:21 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem Message-ID: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the proportational representation system used for the European Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you voted. In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm __________________________________ Rob Waller Department of Typography & Graphic Communication University of Reading -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090608/b8da4843/attachment-0013.htm From waarde at glo.be Mon Jun 8 16:38:06 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 16:38:06 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem In-Reply-To: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> References: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> Message-ID: Rob, Thanks for this information: I've just scanned the Dutch Ballot form (49,9 cm by 35,0 cm) as a reference. (If anyone wonders how I smuggled a scanner into the booth, I didn't. I'm living abroad and can only vote by mail.) I've uploaded the voting form on: http://users.telenet.be/waarde/Papers/DutchEU-votingform2009-2.jpg I'm not sure if these are clear and easy to use. I have several questions and qualms about these. [Two questions for those who download the form into their browsers: 1. Why are the 'parties with even numbers' positioned slightly below the parties with odd numbers. Does this 'dancing top line' have a meaning? 2. There is a small text below the names of some of the parties. It states: 'combined with list x (= gecombineerd met lijst x). List 1 is combined with list 6, list 2 is combined with list 4, list 3 is combined with list 7, list 4 is combined with list 2. Who exactly do I vote for if I cross position 13 on list 2 if I know that there are only 3 or 4 seats available?] Kind regards, Karel. waarde at glo.be >>> >In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the >proportational representation system used for the European >Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. >Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that >would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you >voted. > >In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on >the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: > >http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm > >__________________________________ > >Rob Waller >Department of Typography & Graphic Communication >University of Reading From waarde at glo.be Wed Jun 17 09:20:31 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:20:31 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: IDA event - 29 June - London: Exhibition & talk by David Sless In-Reply-To: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: ** IDA event - 29 June - London: Exhibition & talk by David Sless Following the success of IDC2009, we have two events on the evening of 29 June at The Cass Business School. The IDA's June meeting will be a talk by David Sless at 6.30pm, and there?s also a chance to see the Business Mystery MBA exhibition from 5.30pm ** Where & when Monday 29 June 2009 Cass Business School, 106 Bunhill Row, EC1Y 8TZ Exhibition: from 5.30pm ? Lower ground floor ? Talk: 6.30pm Room 2005, level 2 Book tickets for the talk (if you?re not already an IDA member, you can join now to get a discounted member ticket) http://www.amiando.com/IDAJune09 ** The Communication Benchmark Project A talk by David Sless The Communication Research Institute (CRI) has been undertaking benchmarking research in information design for 20 years. David Sless will explain some of the background to that work and some of their findings. Earlier this year CRI put together an international group of volunteers who have now completed the first of what they hope will be many future Communication Benchmark studies. The subject of this first study was credit card statements?a type of document that has attracted a lot of recent political interest worldwide, as a result of the current economic mess. David will share with you some of the results of this study and their implications for information design. http://communication.org.au/modules/home ** The Business Mystery MBA exhibition Please come along earlier in the evening to see the Business Mystery MBA work The Business Mystery MBA elective was conceived in 2004 with the aim of applying perspectives from the arts as a route to gaining insights into management problem solving. It involved treating the arts as a lens or perspective on management. It also overtly sought to redress the lack of right brain emphasis which is endemic to MBA programmes internationally. The course consists of 5 experiences on a theme and usually in a specific space, in 2009 these include the Barbican Art Gallery (Corbusier), the streets of London (Flow), A recording studio in Hackney (Composition), the Whitechapel Gallery (Integration) and the Drill Hall Theatre (Performance). It was decided from the very beginning that there would be avoidance of formal lectures, leading to the idea of ?learning without teaching?. Students are immersed in the experience and have to carry out site-specific tasks and achieve results by the end of each session. Coursework 1: Describe the experience in one specific week taking one of the following roles: critic; supporter; employer; response to cynics Coursework 2: Keep a continuous sketchbook of your learnings Coursework 3: Produce an artifact which sums up either the elective, the MBA year or your career The work will be on display at this end-of-term exhibition. ? Find the event on upcoming: http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/2869970 Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/InfodesignUK Find out more about the IDA: http://www.infodesign.org.uk Contact us: eventadmin at infodesign.org.uk From W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk Wed Jun 17 11:09:55 2009 From: W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk (Will Stahl-Timmins) Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 10:09:55 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: online PhD study - health decision task Message-ID: Hi folks, Thanks to everyone on the list who helped me source studies on the empirical evaluation of information graphics for my PhD. The relevant literature comes from a number of different areas, and it's been quite a challenge pulling enough together for my purposes. I've just put a small Flash-based decision task online to test which of the measurements that are commonly used in such studies might apply in my area of interest (health policy decision-making). If anyone would be prepared to have a go, I'd really appreciate it... The target audience is the internet-using general public, and I'm afraid that if you're reading this, you pretty much qualify... The link is here: www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/evaluation Please feel free to pass this on to anyone you feel might be interested. Many thanks, Will. ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com PenTAG Noy Scott House Peninsula Medical School RD&E Hospital (Wonford) Heavitree Exeter EX2 5DW UK -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090617/c335bbaf/attachment-0003.htm From dtp at she-philosopher.com Wed Jun 3 23:24:20 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:24:20 -0700 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: countergenres for ID In-Reply-To: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Hi, all -- This has nothing to do with information design -- except possibly as an example "countergenre" (a concept borrowed from the literary critic, Claudio Guill?n, author of _Literature as System_) -- but I thought the piece was really good, and would be of interest to others working with/in medical communications: Gawande, Atul. "The Cost Conundrum: What a Texas Town Can Teach Us about Health Care." _The New Yorker_, digital edn. for 1 June 2009. available online at http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/06/01/090601fa_fact_gawande Atul Gawande is a physician (specifically, a surgeon at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health) who has been writing for _The New Yorker_ (a U.S. literary mag known for its funny, quirky cartoons) for a while now. (Some of Gawande's earlier essays for _The New Yorker_ were re-printed in his books, _Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science_ [2002] and _Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance_ [2007].) This is an especially good piece, I believe, and while I was reading it, I couldn't help but think about how top-notch IDers might illustrate it differently! ;-) At any rate, the topic is an important one in the U.S., as we prepare to tackle health care reform this summer, and Gawande's treatment of the issues is, as always, both thoughtful and provocative (at least for USers, many of whom are ardent defenders of a mythical can-do entrepreneurial spirit, wherever it surfaces, and whatever the costs ;-). Also, Gawande was interviewed on International Public Radio's _Marketplace_ yesterday: "Why Health Care Costs Are So High," an interview with Dr. Atul Gawande. _Marketplace_, segment for Tuesday, June 2, 2009. http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/06/02/pm_health_care_costs_q/ Deborah (still desperately trying to finish another research project on C17 painting and visual rhetoric, before I can return to working on C17 calligraphy ... so, more delays ahead here :( ... sorry, but it can't be helped) _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From info at userdesign.co.uk Thu Jun 4 15:10:33 2009 From: info at userdesign.co.uk (info at userdesign.co.uk) Date: Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:10:33 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research Message-ID: <20090604141033.abelp6m3kkc0ck4w@webmail.userdesign.co.uk> - Trebuchet is a fairly accessible typeface, for instance the characters: l, I, 1, cl (d), rn (m), are all fairly well defined, unlike typefaces like: Arial or Myraid. - Preference based opinions will not lead to useful data, what do you want them to do? (CRI) - For typefaces: www.fonts.com, www.linotype.com, www.fontshop.com, www.adobe.com/type/. Kind regards Thomas User design Graphic communication design, illustration and production service W www.userdesign.co.uk E info at userdesign.co.uk --- On Tue, 26/5/09, katie at raincharm.co.uk wrote: > From: katie at raincharm.co.uk > Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research > To: infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > Date: Tuesday, 26 May, 2009, 2:43 PM > Hi > > I am working on a small project with a local council with > regard to the > accessibility and readability of their corporate font. They > currently use > Trebuchet but have been criticised by a local disability > organisation for > doing this. They say it is not accessible. As a result they > have engaged > my services to explore and gain opinions from others about > the general > accessibility of Trebuchet in comparison to other (mainly) > system fonts. > They are willing to consider moving to a new font but would > prefer this to > be a system font so that everyone in the organisation can > access it. I > have conducted some primary consultations via telephone and > email > opinion-based research. Before I send out mockups of fonts > chosen to trial > with selected user groups - these have been selected to > cover a range of > impairment, age and other audiences - I would like to ask > the following: > > i) what people think about Trebuchet with regard to > accessibility > ii) current preferred fonts re: accessibility. NB They are > also looking > for a font which has a good range of weights and a good xy > height > difference so please take this into consideration > iii) ideas on user testing to gain feedback - we are > planning to send each > user group a selection of fonts using the same text to ask > them which they > prefer and why. Has anyone carried out anything similar and > if so do you > have any advice on how to structure/phrase the questions? > > All comments/feedback gratefully received. > > With thanks > > Katie Grant > Raincharm Communications > www.raincharm.co.uk > 07971 909007 From r.waller at reading.ac.uk Mon Jun 8 15:28:21 2009 From: r.waller at reading.ac.uk (Rob Waller) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 14:28:21 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem Message-ID: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the proportational representation system used for the European Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you voted. In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm __________________________________ Rob Waller Department of Typography & Graphic Communication University of Reading -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090608/b8da4843/attachment-0014.htm From waarde at glo.be Mon Jun 8 16:38:06 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 16:38:06 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem In-Reply-To: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> References: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> Message-ID: Rob, Thanks for this information: I've just scanned the Dutch Ballot form (49,9 cm by 35,0 cm) as a reference. (If anyone wonders how I smuggled a scanner into the booth, I didn't. I'm living abroad and can only vote by mail.) I've uploaded the voting form on: http://users.telenet.be/waarde/Papers/DutchEU-votingform2009-2.jpg I'm not sure if these are clear and easy to use. I have several questions and qualms about these. [Two questions for those who download the form into their browsers: 1. Why are the 'parties with even numbers' positioned slightly below the parties with odd numbers. Does this 'dancing top line' have a meaning? 2. There is a small text below the names of some of the parties. It states: 'combined with list x (= gecombineerd met lijst x). List 1 is combined with list 6, list 2 is combined with list 4, list 3 is combined with list 7, list 4 is combined with list 2. Who exactly do I vote for if I cross position 13 on list 2 if I know that there are only 3 or 4 seats available?] Kind regards, Karel. waarde at glo.be >>> >In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the >proportational representation system used for the European >Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. >Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that >would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you >voted. > >In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on >the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: > >http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm > >__________________________________ > >Rob Waller >Department of Typography & Graphic Communication >University of Reading From waarde at glo.be Wed Jun 17 09:20:31 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:20:31 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: IDA event - 29 June - London: Exhibition & talk by David Sless In-Reply-To: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: ** IDA event - 29 June - London: Exhibition & talk by David Sless Following the success of IDC2009, we have two events on the evening of 29 June at The Cass Business School. The IDA's June meeting will be a talk by David Sless at 6.30pm, and there?s also a chance to see the Business Mystery MBA exhibition from 5.30pm ** Where & when Monday 29 June 2009 Cass Business School, 106 Bunhill Row, EC1Y 8TZ Exhibition: from 5.30pm ? Lower ground floor ? Talk: 6.30pm Room 2005, level 2 Book tickets for the talk (if you?re not already an IDA member, you can join now to get a discounted member ticket) http://www.amiando.com/IDAJune09 ** The Communication Benchmark Project A talk by David Sless The Communication Research Institute (CRI) has been undertaking benchmarking research in information design for 20 years. David Sless will explain some of the background to that work and some of their findings. Earlier this year CRI put together an international group of volunteers who have now completed the first of what they hope will be many future Communication Benchmark studies. The subject of this first study was credit card statements?a type of document that has attracted a lot of recent political interest worldwide, as a result of the current economic mess. David will share with you some of the results of this study and their implications for information design. http://communication.org.au/modules/home ** The Business Mystery MBA exhibition Please come along earlier in the evening to see the Business Mystery MBA work The Business Mystery MBA elective was conceived in 2004 with the aim of applying perspectives from the arts as a route to gaining insights into management problem solving. It involved treating the arts as a lens or perspective on management. It also overtly sought to redress the lack of right brain emphasis which is endemic to MBA programmes internationally. The course consists of 5 experiences on a theme and usually in a specific space, in 2009 these include the Barbican Art Gallery (Corbusier), the streets of London (Flow), A recording studio in Hackney (Composition), the Whitechapel Gallery (Integration) and the Drill Hall Theatre (Performance). It was decided from the very beginning that there would be avoidance of formal lectures, leading to the idea of ?learning without teaching?. Students are immersed in the experience and have to carry out site-specific tasks and achieve results by the end of each session. Coursework 1: Describe the experience in one specific week taking one of the following roles: critic; supporter; employer; response to cynics Coursework 2: Keep a continuous sketchbook of your learnings Coursework 3: Produce an artifact which sums up either the elective, the MBA year or your career The work will be on display at this end-of-term exhibition. ? Find the event on upcoming: http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/2869970 Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/InfodesignUK Find out more about the IDA: http://www.infodesign.org.uk Contact us: eventadmin at infodesign.org.uk From W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk Wed Jun 17 11:09:55 2009 From: W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk (Will Stahl-Timmins) Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 10:09:55 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: online PhD study - health decision task Message-ID: Hi folks, Thanks to everyone on the list who helped me source studies on the empirical evaluation of information graphics for my PhD. The relevant literature comes from a number of different areas, and it's been quite a challenge pulling enough together for my purposes. I've just put a small Flash-based decision task online to test which of the measurements that are commonly used in such studies might apply in my area of interest (health policy decision-making). If anyone would be prepared to have a go, I'd really appreciate it... The target audience is the internet-using general public, and I'm afraid that if you're reading this, you pretty much qualify... The link is here: www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/evaluation Please feel free to pass this on to anyone you feel might be interested. Many thanks, Will. ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com PenTAG Noy Scott House Peninsula Medical School RD&E Hospital (Wonford) Heavitree Exeter EX2 5DW UK -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090617/c335bbaf/attachment-0004.htm From dtp at she-philosopher.com Wed Jun 3 23:24:20 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:24:20 -0700 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: countergenres for ID In-Reply-To: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Hi, all -- This has nothing to do with information design -- except possibly as an example "countergenre" (a concept borrowed from the literary critic, Claudio Guill?n, author of _Literature as System_) -- but I thought the piece was really good, and would be of interest to others working with/in medical communications: Gawande, Atul. "The Cost Conundrum: What a Texas Town Can Teach Us about Health Care." _The New Yorker_, digital edn. for 1 June 2009. available online at http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/06/01/090601fa_fact_gawande Atul Gawande is a physician (specifically, a surgeon at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health) who has been writing for _The New Yorker_ (a U.S. literary mag known for its funny, quirky cartoons) for a while now. (Some of Gawande's earlier essays for _The New Yorker_ were re-printed in his books, _Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science_ [2002] and _Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance_ [2007].) This is an especially good piece, I believe, and while I was reading it, I couldn't help but think about how top-notch IDers might illustrate it differently! ;-) At any rate, the topic is an important one in the U.S., as we prepare to tackle health care reform this summer, and Gawande's treatment of the issues is, as always, both thoughtful and provocative (at least for USers, many of whom are ardent defenders of a mythical can-do entrepreneurial spirit, wherever it surfaces, and whatever the costs ;-). Also, Gawande was interviewed on International Public Radio's _Marketplace_ yesterday: "Why Health Care Costs Are So High," an interview with Dr. Atul Gawande. _Marketplace_, segment for Tuesday, June 2, 2009. http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/06/02/pm_health_care_costs_q/ Deborah (still desperately trying to finish another research project on C17 painting and visual rhetoric, before I can return to working on C17 calligraphy ... so, more delays ahead here :( ... sorry, but it can't be helped) _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From info at userdesign.co.uk Thu Jun 4 15:10:33 2009 From: info at userdesign.co.uk (info at userdesign.co.uk) Date: Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:10:33 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research Message-ID: <20090604141033.abelp6m3kkc0ck4w@webmail.userdesign.co.uk> - Trebuchet is a fairly accessible typeface, for instance the characters: l, I, 1, cl (d), rn (m), are all fairly well defined, unlike typefaces like: Arial or Myraid. - Preference based opinions will not lead to useful data, what do you want them to do? (CRI) - For typefaces: www.fonts.com, www.linotype.com, www.fontshop.com, www.adobe.com/type/. Kind regards Thomas User design Graphic communication design, illustration and production service W www.userdesign.co.uk E info at userdesign.co.uk --- On Tue, 26/5/09, katie at raincharm.co.uk wrote: > From: katie at raincharm.co.uk > Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research > To: infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > Date: Tuesday, 26 May, 2009, 2:43 PM > Hi > > I am working on a small project with a local council with > regard to the > accessibility and readability of their corporate font. They > currently use > Trebuchet but have been criticised by a local disability > organisation for > doing this. They say it is not accessible. As a result they > have engaged > my services to explore and gain opinions from others about > the general > accessibility of Trebuchet in comparison to other (mainly) > system fonts. > They are willing to consider moving to a new font but would > prefer this to > be a system font so that everyone in the organisation can > access it. I > have conducted some primary consultations via telephone and > email > opinion-based research. Before I send out mockups of fonts > chosen to trial > with selected user groups - these have been selected to > cover a range of > impairment, age and other audiences - I would like to ask > the following: > > i) what people think about Trebuchet with regard to > accessibility > ii) current preferred fonts re: accessibility. NB They are > also looking > for a font which has a good range of weights and a good xy > height > difference so please take this into consideration > iii) ideas on user testing to gain feedback - we are > planning to send each > user group a selection of fonts using the same text to ask > them which they > prefer and why. Has anyone carried out anything similar and > if so do you > have any advice on how to structure/phrase the questions? > > All comments/feedback gratefully received. > > With thanks > > Katie Grant > Raincharm Communications > www.raincharm.co.uk > 07971 909007 From r.waller at reading.ac.uk Mon Jun 8 15:28:21 2009 From: r.waller at reading.ac.uk (Rob Waller) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 14:28:21 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem Message-ID: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the proportational representation system used for the European Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you voted. In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm __________________________________ Rob Waller Department of Typography & Graphic Communication University of Reading -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090608/b8da4843/attachment-0015.htm From waarde at glo.be Mon Jun 8 16:38:06 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 16:38:06 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem In-Reply-To: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> References: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> Message-ID: Rob, Thanks for this information: I've just scanned the Dutch Ballot form (49,9 cm by 35,0 cm) as a reference. (If anyone wonders how I smuggled a scanner into the booth, I didn't. I'm living abroad and can only vote by mail.) I've uploaded the voting form on: http://users.telenet.be/waarde/Papers/DutchEU-votingform2009-2.jpg I'm not sure if these are clear and easy to use. I have several questions and qualms about these. [Two questions for those who download the form into their browsers: 1. Why are the 'parties with even numbers' positioned slightly below the parties with odd numbers. Does this 'dancing top line' have a meaning? 2. There is a small text below the names of some of the parties. It states: 'combined with list x (= gecombineerd met lijst x). List 1 is combined with list 6, list 2 is combined with list 4, list 3 is combined with list 7, list 4 is combined with list 2. Who exactly do I vote for if I cross position 13 on list 2 if I know that there are only 3 or 4 seats available?] Kind regards, Karel. waarde at glo.be >>> >In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the >proportational representation system used for the European >Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. >Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that >would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you >voted. > >In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on >the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: > >http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm > >__________________________________ > >Rob Waller >Department of Typography & Graphic Communication >University of Reading From waarde at glo.be Wed Jun 17 09:20:31 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:20:31 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: IDA event - 29 June - London: Exhibition & talk by David Sless In-Reply-To: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: ** IDA event - 29 June - London: Exhibition & talk by David Sless Following the success of IDC2009, we have two events on the evening of 29 June at The Cass Business School. The IDA's June meeting will be a talk by David Sless at 6.30pm, and there?s also a chance to see the Business Mystery MBA exhibition from 5.30pm ** Where & when Monday 29 June 2009 Cass Business School, 106 Bunhill Row, EC1Y 8TZ Exhibition: from 5.30pm ? Lower ground floor ? Talk: 6.30pm Room 2005, level 2 Book tickets for the talk (if you?re not already an IDA member, you can join now to get a discounted member ticket) http://www.amiando.com/IDAJune09 ** The Communication Benchmark Project A talk by David Sless The Communication Research Institute (CRI) has been undertaking benchmarking research in information design for 20 years. David Sless will explain some of the background to that work and some of their findings. Earlier this year CRI put together an international group of volunteers who have now completed the first of what they hope will be many future Communication Benchmark studies. The subject of this first study was credit card statements?a type of document that has attracted a lot of recent political interest worldwide, as a result of the current economic mess. David will share with you some of the results of this study and their implications for information design. http://communication.org.au/modules/home ** The Business Mystery MBA exhibition Please come along earlier in the evening to see the Business Mystery MBA work The Business Mystery MBA elective was conceived in 2004 with the aim of applying perspectives from the arts as a route to gaining insights into management problem solving. It involved treating the arts as a lens or perspective on management. It also overtly sought to redress the lack of right brain emphasis which is endemic to MBA programmes internationally. The course consists of 5 experiences on a theme and usually in a specific space, in 2009 these include the Barbican Art Gallery (Corbusier), the streets of London (Flow), A recording studio in Hackney (Composition), the Whitechapel Gallery (Integration) and the Drill Hall Theatre (Performance). It was decided from the very beginning that there would be avoidance of formal lectures, leading to the idea of ?learning without teaching?. Students are immersed in the experience and have to carry out site-specific tasks and achieve results by the end of each session. Coursework 1: Describe the experience in one specific week taking one of the following roles: critic; supporter; employer; response to cynics Coursework 2: Keep a continuous sketchbook of your learnings Coursework 3: Produce an artifact which sums up either the elective, the MBA year or your career The work will be on display at this end-of-term exhibition. ? Find the event on upcoming: http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/2869970 Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/InfodesignUK Find out more about the IDA: http://www.infodesign.org.uk Contact us: eventadmin at infodesign.org.uk From W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk Wed Jun 17 11:09:55 2009 From: W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk (Will Stahl-Timmins) Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 10:09:55 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: online PhD study - health decision task Message-ID: Hi folks, Thanks to everyone on the list who helped me source studies on the empirical evaluation of information graphics for my PhD. The relevant literature comes from a number of different areas, and it's been quite a challenge pulling enough together for my purposes. I've just put a small Flash-based decision task online to test which of the measurements that are commonly used in such studies might apply in my area of interest (health policy decision-making). If anyone would be prepared to have a go, I'd really appreciate it... The target audience is the internet-using general public, and I'm afraid that if you're reading this, you pretty much qualify... The link is here: www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/evaluation Please feel free to pass this on to anyone you feel might be interested. Many thanks, Will. ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com PenTAG Noy Scott House Peninsula Medical School RD&E Hospital (Wonford) Heavitree Exeter EX2 5DW UK -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090617/c335bbaf/attachment-0005.htm From dtp at she-philosopher.com Wed Jun 3 23:24:20 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:24:20 -0700 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: countergenres for ID In-Reply-To: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Hi, all -- This has nothing to do with information design -- except possibly as an example "countergenre" (a concept borrowed from the literary critic, Claudio Guill?n, author of _Literature as System_) -- but I thought the piece was really good, and would be of interest to others working with/in medical communications: Gawande, Atul. "The Cost Conundrum: What a Texas Town Can Teach Us about Health Care." _The New Yorker_, digital edn. for 1 June 2009. available online at http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/06/01/090601fa_fact_gawande Atul Gawande is a physician (specifically, a surgeon at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health) who has been writing for _The New Yorker_ (a U.S. literary mag known for its funny, quirky cartoons) for a while now. (Some of Gawande's earlier essays for _The New Yorker_ were re-printed in his books, _Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science_ [2002] and _Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance_ [2007].) This is an especially good piece, I believe, and while I was reading it, I couldn't help but think about how top-notch IDers might illustrate it differently! ;-) At any rate, the topic is an important one in the U.S., as we prepare to tackle health care reform this summer, and Gawande's treatment of the issues is, as always, both thoughtful and provocative (at least for USers, many of whom are ardent defenders of a mythical can-do entrepreneurial spirit, wherever it surfaces, and whatever the costs ;-). Also, Gawande was interviewed on International Public Radio's _Marketplace_ yesterday: "Why Health Care Costs Are So High," an interview with Dr. Atul Gawande. _Marketplace_, segment for Tuesday, June 2, 2009. http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/06/02/pm_health_care_costs_q/ Deborah (still desperately trying to finish another research project on C17 painting and visual rhetoric, before I can return to working on C17 calligraphy ... so, more delays ahead here :( ... sorry, but it can't be helped) _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From info at userdesign.co.uk Thu Jun 4 15:10:33 2009 From: info at userdesign.co.uk (info at userdesign.co.uk) Date: Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:10:33 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research Message-ID: <20090604141033.abelp6m3kkc0ck4w@webmail.userdesign.co.uk> - Trebuchet is a fairly accessible typeface, for instance the characters: l, I, 1, cl (d), rn (m), are all fairly well defined, unlike typefaces like: Arial or Myraid. - Preference based opinions will not lead to useful data, what do you want them to do? (CRI) - For typefaces: www.fonts.com, www.linotype.com, www.fontshop.com, www.adobe.com/type/. Kind regards Thomas User design Graphic communication design, illustration and production service W www.userdesign.co.uk E info at userdesign.co.uk --- On Tue, 26/5/09, katie at raincharm.co.uk wrote: > From: katie at raincharm.co.uk > Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research > To: infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > Date: Tuesday, 26 May, 2009, 2:43 PM > Hi > > I am working on a small project with a local council with > regard to the > accessibility and readability of their corporate font. They > currently use > Trebuchet but have been criticised by a local disability > organisation for > doing this. They say it is not accessible. As a result they > have engaged > my services to explore and gain opinions from others about > the general > accessibility of Trebuchet in comparison to other (mainly) > system fonts. > They are willing to consider moving to a new font but would > prefer this to > be a system font so that everyone in the organisation can > access it. I > have conducted some primary consultations via telephone and > email > opinion-based research. Before I send out mockups of fonts > chosen to trial > with selected user groups - these have been selected to > cover a range of > impairment, age and other audiences - I would like to ask > the following: > > i) what people think about Trebuchet with regard to > accessibility > ii) current preferred fonts re: accessibility. NB They are > also looking > for a font which has a good range of weights and a good xy > height > difference so please take this into consideration > iii) ideas on user testing to gain feedback - we are > planning to send each > user group a selection of fonts using the same text to ask > them which they > prefer and why. Has anyone carried out anything similar and > if so do you > have any advice on how to structure/phrase the questions? > > All comments/feedback gratefully received. > > With thanks > > Katie Grant > Raincharm Communications > www.raincharm.co.uk > 07971 909007 From r.waller at reading.ac.uk Mon Jun 8 15:28:21 2009 From: r.waller at reading.ac.uk (Rob Waller) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 14:28:21 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem Message-ID: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the proportational representation system used for the European Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you voted. In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm __________________________________ Rob Waller Department of Typography & Graphic Communication University of Reading -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090608/b8da4843/attachment-0016.htm From waarde at glo.be Mon Jun 8 16:38:06 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 16:38:06 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem In-Reply-To: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> References: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> Message-ID: Rob, Thanks for this information: I've just scanned the Dutch Ballot form (49,9 cm by 35,0 cm) as a reference. (If anyone wonders how I smuggled a scanner into the booth, I didn't. I'm living abroad and can only vote by mail.) I've uploaded the voting form on: http://users.telenet.be/waarde/Papers/DutchEU-votingform2009-2.jpg I'm not sure if these are clear and easy to use. I have several questions and qualms about these. [Two questions for those who download the form into their browsers: 1. Why are the 'parties with even numbers' positioned slightly below the parties with odd numbers. Does this 'dancing top line' have a meaning? 2. There is a small text below the names of some of the parties. It states: 'combined with list x (= gecombineerd met lijst x). List 1 is combined with list 6, list 2 is combined with list 4, list 3 is combined with list 7, list 4 is combined with list 2. Who exactly do I vote for if I cross position 13 on list 2 if I know that there are only 3 or 4 seats available?] Kind regards, Karel. waarde at glo.be >>> >In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the >proportational representation system used for the European >Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. >Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that >would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you >voted. > >In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on >the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: > >http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm > >__________________________________ > >Rob Waller >Department of Typography & Graphic Communication >University of Reading From waarde at glo.be Wed Jun 17 09:20:31 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:20:31 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: IDA event - 29 June - London: Exhibition & talk by David Sless In-Reply-To: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: ** IDA event - 29 June - London: Exhibition & talk by David Sless Following the success of IDC2009, we have two events on the evening of 29 June at The Cass Business School. The IDA's June meeting will be a talk by David Sless at 6.30pm, and there?s also a chance to see the Business Mystery MBA exhibition from 5.30pm ** Where & when Monday 29 June 2009 Cass Business School, 106 Bunhill Row, EC1Y 8TZ Exhibition: from 5.30pm ? Lower ground floor ? Talk: 6.30pm Room 2005, level 2 Book tickets for the talk (if you?re not already an IDA member, you can join now to get a discounted member ticket) http://www.amiando.com/IDAJune09 ** The Communication Benchmark Project A talk by David Sless The Communication Research Institute (CRI) has been undertaking benchmarking research in information design for 20 years. David Sless will explain some of the background to that work and some of their findings. Earlier this year CRI put together an international group of volunteers who have now completed the first of what they hope will be many future Communication Benchmark studies. The subject of this first study was credit card statements?a type of document that has attracted a lot of recent political interest worldwide, as a result of the current economic mess. David will share with you some of the results of this study and their implications for information design. http://communication.org.au/modules/home ** The Business Mystery MBA exhibition Please come along earlier in the evening to see the Business Mystery MBA work The Business Mystery MBA elective was conceived in 2004 with the aim of applying perspectives from the arts as a route to gaining insights into management problem solving. It involved treating the arts as a lens or perspective on management. It also overtly sought to redress the lack of right brain emphasis which is endemic to MBA programmes internationally. The course consists of 5 experiences on a theme and usually in a specific space, in 2009 these include the Barbican Art Gallery (Corbusier), the streets of London (Flow), A recording studio in Hackney (Composition), the Whitechapel Gallery (Integration) and the Drill Hall Theatre (Performance). It was decided from the very beginning that there would be avoidance of formal lectures, leading to the idea of ?learning without teaching?. Students are immersed in the experience and have to carry out site-specific tasks and achieve results by the end of each session. Coursework 1: Describe the experience in one specific week taking one of the following roles: critic; supporter; employer; response to cynics Coursework 2: Keep a continuous sketchbook of your learnings Coursework 3: Produce an artifact which sums up either the elective, the MBA year or your career The work will be on display at this end-of-term exhibition. ? Find the event on upcoming: http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/2869970 Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/InfodesignUK Find out more about the IDA: http://www.infodesign.org.uk Contact us: eventadmin at infodesign.org.uk From W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk Wed Jun 17 11:09:55 2009 From: W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk (Will Stahl-Timmins) Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 10:09:55 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: online PhD study - health decision task Message-ID: Hi folks, Thanks to everyone on the list who helped me source studies on the empirical evaluation of information graphics for my PhD. The relevant literature comes from a number of different areas, and it's been quite a challenge pulling enough together for my purposes. I've just put a small Flash-based decision task online to test which of the measurements that are commonly used in such studies might apply in my area of interest (health policy decision-making). If anyone would be prepared to have a go, I'd really appreciate it... The target audience is the internet-using general public, and I'm afraid that if you're reading this, you pretty much qualify... The link is here: www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/evaluation Please feel free to pass this on to anyone you feel might be interested. Many thanks, Will. ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com PenTAG Noy Scott House Peninsula Medical School RD&E Hospital (Wonford) Heavitree Exeter EX2 5DW UK -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090617/c335bbaf/attachment-0006.htm From dtp at she-philosopher.com Wed Jun 3 23:24:20 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:24:20 -0700 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: countergenres for ID In-Reply-To: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Hi, all -- This has nothing to do with information design -- except possibly as an example "countergenre" (a concept borrowed from the literary critic, Claudio Guill?n, author of _Literature as System_) -- but I thought the piece was really good, and would be of interest to others working with/in medical communications: Gawande, Atul. "The Cost Conundrum: What a Texas Town Can Teach Us about Health Care." _The New Yorker_, digital edn. for 1 June 2009. available online at http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/06/01/090601fa_fact_gawande Atul Gawande is a physician (specifically, a surgeon at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health) who has been writing for _The New Yorker_ (a U.S. literary mag known for its funny, quirky cartoons) for a while now. (Some of Gawande's earlier essays for _The New Yorker_ were re-printed in his books, _Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science_ [2002] and _Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance_ [2007].) This is an especially good piece, I believe, and while I was reading it, I couldn't help but think about how top-notch IDers might illustrate it differently! ;-) At any rate, the topic is an important one in the U.S., as we prepare to tackle health care reform this summer, and Gawande's treatment of the issues is, as always, both thoughtful and provocative (at least for USers, many of whom are ardent defenders of a mythical can-do entrepreneurial spirit, wherever it surfaces, and whatever the costs ;-). Also, Gawande was interviewed on International Public Radio's _Marketplace_ yesterday: "Why Health Care Costs Are So High," an interview with Dr. Atul Gawande. _Marketplace_, segment for Tuesday, June 2, 2009. http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/06/02/pm_health_care_costs_q/ Deborah (still desperately trying to finish another research project on C17 painting and visual rhetoric, before I can return to working on C17 calligraphy ... so, more delays ahead here :( ... sorry, but it can't be helped) _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From info at userdesign.co.uk Thu Jun 4 15:10:33 2009 From: info at userdesign.co.uk (info at userdesign.co.uk) Date: Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:10:33 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research Message-ID: <20090604141033.abelp6m3kkc0ck4w@webmail.userdesign.co.uk> - Trebuchet is a fairly accessible typeface, for instance the characters: l, I, 1, cl (d), rn (m), are all fairly well defined, unlike typefaces like: Arial or Myraid. - Preference based opinions will not lead to useful data, what do you want them to do? (CRI) - For typefaces: www.fonts.com, www.linotype.com, www.fontshop.com, www.adobe.com/type/. Kind regards Thomas User design Graphic communication design, illustration and production service W www.userdesign.co.uk E info at userdesign.co.uk --- On Tue, 26/5/09, katie at raincharm.co.uk wrote: > From: katie at raincharm.co.uk > Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research > To: infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > Date: Tuesday, 26 May, 2009, 2:43 PM > Hi > > I am working on a small project with a local council with > regard to the > accessibility and readability of their corporate font. They > currently use > Trebuchet but have been criticised by a local disability > organisation for > doing this. They say it is not accessible. As a result they > have engaged > my services to explore and gain opinions from others about > the general > accessibility of Trebuchet in comparison to other (mainly) > system fonts. > They are willing to consider moving to a new font but would > prefer this to > be a system font so that everyone in the organisation can > access it. I > have conducted some primary consultations via telephone and > email > opinion-based research. Before I send out mockups of fonts > chosen to trial > with selected user groups - these have been selected to > cover a range of > impairment, age and other audiences - I would like to ask > the following: > > i) what people think about Trebuchet with regard to > accessibility > ii) current preferred fonts re: accessibility. NB They are > also looking > for a font which has a good range of weights and a good xy > height > difference so please take this into consideration > iii) ideas on user testing to gain feedback - we are > planning to send each > user group a selection of fonts using the same text to ask > them which they > prefer and why. Has anyone carried out anything similar and > if so do you > have any advice on how to structure/phrase the questions? > > All comments/feedback gratefully received. > > With thanks > > Katie Grant > Raincharm Communications > www.raincharm.co.uk > 07971 909007 From r.waller at reading.ac.uk Mon Jun 8 15:28:21 2009 From: r.waller at reading.ac.uk (Rob Waller) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 14:28:21 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem Message-ID: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the proportational representation system used for the European Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you voted. In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm __________________________________ Rob Waller Department of Typography & Graphic Communication University of Reading -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090608/b8da4843/attachment-0017.htm From waarde at glo.be Mon Jun 8 16:38:06 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 16:38:06 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem In-Reply-To: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> References: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> Message-ID: Rob, Thanks for this information: I've just scanned the Dutch Ballot form (49,9 cm by 35,0 cm) as a reference. (If anyone wonders how I smuggled a scanner into the booth, I didn't. I'm living abroad and can only vote by mail.) I've uploaded the voting form on: http://users.telenet.be/waarde/Papers/DutchEU-votingform2009-2.jpg I'm not sure if these are clear and easy to use. I have several questions and qualms about these. [Two questions for those who download the form into their browsers: 1. Why are the 'parties with even numbers' positioned slightly below the parties with odd numbers. Does this 'dancing top line' have a meaning? 2. There is a small text below the names of some of the parties. It states: 'combined with list x (= gecombineerd met lijst x). List 1 is combined with list 6, list 2 is combined with list 4, list 3 is combined with list 7, list 4 is combined with list 2. Who exactly do I vote for if I cross position 13 on list 2 if I know that there are only 3 or 4 seats available?] Kind regards, Karel. waarde at glo.be >>> >In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the >proportational representation system used for the European >Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. >Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that >would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you >voted. > >In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on >the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: > >http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm > >__________________________________ > >Rob Waller >Department of Typography & Graphic Communication >University of Reading From waarde at glo.be Wed Jun 17 09:20:31 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:20:31 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: IDA event - 29 June - London: Exhibition & talk by David Sless In-Reply-To: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: ** IDA event - 29 June - London: Exhibition & talk by David Sless Following the success of IDC2009, we have two events on the evening of 29 June at The Cass Business School. The IDA's June meeting will be a talk by David Sless at 6.30pm, and there?s also a chance to see the Business Mystery MBA exhibition from 5.30pm ** Where & when Monday 29 June 2009 Cass Business School, 106 Bunhill Row, EC1Y 8TZ Exhibition: from 5.30pm ? Lower ground floor ? Talk: 6.30pm Room 2005, level 2 Book tickets for the talk (if you?re not already an IDA member, you can join now to get a discounted member ticket) http://www.amiando.com/IDAJune09 ** The Communication Benchmark Project A talk by David Sless The Communication Research Institute (CRI) has been undertaking benchmarking research in information design for 20 years. David Sless will explain some of the background to that work and some of their findings. Earlier this year CRI put together an international group of volunteers who have now completed the first of what they hope will be many future Communication Benchmark studies. The subject of this first study was credit card statements?a type of document that has attracted a lot of recent political interest worldwide, as a result of the current economic mess. David will share with you some of the results of this study and their implications for information design. http://communication.org.au/modules/home ** The Business Mystery MBA exhibition Please come along earlier in the evening to see the Business Mystery MBA work The Business Mystery MBA elective was conceived in 2004 with the aim of applying perspectives from the arts as a route to gaining insights into management problem solving. It involved treating the arts as a lens or perspective on management. It also overtly sought to redress the lack of right brain emphasis which is endemic to MBA programmes internationally. The course consists of 5 experiences on a theme and usually in a specific space, in 2009 these include the Barbican Art Gallery (Corbusier), the streets of London (Flow), A recording studio in Hackney (Composition), the Whitechapel Gallery (Integration) and the Drill Hall Theatre (Performance). It was decided from the very beginning that there would be avoidance of formal lectures, leading to the idea of ?learning without teaching?. Students are immersed in the experience and have to carry out site-specific tasks and achieve results by the end of each session. Coursework 1: Describe the experience in one specific week taking one of the following roles: critic; supporter; employer; response to cynics Coursework 2: Keep a continuous sketchbook of your learnings Coursework 3: Produce an artifact which sums up either the elective, the MBA year or your career The work will be on display at this end-of-term exhibition. ? Find the event on upcoming: http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/2869970 Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/InfodesignUK Find out more about the IDA: http://www.infodesign.org.uk Contact us: eventadmin at infodesign.org.uk From W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk Wed Jun 17 11:09:55 2009 From: W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk (Will Stahl-Timmins) Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 10:09:55 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: online PhD study - health decision task Message-ID: Hi folks, Thanks to everyone on the list who helped me source studies on the empirical evaluation of information graphics for my PhD. The relevant literature comes from a number of different areas, and it's been quite a challenge pulling enough together for my purposes. I've just put a small Flash-based decision task online to test which of the measurements that are commonly used in such studies might apply in my area of interest (health policy decision-making). If anyone would be prepared to have a go, I'd really appreciate it... The target audience is the internet-using general public, and I'm afraid that if you're reading this, you pretty much qualify... The link is here: www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/evaluation Please feel free to pass this on to anyone you feel might be interested. Many thanks, Will. ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com PenTAG Noy Scott House Peninsula Medical School RD&E Hospital (Wonford) Heavitree Exeter EX2 5DW UK -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090617/c335bbaf/attachment-0007.htm From dtp at she-philosopher.com Wed Jun 3 23:24:20 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:24:20 -0700 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: countergenres for ID In-Reply-To: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Hi, all -- This has nothing to do with information design -- except possibly as an example "countergenre" (a concept borrowed from the literary critic, Claudio Guill?n, author of _Literature as System_) -- but I thought the piece was really good, and would be of interest to others working with/in medical communications: Gawande, Atul. "The Cost Conundrum: What a Texas Town Can Teach Us about Health Care." _The New Yorker_, digital edn. for 1 June 2009. available online at http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/06/01/090601fa_fact_gawande Atul Gawande is a physician (specifically, a surgeon at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health) who has been writing for _The New Yorker_ (a U.S. literary mag known for its funny, quirky cartoons) for a while now. (Some of Gawande's earlier essays for _The New Yorker_ were re-printed in his books, _Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science_ [2002] and _Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance_ [2007].) This is an especially good piece, I believe, and while I was reading it, I couldn't help but think about how top-notch IDers might illustrate it differently! ;-) At any rate, the topic is an important one in the U.S., as we prepare to tackle health care reform this summer, and Gawande's treatment of the issues is, as always, both thoughtful and provocative (at least for USers, many of whom are ardent defenders of a mythical can-do entrepreneurial spirit, wherever it surfaces, and whatever the costs ;-). Also, Gawande was interviewed on International Public Radio's _Marketplace_ yesterday: "Why Health Care Costs Are So High," an interview with Dr. Atul Gawande. _Marketplace_, segment for Tuesday, June 2, 2009. http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/06/02/pm_health_care_costs_q/ Deborah (still desperately trying to finish another research project on C17 painting and visual rhetoric, before I can return to working on C17 calligraphy ... so, more delays ahead here :( ... sorry, but it can't be helped) _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From info at userdesign.co.uk Thu Jun 4 15:10:33 2009 From: info at userdesign.co.uk (info at userdesign.co.uk) Date: Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:10:33 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research Message-ID: <20090604141033.abelp6m3kkc0ck4w@webmail.userdesign.co.uk> - Trebuchet is a fairly accessible typeface, for instance the characters: l, I, 1, cl (d), rn (m), are all fairly well defined, unlike typefaces like: Arial or Myraid. - Preference based opinions will not lead to useful data, what do you want them to do? (CRI) - For typefaces: www.fonts.com, www.linotype.com, www.fontshop.com, www.adobe.com/type/. Kind regards Thomas User design Graphic communication design, illustration and production service W www.userdesign.co.uk E info at userdesign.co.uk --- On Tue, 26/5/09, katie at raincharm.co.uk wrote: > From: katie at raincharm.co.uk > Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research > To: infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > Date: Tuesday, 26 May, 2009, 2:43 PM > Hi > > I am working on a small project with a local council with > regard to the > accessibility and readability of their corporate font. They > currently use > Trebuchet but have been criticised by a local disability > organisation for > doing this. They say it is not accessible. As a result they > have engaged > my services to explore and gain opinions from others about > the general > accessibility of Trebuchet in comparison to other (mainly) > system fonts. > They are willing to consider moving to a new font but would > prefer this to > be a system font so that everyone in the organisation can > access it. I > have conducted some primary consultations via telephone and > email > opinion-based research. Before I send out mockups of fonts > chosen to trial > with selected user groups - these have been selected to > cover a range of > impairment, age and other audiences - I would like to ask > the following: > > i) what people think about Trebuchet with regard to > accessibility > ii) current preferred fonts re: accessibility. NB They are > also looking > for a font which has a good range of weights and a good xy > height > difference so please take this into consideration > iii) ideas on user testing to gain feedback - we are > planning to send each > user group a selection of fonts using the same text to ask > them which they > prefer and why. Has anyone carried out anything similar and > if so do you > have any advice on how to structure/phrase the questions? > > All comments/feedback gratefully received. > > With thanks > > Katie Grant > Raincharm Communications > www.raincharm.co.uk > 07971 909007 From r.waller at reading.ac.uk Mon Jun 8 15:28:21 2009 From: r.waller at reading.ac.uk (Rob Waller) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 14:28:21 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem Message-ID: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the proportational representation system used for the European Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you voted. In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm __________________________________ Rob Waller Department of Typography & Graphic Communication University of Reading -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090608/b8da4843/attachment-0018.htm From waarde at glo.be Mon Jun 8 16:38:06 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 16:38:06 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem In-Reply-To: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> References: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> Message-ID: Rob, Thanks for this information: I've just scanned the Dutch Ballot form (49,9 cm by 35,0 cm) as a reference. (If anyone wonders how I smuggled a scanner into the booth, I didn't. I'm living abroad and can only vote by mail.) I've uploaded the voting form on: http://users.telenet.be/waarde/Papers/DutchEU-votingform2009-2.jpg I'm not sure if these are clear and easy to use. I have several questions and qualms about these. [Two questions for those who download the form into their browsers: 1. Why are the 'parties with even numbers' positioned slightly below the parties with odd numbers. Does this 'dancing top line' have a meaning? 2. There is a small text below the names of some of the parties. It states: 'combined with list x (= gecombineerd met lijst x). List 1 is combined with list 6, list 2 is combined with list 4, list 3 is combined with list 7, list 4 is combined with list 2. Who exactly do I vote for if I cross position 13 on list 2 if I know that there are only 3 or 4 seats available?] Kind regards, Karel. waarde at glo.be >>> >In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the >proportational representation system used for the European >Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. >Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that >would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you >voted. > >In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on >the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: > >http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm > >__________________________________ > >Rob Waller >Department of Typography & Graphic Communication >University of Reading From waarde at glo.be Wed Jun 17 09:20:31 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:20:31 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: IDA event - 29 June - London: Exhibition & talk by David Sless In-Reply-To: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: ** IDA event - 29 June - London: Exhibition & talk by David Sless Following the success of IDC2009, we have two events on the evening of 29 June at The Cass Business School. The IDA's June meeting will be a talk by David Sless at 6.30pm, and there?s also a chance to see the Business Mystery MBA exhibition from 5.30pm ** Where & when Monday 29 June 2009 Cass Business School, 106 Bunhill Row, EC1Y 8TZ Exhibition: from 5.30pm ? Lower ground floor ? Talk: 6.30pm Room 2005, level 2 Book tickets for the talk (if you?re not already an IDA member, you can join now to get a discounted member ticket) http://www.amiando.com/IDAJune09 ** The Communication Benchmark Project A talk by David Sless The Communication Research Institute (CRI) has been undertaking benchmarking research in information design for 20 years. David Sless will explain some of the background to that work and some of their findings. Earlier this year CRI put together an international group of volunteers who have now completed the first of what they hope will be many future Communication Benchmark studies. The subject of this first study was credit card statements?a type of document that has attracted a lot of recent political interest worldwide, as a result of the current economic mess. David will share with you some of the results of this study and their implications for information design. http://communication.org.au/modules/home ** The Business Mystery MBA exhibition Please come along earlier in the evening to see the Business Mystery MBA work The Business Mystery MBA elective was conceived in 2004 with the aim of applying perspectives from the arts as a route to gaining insights into management problem solving. It involved treating the arts as a lens or perspective on management. It also overtly sought to redress the lack of right brain emphasis which is endemic to MBA programmes internationally. The course consists of 5 experiences on a theme and usually in a specific space, in 2009 these include the Barbican Art Gallery (Corbusier), the streets of London (Flow), A recording studio in Hackney (Composition), the Whitechapel Gallery (Integration) and the Drill Hall Theatre (Performance). It was decided from the very beginning that there would be avoidance of formal lectures, leading to the idea of ?learning without teaching?. Students are immersed in the experience and have to carry out site-specific tasks and achieve results by the end of each session. Coursework 1: Describe the experience in one specific week taking one of the following roles: critic; supporter; employer; response to cynics Coursework 2: Keep a continuous sketchbook of your learnings Coursework 3: Produce an artifact which sums up either the elective, the MBA year or your career The work will be on display at this end-of-term exhibition. ? Find the event on upcoming: http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/2869970 Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/InfodesignUK Find out more about the IDA: http://www.infodesign.org.uk Contact us: eventadmin at infodesign.org.uk From W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk Wed Jun 17 11:09:55 2009 From: W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk (Will Stahl-Timmins) Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 10:09:55 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: online PhD study - health decision task Message-ID: Hi folks, Thanks to everyone on the list who helped me source studies on the empirical evaluation of information graphics for my PhD. The relevant literature comes from a number of different areas, and it's been quite a challenge pulling enough together for my purposes. I've just put a small Flash-based decision task online to test which of the measurements that are commonly used in such studies might apply in my area of interest (health policy decision-making). If anyone would be prepared to have a go, I'd really appreciate it... The target audience is the internet-using general public, and I'm afraid that if you're reading this, you pretty much qualify... The link is here: www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/evaluation Please feel free to pass this on to anyone you feel might be interested. Many thanks, Will. ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com PenTAG Noy Scott House Peninsula Medical School RD&E Hospital (Wonford) Heavitree Exeter EX2 5DW UK -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090617/c335bbaf/attachment-0008.htm From dtp at she-philosopher.com Wed Jun 3 23:24:20 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:24:20 -0700 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: countergenres for ID In-Reply-To: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Hi, all -- This has nothing to do with information design -- except possibly as an example "countergenre" (a concept borrowed from the literary critic, Claudio Guill?n, author of _Literature as System_) -- but I thought the piece was really good, and would be of interest to others working with/in medical communications: Gawande, Atul. "The Cost Conundrum: What a Texas Town Can Teach Us about Health Care." _The New Yorker_, digital edn. for 1 June 2009. available online at http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/06/01/090601fa_fact_gawande Atul Gawande is a physician (specifically, a surgeon at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health) who has been writing for _The New Yorker_ (a U.S. literary mag known for its funny, quirky cartoons) for a while now. (Some of Gawande's earlier essays for _The New Yorker_ were re-printed in his books, _Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science_ [2002] and _Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance_ [2007].) This is an especially good piece, I believe, and while I was reading it, I couldn't help but think about how top-notch IDers might illustrate it differently! ;-) At any rate, the topic is an important one in the U.S., as we prepare to tackle health care reform this summer, and Gawande's treatment of the issues is, as always, both thoughtful and provocative (at least for USers, many of whom are ardent defenders of a mythical can-do entrepreneurial spirit, wherever it surfaces, and whatever the costs ;-). Also, Gawande was interviewed on International Public Radio's _Marketplace_ yesterday: "Why Health Care Costs Are So High," an interview with Dr. Atul Gawande. _Marketplace_, segment for Tuesday, June 2, 2009. http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/06/02/pm_health_care_costs_q/ Deborah (still desperately trying to finish another research project on C17 painting and visual rhetoric, before I can return to working on C17 calligraphy ... so, more delays ahead here :( ... sorry, but it can't be helped) _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From info at userdesign.co.uk Thu Jun 4 15:10:33 2009 From: info at userdesign.co.uk (info at userdesign.co.uk) Date: Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:10:33 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research Message-ID: <20090604141033.abelp6m3kkc0ck4w@webmail.userdesign.co.uk> - Trebuchet is a fairly accessible typeface, for instance the characters: l, I, 1, cl (d), rn (m), are all fairly well defined, unlike typefaces like: Arial or Myraid. - Preference based opinions will not lead to useful data, what do you want them to do? (CRI) - For typefaces: www.fonts.com, www.linotype.com, www.fontshop.com, www.adobe.com/type/. Kind regards Thomas User design Graphic communication design, illustration and production service W www.userdesign.co.uk E info at userdesign.co.uk --- On Tue, 26/5/09, katie at raincharm.co.uk wrote: > From: katie at raincharm.co.uk > Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research > To: infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > Date: Tuesday, 26 May, 2009, 2:43 PM > Hi > > I am working on a small project with a local council with > regard to the > accessibility and readability of their corporate font. They > currently use > Trebuchet but have been criticised by a local disability > organisation for > doing this. They say it is not accessible. As a result they > have engaged > my services to explore and gain opinions from others about > the general > accessibility of Trebuchet in comparison to other (mainly) > system fonts. > They are willing to consider moving to a new font but would > prefer this to > be a system font so that everyone in the organisation can > access it. I > have conducted some primary consultations via telephone and > email > opinion-based research. Before I send out mockups of fonts > chosen to trial > with selected user groups - these have been selected to > cover a range of > impairment, age and other audiences - I would like to ask > the following: > > i) what people think about Trebuchet with regard to > accessibility > ii) current preferred fonts re: accessibility. NB They are > also looking > for a font which has a good range of weights and a good xy > height > difference so please take this into consideration > iii) ideas on user testing to gain feedback - we are > planning to send each > user group a selection of fonts using the same text to ask > them which they > prefer and why. Has anyone carried out anything similar and > if so do you > have any advice on how to structure/phrase the questions? > > All comments/feedback gratefully received. > > With thanks > > Katie Grant > Raincharm Communications > www.raincharm.co.uk > 07971 909007 From r.waller at reading.ac.uk Mon Jun 8 15:28:21 2009 From: r.waller at reading.ac.uk (Rob Waller) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 14:28:21 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem Message-ID: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the proportational representation system used for the European Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you voted. In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm __________________________________ Rob Waller Department of Typography & Graphic Communication University of Reading -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090608/b8da4843/attachment-0019.htm From waarde at glo.be Mon Jun 8 16:38:06 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 16:38:06 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem In-Reply-To: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> References: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> Message-ID: Rob, Thanks for this information: I've just scanned the Dutch Ballot form (49,9 cm by 35,0 cm) as a reference. (If anyone wonders how I smuggled a scanner into the booth, I didn't. I'm living abroad and can only vote by mail.) I've uploaded the voting form on: http://users.telenet.be/waarde/Papers/DutchEU-votingform2009-2.jpg I'm not sure if these are clear and easy to use. I have several questions and qualms about these. [Two questions for those who download the form into their browsers: 1. Why are the 'parties with even numbers' positioned slightly below the parties with odd numbers. Does this 'dancing top line' have a meaning? 2. There is a small text below the names of some of the parties. It states: 'combined with list x (= gecombineerd met lijst x). List 1 is combined with list 6, list 2 is combined with list 4, list 3 is combined with list 7, list 4 is combined with list 2. Who exactly do I vote for if I cross position 13 on list 2 if I know that there are only 3 or 4 seats available?] Kind regards, Karel. waarde at glo.be >>> >In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the >proportational representation system used for the European >Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. >Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that >would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you >voted. > >In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on >the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: > >http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm > >__________________________________ > >Rob Waller >Department of Typography & Graphic Communication >University of Reading From waarde at glo.be Wed Jun 17 09:20:31 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:20:31 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: IDA event - 29 June - London: Exhibition & talk by David Sless In-Reply-To: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: ** IDA event - 29 June - London: Exhibition & talk by David Sless Following the success of IDC2009, we have two events on the evening of 29 June at The Cass Business School. The IDA's June meeting will be a talk by David Sless at 6.30pm, and there?s also a chance to see the Business Mystery MBA exhibition from 5.30pm ** Where & when Monday 29 June 2009 Cass Business School, 106 Bunhill Row, EC1Y 8TZ Exhibition: from 5.30pm ? Lower ground floor ? Talk: 6.30pm Room 2005, level 2 Book tickets for the talk (if you?re not already an IDA member, you can join now to get a discounted member ticket) http://www.amiando.com/IDAJune09 ** The Communication Benchmark Project A talk by David Sless The Communication Research Institute (CRI) has been undertaking benchmarking research in information design for 20 years. David Sless will explain some of the background to that work and some of their findings. Earlier this year CRI put together an international group of volunteers who have now completed the first of what they hope will be many future Communication Benchmark studies. The subject of this first study was credit card statements?a type of document that has attracted a lot of recent political interest worldwide, as a result of the current economic mess. David will share with you some of the results of this study and their implications for information design. http://communication.org.au/modules/home ** The Business Mystery MBA exhibition Please come along earlier in the evening to see the Business Mystery MBA work The Business Mystery MBA elective was conceived in 2004 with the aim of applying perspectives from the arts as a route to gaining insights into management problem solving. It involved treating the arts as a lens or perspective on management. It also overtly sought to redress the lack of right brain emphasis which is endemic to MBA programmes internationally. The course consists of 5 experiences on a theme and usually in a specific space, in 2009 these include the Barbican Art Gallery (Corbusier), the streets of London (Flow), A recording studio in Hackney (Composition), the Whitechapel Gallery (Integration) and the Drill Hall Theatre (Performance). It was decided from the very beginning that there would be avoidance of formal lectures, leading to the idea of ?learning without teaching?. Students are immersed in the experience and have to carry out site-specific tasks and achieve results by the end of each session. Coursework 1: Describe the experience in one specific week taking one of the following roles: critic; supporter; employer; response to cynics Coursework 2: Keep a continuous sketchbook of your learnings Coursework 3: Produce an artifact which sums up either the elective, the MBA year or your career The work will be on display at this end-of-term exhibition. ? Find the event on upcoming: http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/2869970 Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/InfodesignUK Find out more about the IDA: http://www.infodesign.org.uk Contact us: eventadmin at infodesign.org.uk From W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk Wed Jun 17 11:09:55 2009 From: W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk (Will Stahl-Timmins) Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 10:09:55 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: online PhD study - health decision task Message-ID: Hi folks, Thanks to everyone on the list who helped me source studies on the empirical evaluation of information graphics for my PhD. The relevant literature comes from a number of different areas, and it's been quite a challenge pulling enough together for my purposes. I've just put a small Flash-based decision task online to test which of the measurements that are commonly used in such studies might apply in my area of interest (health policy decision-making). If anyone would be prepared to have a go, I'd really appreciate it... The target audience is the internet-using general public, and I'm afraid that if you're reading this, you pretty much qualify... The link is here: www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/evaluation Please feel free to pass this on to anyone you feel might be interested. Many thanks, Will. ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com PenTAG Noy Scott House Peninsula Medical School RD&E Hospital (Wonford) Heavitree Exeter EX2 5DW UK -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090617/c335bbaf/attachment-0009.htm From dtp at she-philosopher.com Wed Jun 3 23:24:20 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:24:20 -0700 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: countergenres for ID In-Reply-To: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Hi, all -- This has nothing to do with information design -- except possibly as an example "countergenre" (a concept borrowed from the literary critic, Claudio Guill?n, author of _Literature as System_) -- but I thought the piece was really good, and would be of interest to others working with/in medical communications: Gawande, Atul. "The Cost Conundrum: What a Texas Town Can Teach Us about Health Care." _The New Yorker_, digital edn. for 1 June 2009. available online at http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/06/01/090601fa_fact_gawande Atul Gawande is a physician (specifically, a surgeon at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health) who has been writing for _The New Yorker_ (a U.S. literary mag known for its funny, quirky cartoons) for a while now. (Some of Gawande's earlier essays for _The New Yorker_ were re-printed in his books, _Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science_ [2002] and _Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance_ [2007].) This is an especially good piece, I believe, and while I was reading it, I couldn't help but think about how top-notch IDers might illustrate it differently! ;-) At any rate, the topic is an important one in the U.S., as we prepare to tackle health care reform this summer, and Gawande's treatment of the issues is, as always, both thoughtful and provocative (at least for USers, many of whom are ardent defenders of a mythical can-do entrepreneurial spirit, wherever it surfaces, and whatever the costs ;-). Also, Gawande was interviewed on International Public Radio's _Marketplace_ yesterday: "Why Health Care Costs Are So High," an interview with Dr. Atul Gawande. _Marketplace_, segment for Tuesday, June 2, 2009. http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/06/02/pm_health_care_costs_q/ Deborah (still desperately trying to finish another research project on C17 painting and visual rhetoric, before I can return to working on C17 calligraphy ... so, more delays ahead here :( ... sorry, but it can't be helped) _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From info at userdesign.co.uk Thu Jun 4 15:10:33 2009 From: info at userdesign.co.uk (info at userdesign.co.uk) Date: Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:10:33 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research Message-ID: <20090604141033.abelp6m3kkc0ck4w@webmail.userdesign.co.uk> - Trebuchet is a fairly accessible typeface, for instance the characters: l, I, 1, cl (d), rn (m), are all fairly well defined, unlike typefaces like: Arial or Myraid. - Preference based opinions will not lead to useful data, what do you want them to do? (CRI) - For typefaces: www.fonts.com, www.linotype.com, www.fontshop.com, www.adobe.com/type/. Kind regards Thomas User design Graphic communication design, illustration and production service W www.userdesign.co.uk E info at userdesign.co.uk --- On Tue, 26/5/09, katie at raincharm.co.uk wrote: > From: katie at raincharm.co.uk > Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research > To: infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > Date: Tuesday, 26 May, 2009, 2:43 PM > Hi > > I am working on a small project with a local council with > regard to the > accessibility and readability of their corporate font. They > currently use > Trebuchet but have been criticised by a local disability > organisation for > doing this. They say it is not accessible. As a result they > have engaged > my services to explore and gain opinions from others about > the general > accessibility of Trebuchet in comparison to other (mainly) > system fonts. > They are willing to consider moving to a new font but would > prefer this to > be a system font so that everyone in the organisation can > access it. I > have conducted some primary consultations via telephone and > email > opinion-based research. Before I send out mockups of fonts > chosen to trial > with selected user groups - these have been selected to > cover a range of > impairment, age and other audiences - I would like to ask > the following: > > i) what people think about Trebuchet with regard to > accessibility > ii) current preferred fonts re: accessibility. NB They are > also looking > for a font which has a good range of weights and a good xy > height > difference so please take this into consideration > iii) ideas on user testing to gain feedback - we are > planning to send each > user group a selection of fonts using the same text to ask > them which they > prefer and why. Has anyone carried out anything similar and > if so do you > have any advice on how to structure/phrase the questions? > > All comments/feedback gratefully received. > > With thanks > > Katie Grant > Raincharm Communications > www.raincharm.co.uk > 07971 909007 From r.waller at reading.ac.uk Mon Jun 8 15:28:21 2009 From: r.waller at reading.ac.uk (Rob Waller) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 14:28:21 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem Message-ID: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the proportational representation system used for the European Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you voted. In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm __________________________________ Rob Waller Department of Typography & Graphic Communication University of Reading -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090608/b8da4843/attachment-0020.htm From waarde at glo.be Mon Jun 8 16:38:06 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 16:38:06 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem In-Reply-To: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> References: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> Message-ID: Rob, Thanks for this information: I've just scanned the Dutch Ballot form (49,9 cm by 35,0 cm) as a reference. (If anyone wonders how I smuggled a scanner into the booth, I didn't. I'm living abroad and can only vote by mail.) I've uploaded the voting form on: http://users.telenet.be/waarde/Papers/DutchEU-votingform2009-2.jpg I'm not sure if these are clear and easy to use. I have several questions and qualms about these. [Two questions for those who download the form into their browsers: 1. Why are the 'parties with even numbers' positioned slightly below the parties with odd numbers. Does this 'dancing top line' have a meaning? 2. There is a small text below the names of some of the parties. It states: 'combined with list x (= gecombineerd met lijst x). List 1 is combined with list 6, list 2 is combined with list 4, list 3 is combined with list 7, list 4 is combined with list 2. Who exactly do I vote for if I cross position 13 on list 2 if I know that there are only 3 or 4 seats available?] Kind regards, Karel. waarde at glo.be >>> >In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the >proportational representation system used for the European >Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. >Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that >would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you >voted. > >In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on >the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: > >http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm > >__________________________________ > >Rob Waller >Department of Typography & Graphic Communication >University of Reading From waarde at glo.be Wed Jun 17 09:20:31 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:20:31 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: IDA event - 29 June - London: Exhibition & talk by David Sless In-Reply-To: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: ** IDA event - 29 June - London: Exhibition & talk by David Sless Following the success of IDC2009, we have two events on the evening of 29 June at The Cass Business School. The IDA's June meeting will be a talk by David Sless at 6.30pm, and there?s also a chance to see the Business Mystery MBA exhibition from 5.30pm ** Where & when Monday 29 June 2009 Cass Business School, 106 Bunhill Row, EC1Y 8TZ Exhibition: from 5.30pm ? Lower ground floor ? Talk: 6.30pm Room 2005, level 2 Book tickets for the talk (if you?re not already an IDA member, you can join now to get a discounted member ticket) http://www.amiando.com/IDAJune09 ** The Communication Benchmark Project A talk by David Sless The Communication Research Institute (CRI) has been undertaking benchmarking research in information design for 20 years. David Sless will explain some of the background to that work and some of their findings. Earlier this year CRI put together an international group of volunteers who have now completed the first of what they hope will be many future Communication Benchmark studies. The subject of this first study was credit card statements?a type of document that has attracted a lot of recent political interest worldwide, as a result of the current economic mess. David will share with you some of the results of this study and their implications for information design. http://communication.org.au/modules/home ** The Business Mystery MBA exhibition Please come along earlier in the evening to see the Business Mystery MBA work The Business Mystery MBA elective was conceived in 2004 with the aim of applying perspectives from the arts as a route to gaining insights into management problem solving. It involved treating the arts as a lens or perspective on management. It also overtly sought to redress the lack of right brain emphasis which is endemic to MBA programmes internationally. The course consists of 5 experiences on a theme and usually in a specific space, in 2009 these include the Barbican Art Gallery (Corbusier), the streets of London (Flow), A recording studio in Hackney (Composition), the Whitechapel Gallery (Integration) and the Drill Hall Theatre (Performance). It was decided from the very beginning that there would be avoidance of formal lectures, leading to the idea of ?learning without teaching?. Students are immersed in the experience and have to carry out site-specific tasks and achieve results by the end of each session. Coursework 1: Describe the experience in one specific week taking one of the following roles: critic; supporter; employer; response to cynics Coursework 2: Keep a continuous sketchbook of your learnings Coursework 3: Produce an artifact which sums up either the elective, the MBA year or your career The work will be on display at this end-of-term exhibition. ? Find the event on upcoming: http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/2869970 Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/InfodesignUK Find out more about the IDA: http://www.infodesign.org.uk Contact us: eventadmin at infodesign.org.uk From W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk Wed Jun 17 11:09:55 2009 From: W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk (Will Stahl-Timmins) Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 10:09:55 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: online PhD study - health decision task Message-ID: Hi folks, Thanks to everyone on the list who helped me source studies on the empirical evaluation of information graphics for my PhD. The relevant literature comes from a number of different areas, and it's been quite a challenge pulling enough together for my purposes. I've just put a small Flash-based decision task online to test which of the measurements that are commonly used in such studies might apply in my area of interest (health policy decision-making). If anyone would be prepared to have a go, I'd really appreciate it... The target audience is the internet-using general public, and I'm afraid that if you're reading this, you pretty much qualify... The link is here: www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/evaluation Please feel free to pass this on to anyone you feel might be interested. Many thanks, Will. ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com PenTAG Noy Scott House Peninsula Medical School RD&E Hospital (Wonford) Heavitree Exeter EX2 5DW UK -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090617/c335bbaf/attachment-0010.htm From dtp at she-philosopher.com Wed Jun 3 23:24:20 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:24:20 -0700 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: countergenres for ID In-Reply-To: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Hi, all -- This has nothing to do with information design -- except possibly as an example "countergenre" (a concept borrowed from the literary critic, Claudio Guill?n, author of _Literature as System_) -- but I thought the piece was really good, and would be of interest to others working with/in medical communications: Gawande, Atul. "The Cost Conundrum: What a Texas Town Can Teach Us about Health Care." _The New Yorker_, digital edn. for 1 June 2009. available online at http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/06/01/090601fa_fact_gawande Atul Gawande is a physician (specifically, a surgeon at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health) who has been writing for _The New Yorker_ (a U.S. literary mag known for its funny, quirky cartoons) for a while now. (Some of Gawande's earlier essays for _The New Yorker_ were re-printed in his books, _Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science_ [2002] and _Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance_ [2007].) This is an especially good piece, I believe, and while I was reading it, I couldn't help but think about how top-notch IDers might illustrate it differently! ;-) At any rate, the topic is an important one in the U.S., as we prepare to tackle health care reform this summer, and Gawande's treatment of the issues is, as always, both thoughtful and provocative (at least for USers, many of whom are ardent defenders of a mythical can-do entrepreneurial spirit, wherever it surfaces, and whatever the costs ;-). Also, Gawande was interviewed on International Public Radio's _Marketplace_ yesterday: "Why Health Care Costs Are So High," an interview with Dr. Atul Gawande. _Marketplace_, segment for Tuesday, June 2, 2009. http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/06/02/pm_health_care_costs_q/ Deborah (still desperately trying to finish another research project on C17 painting and visual rhetoric, before I can return to working on C17 calligraphy ... so, more delays ahead here :( ... sorry, but it can't be helped) _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From info at userdesign.co.uk Thu Jun 4 15:10:33 2009 From: info at userdesign.co.uk (info at userdesign.co.uk) Date: Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:10:33 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research Message-ID: <20090604141033.abelp6m3kkc0ck4w@webmail.userdesign.co.uk> - Trebuchet is a fairly accessible typeface, for instance the characters: l, I, 1, cl (d), rn (m), are all fairly well defined, unlike typefaces like: Arial or Myraid. - Preference based opinions will not lead to useful data, what do you want them to do? (CRI) - For typefaces: www.fonts.com, www.linotype.com, www.fontshop.com, www.adobe.com/type/. Kind regards Thomas User design Graphic communication design, illustration and production service W www.userdesign.co.uk E info at userdesign.co.uk --- On Tue, 26/5/09, katie at raincharm.co.uk wrote: > From: katie at raincharm.co.uk > Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research > To: infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > Date: Tuesday, 26 May, 2009, 2:43 PM > Hi > > I am working on a small project with a local council with > regard to the > accessibility and readability of their corporate font. They > currently use > Trebuchet but have been criticised by a local disability > organisation for > doing this. They say it is not accessible. As a result they > have engaged > my services to explore and gain opinions from others about > the general > accessibility of Trebuchet in comparison to other (mainly) > system fonts. > They are willing to consider moving to a new font but would > prefer this to > be a system font so that everyone in the organisation can > access it. I > have conducted some primary consultations via telephone and > email > opinion-based research. Before I send out mockups of fonts > chosen to trial > with selected user groups - these have been selected to > cover a range of > impairment, age and other audiences - I would like to ask > the following: > > i) what people think about Trebuchet with regard to > accessibility > ii) current preferred fonts re: accessibility. NB They are > also looking > for a font which has a good range of weights and a good xy > height > difference so please take this into consideration > iii) ideas on user testing to gain feedback - we are > planning to send each > user group a selection of fonts using the same text to ask > them which they > prefer and why. Has anyone carried out anything similar and > if so do you > have any advice on how to structure/phrase the questions? > > All comments/feedback gratefully received. > > With thanks > > Katie Grant > Raincharm Communications > www.raincharm.co.uk > 07971 909007 From r.waller at reading.ac.uk Mon Jun 8 15:28:21 2009 From: r.waller at reading.ac.uk (Rob Waller) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 14:28:21 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem Message-ID: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the proportational representation system used for the European Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you voted. In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm __________________________________ Rob Waller Department of Typography & Graphic Communication University of Reading -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090608/b8da4843/attachment-0021.htm From waarde at glo.be Mon Jun 8 16:38:06 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 16:38:06 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem In-Reply-To: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> References: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> Message-ID: Rob, Thanks for this information: I've just scanned the Dutch Ballot form (49,9 cm by 35,0 cm) as a reference. (If anyone wonders how I smuggled a scanner into the booth, I didn't. I'm living abroad and can only vote by mail.) I've uploaded the voting form on: http://users.telenet.be/waarde/Papers/DutchEU-votingform2009-2.jpg I'm not sure if these are clear and easy to use. I have several questions and qualms about these. [Two questions for those who download the form into their browsers: 1. Why are the 'parties with even numbers' positioned slightly below the parties with odd numbers. Does this 'dancing top line' have a meaning? 2. There is a small text below the names of some of the parties. It states: 'combined with list x (= gecombineerd met lijst x). List 1 is combined with list 6, list 2 is combined with list 4, list 3 is combined with list 7, list 4 is combined with list 2. Who exactly do I vote for if I cross position 13 on list 2 if I know that there are only 3 or 4 seats available?] Kind regards, Karel. waarde at glo.be >>> >In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the >proportational representation system used for the European >Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. >Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that >would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you >voted. > >In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on >the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: > >http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm > >__________________________________ > >Rob Waller >Department of Typography & Graphic Communication >University of Reading From waarde at glo.be Wed Jun 17 09:20:31 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:20:31 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: IDA event - 29 June - London: Exhibition & talk by David Sless In-Reply-To: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: ** IDA event - 29 June - London: Exhibition & talk by David Sless Following the success of IDC2009, we have two events on the evening of 29 June at The Cass Business School. The IDA's June meeting will be a talk by David Sless at 6.30pm, and there?s also a chance to see the Business Mystery MBA exhibition from 5.30pm ** Where & when Monday 29 June 2009 Cass Business School, 106 Bunhill Row, EC1Y 8TZ Exhibition: from 5.30pm ? Lower ground floor ? Talk: 6.30pm Room 2005, level 2 Book tickets for the talk (if you?re not already an IDA member, you can join now to get a discounted member ticket) http://www.amiando.com/IDAJune09 ** The Communication Benchmark Project A talk by David Sless The Communication Research Institute (CRI) has been undertaking benchmarking research in information design for 20 years. David Sless will explain some of the background to that work and some of their findings. Earlier this year CRI put together an international group of volunteers who have now completed the first of what they hope will be many future Communication Benchmark studies. The subject of this first study was credit card statements?a type of document that has attracted a lot of recent political interest worldwide, as a result of the current economic mess. David will share with you some of the results of this study and their implications for information design. http://communication.org.au/modules/home ** The Business Mystery MBA exhibition Please come along earlier in the evening to see the Business Mystery MBA work The Business Mystery MBA elective was conceived in 2004 with the aim of applying perspectives from the arts as a route to gaining insights into management problem solving. It involved treating the arts as a lens or perspective on management. It also overtly sought to redress the lack of right brain emphasis which is endemic to MBA programmes internationally. The course consists of 5 experiences on a theme and usually in a specific space, in 2009 these include the Barbican Art Gallery (Corbusier), the streets of London (Flow), A recording studio in Hackney (Composition), the Whitechapel Gallery (Integration) and the Drill Hall Theatre (Performance). It was decided from the very beginning that there would be avoidance of formal lectures, leading to the idea of ?learning without teaching?. Students are immersed in the experience and have to carry out site-specific tasks and achieve results by the end of each session. Coursework 1: Describe the experience in one specific week taking one of the following roles: critic; supporter; employer; response to cynics Coursework 2: Keep a continuous sketchbook of your learnings Coursework 3: Produce an artifact which sums up either the elective, the MBA year or your career The work will be on display at this end-of-term exhibition. ? Find the event on upcoming: http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/2869970 Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/InfodesignUK Find out more about the IDA: http://www.infodesign.org.uk Contact us: eventadmin at infodesign.org.uk From W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk Wed Jun 17 11:09:55 2009 From: W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk (Will Stahl-Timmins) Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 10:09:55 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: online PhD study - health decision task Message-ID: Hi folks, Thanks to everyone on the list who helped me source studies on the empirical evaluation of information graphics for my PhD. The relevant literature comes from a number of different areas, and it's been quite a challenge pulling enough together for my purposes. I've just put a small Flash-based decision task online to test which of the measurements that are commonly used in such studies might apply in my area of interest (health policy decision-making). If anyone would be prepared to have a go, I'd really appreciate it... The target audience is the internet-using general public, and I'm afraid that if you're reading this, you pretty much qualify... The link is here: www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/evaluation Please feel free to pass this on to anyone you feel might be interested. Many thanks, Will. ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com PenTAG Noy Scott House Peninsula Medical School RD&E Hospital (Wonford) Heavitree Exeter EX2 5DW UK -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090617/c335bbaf/attachment-0011.htm From dtp at she-philosopher.com Wed Jun 3 23:24:20 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:24:20 -0700 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: countergenres for ID In-Reply-To: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Hi, all -- This has nothing to do with information design -- except possibly as an example "countergenre" (a concept borrowed from the literary critic, Claudio Guill?n, author of _Literature as System_) -- but I thought the piece was really good, and would be of interest to others working with/in medical communications: Gawande, Atul. "The Cost Conundrum: What a Texas Town Can Teach Us about Health Care." _The New Yorker_, digital edn. for 1 June 2009. available online at http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/06/01/090601fa_fact_gawande Atul Gawande is a physician (specifically, a surgeon at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health) who has been writing for _The New Yorker_ (a U.S. literary mag known for its funny, quirky cartoons) for a while now. (Some of Gawande's earlier essays for _The New Yorker_ were re-printed in his books, _Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science_ [2002] and _Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance_ [2007].) This is an especially good piece, I believe, and while I was reading it, I couldn't help but think about how top-notch IDers might illustrate it differently! ;-) At any rate, the topic is an important one in the U.S., as we prepare to tackle health care reform this summer, and Gawande's treatment of the issues is, as always, both thoughtful and provocative (at least for USers, many of whom are ardent defenders of a mythical can-do entrepreneurial spirit, wherever it surfaces, and whatever the costs ;-). Also, Gawande was interviewed on International Public Radio's _Marketplace_ yesterday: "Why Health Care Costs Are So High," an interview with Dr. Atul Gawande. _Marketplace_, segment for Tuesday, June 2, 2009. http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/06/02/pm_health_care_costs_q/ Deborah (still desperately trying to finish another research project on C17 painting and visual rhetoric, before I can return to working on C17 calligraphy ... so, more delays ahead here :( ... sorry, but it can't be helped) _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From info at userdesign.co.uk Thu Jun 4 15:10:33 2009 From: info at userdesign.co.uk (info at userdesign.co.uk) Date: Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:10:33 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research Message-ID: <20090604141033.abelp6m3kkc0ck4w@webmail.userdesign.co.uk> - Trebuchet is a fairly accessible typeface, for instance the characters: l, I, 1, cl (d), rn (m), are all fairly well defined, unlike typefaces like: Arial or Myraid. - Preference based opinions will not lead to useful data, what do you want them to do? (CRI) - For typefaces: www.fonts.com, www.linotype.com, www.fontshop.com, www.adobe.com/type/. Kind regards Thomas User design Graphic communication design, illustration and production service W www.userdesign.co.uk E info at userdesign.co.uk --- On Tue, 26/5/09, katie at raincharm.co.uk wrote: > From: katie at raincharm.co.uk > Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research > To: infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > Date: Tuesday, 26 May, 2009, 2:43 PM > Hi > > I am working on a small project with a local council with > regard to the > accessibility and readability of their corporate font. They > currently use > Trebuchet but have been criticised by a local disability > organisation for > doing this. They say it is not accessible. As a result they > have engaged > my services to explore and gain opinions from others about > the general > accessibility of Trebuchet in comparison to other (mainly) > system fonts. > They are willing to consider moving to a new font but would > prefer this to > be a system font so that everyone in the organisation can > access it. I > have conducted some primary consultations via telephone and > email > opinion-based research. Before I send out mockups of fonts > chosen to trial > with selected user groups - these have been selected to > cover a range of > impairment, age and other audiences - I would like to ask > the following: > > i) what people think about Trebuchet with regard to > accessibility > ii) current preferred fonts re: accessibility. NB They are > also looking > for a font which has a good range of weights and a good xy > height > difference so please take this into consideration > iii) ideas on user testing to gain feedback - we are > planning to send each > user group a selection of fonts using the same text to ask > them which they > prefer and why. Has anyone carried out anything similar and > if so do you > have any advice on how to structure/phrase the questions? > > All comments/feedback gratefully received. > > With thanks > > Katie Grant > Raincharm Communications > www.raincharm.co.uk > 07971 909007 From r.waller at reading.ac.uk Mon Jun 8 15:28:21 2009 From: r.waller at reading.ac.uk (Rob Waller) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 14:28:21 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem Message-ID: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the proportational representation system used for the European Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you voted. In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm __________________________________ Rob Waller Department of Typography & Graphic Communication University of Reading -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090608/b8da4843/attachment-0022.htm From waarde at glo.be Mon Jun 8 16:38:06 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 16:38:06 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem In-Reply-To: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> References: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> Message-ID: Rob, Thanks for this information: I've just scanned the Dutch Ballot form (49,9 cm by 35,0 cm) as a reference. (If anyone wonders how I smuggled a scanner into the booth, I didn't. I'm living abroad and can only vote by mail.) I've uploaded the voting form on: http://users.telenet.be/waarde/Papers/DutchEU-votingform2009-2.jpg I'm not sure if these are clear and easy to use. I have several questions and qualms about these. [Two questions for those who download the form into their browsers: 1. Why are the 'parties with even numbers' positioned slightly below the parties with odd numbers. Does this 'dancing top line' have a meaning? 2. There is a small text below the names of some of the parties. It states: 'combined with list x (= gecombineerd met lijst x). List 1 is combined with list 6, list 2 is combined with list 4, list 3 is combined with list 7, list 4 is combined with list 2. Who exactly do I vote for if I cross position 13 on list 2 if I know that there are only 3 or 4 seats available?] Kind regards, Karel. waarde at glo.be >>> >In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the >proportational representation system used for the European >Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. >Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that >would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you >voted. > >In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on >the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: > >http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm > >__________________________________ > >Rob Waller >Department of Typography & Graphic Communication >University of Reading From waarde at glo.be Wed Jun 17 09:20:31 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:20:31 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: IDA event - 29 June - London: Exhibition & talk by David Sless In-Reply-To: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: ** IDA event - 29 June - London: Exhibition & talk by David Sless Following the success of IDC2009, we have two events on the evening of 29 June at The Cass Business School. The IDA's June meeting will be a talk by David Sless at 6.30pm, and there?s also a chance to see the Business Mystery MBA exhibition from 5.30pm ** Where & when Monday 29 June 2009 Cass Business School, 106 Bunhill Row, EC1Y 8TZ Exhibition: from 5.30pm ? Lower ground floor ? Talk: 6.30pm Room 2005, level 2 Book tickets for the talk (if you?re not already an IDA member, you can join now to get a discounted member ticket) http://www.amiando.com/IDAJune09 ** The Communication Benchmark Project A talk by David Sless The Communication Research Institute (CRI) has been undertaking benchmarking research in information design for 20 years. David Sless will explain some of the background to that work and some of their findings. Earlier this year CRI put together an international group of volunteers who have now completed the first of what they hope will be many future Communication Benchmark studies. The subject of this first study was credit card statements?a type of document that has attracted a lot of recent political interest worldwide, as a result of the current economic mess. David will share with you some of the results of this study and their implications for information design. http://communication.org.au/modules/home ** The Business Mystery MBA exhibition Please come along earlier in the evening to see the Business Mystery MBA work The Business Mystery MBA elective was conceived in 2004 with the aim of applying perspectives from the arts as a route to gaining insights into management problem solving. It involved treating the arts as a lens or perspective on management. It also overtly sought to redress the lack of right brain emphasis which is endemic to MBA programmes internationally. The course consists of 5 experiences on a theme and usually in a specific space, in 2009 these include the Barbican Art Gallery (Corbusier), the streets of London (Flow), A recording studio in Hackney (Composition), the Whitechapel Gallery (Integration) and the Drill Hall Theatre (Performance). It was decided from the very beginning that there would be avoidance of formal lectures, leading to the idea of ?learning without teaching?. Students are immersed in the experience and have to carry out site-specific tasks and achieve results by the end of each session. Coursework 1: Describe the experience in one specific week taking one of the following roles: critic; supporter; employer; response to cynics Coursework 2: Keep a continuous sketchbook of your learnings Coursework 3: Produce an artifact which sums up either the elective, the MBA year or your career The work will be on display at this end-of-term exhibition. ? Find the event on upcoming: http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/2869970 Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/InfodesignUK Find out more about the IDA: http://www.infodesign.org.uk Contact us: eventadmin at infodesign.org.uk From W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk Wed Jun 17 11:09:55 2009 From: W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk (Will Stahl-Timmins) Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 10:09:55 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: online PhD study - health decision task Message-ID: Hi folks, Thanks to everyone on the list who helped me source studies on the empirical evaluation of information graphics for my PhD. The relevant literature comes from a number of different areas, and it's been quite a challenge pulling enough together for my purposes. I've just put a small Flash-based decision task online to test which of the measurements that are commonly used in such studies might apply in my area of interest (health policy decision-making). If anyone would be prepared to have a go, I'd really appreciate it... The target audience is the internet-using general public, and I'm afraid that if you're reading this, you pretty much qualify... The link is here: www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/evaluation Please feel free to pass this on to anyone you feel might be interested. Many thanks, Will. ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com PenTAG Noy Scott House Peninsula Medical School RD&E Hospital (Wonford) Heavitree Exeter EX2 5DW UK -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090617/c335bbaf/attachment-0012.htm From waarde at glo.be Mon Jun 29 06:21:38 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 29 Jun 2009 06:21:38 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: IDA talk today In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Dear all, Just a reminder about our two events coming up this Monday 29 June at The Cass Business School. The IDA's June meeting will be a talk by David Sless at 6.30 for 7pm, and a chance to see the Business Mystery MBA exhibition from 5.30pm? There are still some tickets available! Where & when (please note the rooms have changed ? see below!) Monday 29 June 2009 Cass Business School, 106 Bunhill Row, EC1Y 8TZ Exhibition: from 5.30pm ? ?3rd floor restaurant (The Hub) Talk: 6.30 for 7pm Room 2003, level 2 Book tickets for the talk (if you?re not already an IDA member, you can join now to get a discounted member ticket) http://www.amiando.com/IDAJune09 -------------------------------------------------- The Communication Benchmark Project A talk by David Sless The Communication Research Institute (CRI) has been undertaking benchmarking research in information design for 20 years. David Sless will explain some of the background to that work and some of their findings. Earlier this year CRI put together an international group of volunteers who have now completed the first of what they hope will be many future Communication Benchmark studies. The subject of this first study was credit card statements?a type of document that has attracted a lot of recent political interest worldwide, as a result of the current economic mess. David will share with you some of the results of this study and their implications for information design. http://communication.org.au/modules/home/ Please come along earlier in the evening to see the Business Mystery MBA work? The Business Mystery MBA exhibition The Business Mystery MBA elective was conceived in 2004 with the aim of applying perspectives from the arts as a route to gaining insights into management problem solving. It involved treating the arts as a lens or perspective on management. It also overtly sought to redress the lack of right brain emphasis which is endemic to MBA programmes internationally. The course consists of 5 experiences on a theme and usually in a specific space, in 2009 these include the Barbican Art Gallery (Corbusier), the streets of London (Flow), A recording studio in Hackney (Composition), the Whitechapel Gallery (Integration) and the Drill Hall Theatre (Performance). It was decided from the very beginning that there would be avoidance of formal lectures, leading to the idea of ?learning without teaching?. Students are immersed in the experience and have to carry out site-specific tasks and achieve results by the end of each session. Coursework 1: Describe the experience in one specific week taking one of the following roles: critic; supporter; employer; response to cynics Coursework 2: Keep a continuous sketchbook of your learnings Coursework 3: Produce an artifact which sums up either the elective, the MBA year or your career The work will be on display at this end-of-term exhibition. Find the event on upcoming: http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/2869970 Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/InfodesignUK Find out more about the IDA: http://www.infodesign.org.uk Contact us: eventadmin at infodesign.org.uk From dtp at she-philosopher.com Wed Jun 3 23:24:20 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:24:20 -0700 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: countergenres for ID In-Reply-To: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Hi, all -- This has nothing to do with information design -- except possibly as an example "countergenre" (a concept borrowed from the literary critic, Claudio Guill?n, author of _Literature as System_) -- but I thought the piece was really good, and would be of interest to others working with/in medical communications: Gawande, Atul. "The Cost Conundrum: What a Texas Town Can Teach Us about Health Care." _The New Yorker_, digital edn. for 1 June 2009. available online at http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/06/01/090601fa_fact_gawande Atul Gawande is a physician (specifically, a surgeon at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health) who has been writing for _The New Yorker_ (a U.S. literary mag known for its funny, quirky cartoons) for a while now. (Some of Gawande's earlier essays for _The New Yorker_ were re-printed in his books, _Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science_ [2002] and _Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance_ [2007].) This is an especially good piece, I believe, and while I was reading it, I couldn't help but think about how top-notch IDers might illustrate it differently! ;-) At any rate, the topic is an important one in the U.S., as we prepare to tackle health care reform this summer, and Gawande's treatment of the issues is, as always, both thoughtful and provocative (at least for USers, many of whom are ardent defenders of a mythical can-do entrepreneurial spirit, wherever it surfaces, and whatever the costs ;-). Also, Gawande was interviewed on International Public Radio's _Marketplace_ yesterday: "Why Health Care Costs Are So High," an interview with Dr. Atul Gawande. _Marketplace_, segment for Tuesday, June 2, 2009. http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/06/02/pm_health_care_costs_q/ Deborah (still desperately trying to finish another research project on C17 painting and visual rhetoric, before I can return to working on C17 calligraphy ... so, more delays ahead here :( ... sorry, but it can't be helped) _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From info at userdesign.co.uk Thu Jun 4 15:10:33 2009 From: info at userdesign.co.uk (info at userdesign.co.uk) Date: Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:10:33 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research Message-ID: <20090604141033.abelp6m3kkc0ck4w@webmail.userdesign.co.uk> - Trebuchet is a fairly accessible typeface, for instance the characters: l, I, 1, cl (d), rn (m), are all fairly well defined, unlike typefaces like: Arial or Myraid. - Preference based opinions will not lead to useful data, what do you want them to do? (CRI) - For typefaces: www.fonts.com, www.linotype.com, www.fontshop.com, www.adobe.com/type/. Kind regards Thomas User design Graphic communication design, illustration and production service W www.userdesign.co.uk E info at userdesign.co.uk --- On Tue, 26/5/09, katie at raincharm.co.uk wrote: > From: katie at raincharm.co.uk > Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research > To: infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > Date: Tuesday, 26 May, 2009, 2:43 PM > Hi > > I am working on a small project with a local council with > regard to the > accessibility and readability of their corporate font. They > currently use > Trebuchet but have been criticised by a local disability > organisation for > doing this. They say it is not accessible. As a result they > have engaged > my services to explore and gain opinions from others about > the general > accessibility of Trebuchet in comparison to other (mainly) > system fonts. > They are willing to consider moving to a new font but would > prefer this to > be a system font so that everyone in the organisation can > access it. I > have conducted some primary consultations via telephone and > email > opinion-based research. Before I send out mockups of fonts > chosen to trial > with selected user groups - these have been selected to > cover a range of > impairment, age and other audiences - I would like to ask > the following: > > i) what people think about Trebuchet with regard to > accessibility > ii) current preferred fonts re: accessibility. NB They are > also looking > for a font which has a good range of weights and a good xy > height > difference so please take this into consideration > iii) ideas on user testing to gain feedback - we are > planning to send each > user group a selection of fonts using the same text to ask > them which they > prefer and why. Has anyone carried out anything similar and > if so do you > have any advice on how to structure/phrase the questions? > > All comments/feedback gratefully received. > > With thanks > > Katie Grant > Raincharm Communications > www.raincharm.co.uk > 07971 909007 From r.waller at reading.ac.uk Mon Jun 8 15:28:21 2009 From: r.waller at reading.ac.uk (Rob Waller) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 14:28:21 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem Message-ID: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the proportational representation system used for the European Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you voted. In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm __________________________________ Rob Waller Department of Typography & Graphic Communication University of Reading -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090608/b8da4843/attachment-0023.htm From waarde at glo.be Mon Jun 8 16:38:06 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 16:38:06 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem In-Reply-To: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> References: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> Message-ID: Rob, Thanks for this information: I've just scanned the Dutch Ballot form (49,9 cm by 35,0 cm) as a reference. (If anyone wonders how I smuggled a scanner into the booth, I didn't. I'm living abroad and can only vote by mail.) I've uploaded the voting form on: http://users.telenet.be/waarde/Papers/DutchEU-votingform2009-2.jpg I'm not sure if these are clear and easy to use. I have several questions and qualms about these. [Two questions for those who download the form into their browsers: 1. Why are the 'parties with even numbers' positioned slightly below the parties with odd numbers. Does this 'dancing top line' have a meaning? 2. There is a small text below the names of some of the parties. It states: 'combined with list x (= gecombineerd met lijst x). List 1 is combined with list 6, list 2 is combined with list 4, list 3 is combined with list 7, list 4 is combined with list 2. Who exactly do I vote for if I cross position 13 on list 2 if I know that there are only 3 or 4 seats available?] Kind regards, Karel. waarde at glo.be >>> >In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the >proportational representation system used for the European >Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. >Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that >would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you >voted. > >In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on >the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: > >http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm > >__________________________________ > >Rob Waller >Department of Typography & Graphic Communication >University of Reading From waarde at glo.be Wed Jun 17 09:20:31 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:20:31 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: IDA event - 29 June - London: Exhibition & talk by David Sless In-Reply-To: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: ** IDA event - 29 June - London: Exhibition & talk by David Sless Following the success of IDC2009, we have two events on the evening of 29 June at The Cass Business School. The IDA's June meeting will be a talk by David Sless at 6.30pm, and there?s also a chance to see the Business Mystery MBA exhibition from 5.30pm ** Where & when Monday 29 June 2009 Cass Business School, 106 Bunhill Row, EC1Y 8TZ Exhibition: from 5.30pm ? Lower ground floor ? Talk: 6.30pm Room 2005, level 2 Book tickets for the talk (if you?re not already an IDA member, you can join now to get a discounted member ticket) http://www.amiando.com/IDAJune09 ** The Communication Benchmark Project A talk by David Sless The Communication Research Institute (CRI) has been undertaking benchmarking research in information design for 20 years. David Sless will explain some of the background to that work and some of their findings. Earlier this year CRI put together an international group of volunteers who have now completed the first of what they hope will be many future Communication Benchmark studies. The subject of this first study was credit card statements?a type of document that has attracted a lot of recent political interest worldwide, as a result of the current economic mess. David will share with you some of the results of this study and their implications for information design. http://communication.org.au/modules/home ** The Business Mystery MBA exhibition Please come along earlier in the evening to see the Business Mystery MBA work The Business Mystery MBA elective was conceived in 2004 with the aim of applying perspectives from the arts as a route to gaining insights into management problem solving. It involved treating the arts as a lens or perspective on management. It also overtly sought to redress the lack of right brain emphasis which is endemic to MBA programmes internationally. The course consists of 5 experiences on a theme and usually in a specific space, in 2009 these include the Barbican Art Gallery (Corbusier), the streets of London (Flow), A recording studio in Hackney (Composition), the Whitechapel Gallery (Integration) and the Drill Hall Theatre (Performance). It was decided from the very beginning that there would be avoidance of formal lectures, leading to the idea of ?learning without teaching?. Students are immersed in the experience and have to carry out site-specific tasks and achieve results by the end of each session. Coursework 1: Describe the experience in one specific week taking one of the following roles: critic; supporter; employer; response to cynics Coursework 2: Keep a continuous sketchbook of your learnings Coursework 3: Produce an artifact which sums up either the elective, the MBA year or your career The work will be on display at this end-of-term exhibition. ? Find the event on upcoming: http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/2869970 Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/InfodesignUK Find out more about the IDA: http://www.infodesign.org.uk Contact us: eventadmin at infodesign.org.uk From W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk Wed Jun 17 11:09:55 2009 From: W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk (Will Stahl-Timmins) Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 10:09:55 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: online PhD study - health decision task Message-ID: Hi folks, Thanks to everyone on the list who helped me source studies on the empirical evaluation of information graphics for my PhD. The relevant literature comes from a number of different areas, and it's been quite a challenge pulling enough together for my purposes. I've just put a small Flash-based decision task online to test which of the measurements that are commonly used in such studies might apply in my area of interest (health policy decision-making). If anyone would be prepared to have a go, I'd really appreciate it... The target audience is the internet-using general public, and I'm afraid that if you're reading this, you pretty much qualify... The link is here: www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/evaluation Please feel free to pass this on to anyone you feel might be interested. Many thanks, Will. ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com PenTAG Noy Scott House Peninsula Medical School RD&E Hospital (Wonford) Heavitree Exeter EX2 5DW UK -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090617/c335bbaf/attachment-0013.htm From waarde at glo.be Mon Jun 29 06:21:38 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 29 Jun 2009 06:21:38 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: IDA talk today In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Dear all, Just a reminder about our two events coming up this Monday 29 June at The Cass Business School. The IDA's June meeting will be a talk by David Sless at 6.30 for 7pm, and a chance to see the Business Mystery MBA exhibition from 5.30pm? There are still some tickets available! Where & when (please note the rooms have changed ? see below!) Monday 29 June 2009 Cass Business School, 106 Bunhill Row, EC1Y 8TZ Exhibition: from 5.30pm ? ?3rd floor restaurant (The Hub) Talk: 6.30 for 7pm Room 2003, level 2 Book tickets for the talk (if you?re not already an IDA member, you can join now to get a discounted member ticket) http://www.amiando.com/IDAJune09 -------------------------------------------------- The Communication Benchmark Project A talk by David Sless The Communication Research Institute (CRI) has been undertaking benchmarking research in information design for 20 years. David Sless will explain some of the background to that work and some of their findings. Earlier this year CRI put together an international group of volunteers who have now completed the first of what they hope will be many future Communication Benchmark studies. The subject of this first study was credit card statements?a type of document that has attracted a lot of recent political interest worldwide, as a result of the current economic mess. David will share with you some of the results of this study and their implications for information design. http://communication.org.au/modules/home/ Please come along earlier in the evening to see the Business Mystery MBA work? The Business Mystery MBA exhibition The Business Mystery MBA elective was conceived in 2004 with the aim of applying perspectives from the arts as a route to gaining insights into management problem solving. It involved treating the arts as a lens or perspective on management. It also overtly sought to redress the lack of right brain emphasis which is endemic to MBA programmes internationally. The course consists of 5 experiences on a theme and usually in a specific space, in 2009 these include the Barbican Art Gallery (Corbusier), the streets of London (Flow), A recording studio in Hackney (Composition), the Whitechapel Gallery (Integration) and the Drill Hall Theatre (Performance). It was decided from the very beginning that there would be avoidance of formal lectures, leading to the idea of ?learning without teaching?. Students are immersed in the experience and have to carry out site-specific tasks and achieve results by the end of each session. Coursework 1: Describe the experience in one specific week taking one of the following roles: critic; supporter; employer; response to cynics Coursework 2: Keep a continuous sketchbook of your learnings Coursework 3: Produce an artifact which sums up either the elective, the MBA year or your career The work will be on display at this end-of-term exhibition. Find the event on upcoming: http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/2869970 Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/InfodesignUK Find out more about the IDA: http://www.infodesign.org.uk Contact us: eventadmin at infodesign.org.uk From dtp at she-philosopher.com Wed Jun 3 23:24:20 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:24:20 -0700 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: countergenres for ID In-Reply-To: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Hi, all -- This has nothing to do with information design -- except possibly as an example "countergenre" (a concept borrowed from the literary critic, Claudio Guill?n, author of _Literature as System_) -- but I thought the piece was really good, and would be of interest to others working with/in medical communications: Gawande, Atul. "The Cost Conundrum: What a Texas Town Can Teach Us about Health Care." _The New Yorker_, digital edn. for 1 June 2009. available online at http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/06/01/090601fa_fact_gawande Atul Gawande is a physician (specifically, a surgeon at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health) who has been writing for _The New Yorker_ (a U.S. literary mag known for its funny, quirky cartoons) for a while now. (Some of Gawande's earlier essays for _The New Yorker_ were re-printed in his books, _Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science_ [2002] and _Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance_ [2007].) This is an especially good piece, I believe, and while I was reading it, I couldn't help but think about how top-notch IDers might illustrate it differently! ;-) At any rate, the topic is an important one in the U.S., as we prepare to tackle health care reform this summer, and Gawande's treatment of the issues is, as always, both thoughtful and provocative (at least for USers, many of whom are ardent defenders of a mythical can-do entrepreneurial spirit, wherever it surfaces, and whatever the costs ;-). Also, Gawande was interviewed on International Public Radio's _Marketplace_ yesterday: "Why Health Care Costs Are So High," an interview with Dr. Atul Gawande. _Marketplace_, segment for Tuesday, June 2, 2009. http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/06/02/pm_health_care_costs_q/ Deborah (still desperately trying to finish another research project on C17 painting and visual rhetoric, before I can return to working on C17 calligraphy ... so, more delays ahead here :( ... sorry, but it can't be helped) _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From info at userdesign.co.uk Thu Jun 4 15:10:33 2009 From: info at userdesign.co.uk (info at userdesign.co.uk) Date: Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:10:33 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research Message-ID: <20090604141033.abelp6m3kkc0ck4w@webmail.userdesign.co.uk> - Trebuchet is a fairly accessible typeface, for instance the characters: l, I, 1, cl (d), rn (m), are all fairly well defined, unlike typefaces like: Arial or Myraid. - Preference based opinions will not lead to useful data, what do you want them to do? (CRI) - For typefaces: www.fonts.com, www.linotype.com, www.fontshop.com, www.adobe.com/type/. Kind regards Thomas User design Graphic communication design, illustration and production service W www.userdesign.co.uk E info at userdesign.co.uk --- On Tue, 26/5/09, katie at raincharm.co.uk wrote: > From: katie at raincharm.co.uk > Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research > To: infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > Date: Tuesday, 26 May, 2009, 2:43 PM > Hi > > I am working on a small project with a local council with > regard to the > accessibility and readability of their corporate font. They > currently use > Trebuchet but have been criticised by a local disability > organisation for > doing this. They say it is not accessible. As a result they > have engaged > my services to explore and gain opinions from others about > the general > accessibility of Trebuchet in comparison to other (mainly) > system fonts. > They are willing to consider moving to a new font but would > prefer this to > be a system font so that everyone in the organisation can > access it. I > have conducted some primary consultations via telephone and > email > opinion-based research. Before I send out mockups of fonts > chosen to trial > with selected user groups - these have been selected to > cover a range of > impairment, age and other audiences - I would like to ask > the following: > > i) what people think about Trebuchet with regard to > accessibility > ii) current preferred fonts re: accessibility. NB They are > also looking > for a font which has a good range of weights and a good xy > height > difference so please take this into consideration > iii) ideas on user testing to gain feedback - we are > planning to send each > user group a selection of fonts using the same text to ask > them which they > prefer and why. Has anyone carried out anything similar and > if so do you > have any advice on how to structure/phrase the questions? > > All comments/feedback gratefully received. > > With thanks > > Katie Grant > Raincharm Communications > www.raincharm.co.uk > 07971 909007 From r.waller at reading.ac.uk Mon Jun 8 15:28:21 2009 From: r.waller at reading.ac.uk (Rob Waller) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 14:28:21 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem Message-ID: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the proportational representation system used for the European Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you voted. In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm __________________________________ Rob Waller Department of Typography & Graphic Communication University of Reading -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090608/b8da4843/attachment-0024.htm From waarde at glo.be Mon Jun 8 16:38:06 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 16:38:06 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem In-Reply-To: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> References: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> Message-ID: Rob, Thanks for this information: I've just scanned the Dutch Ballot form (49,9 cm by 35,0 cm) as a reference. (If anyone wonders how I smuggled a scanner into the booth, I didn't. I'm living abroad and can only vote by mail.) I've uploaded the voting form on: http://users.telenet.be/waarde/Papers/DutchEU-votingform2009-2.jpg I'm not sure if these are clear and easy to use. I have several questions and qualms about these. [Two questions for those who download the form into their browsers: 1. Why are the 'parties with even numbers' positioned slightly below the parties with odd numbers. Does this 'dancing top line' have a meaning? 2. There is a small text below the names of some of the parties. It states: 'combined with list x (= gecombineerd met lijst x). List 1 is combined with list 6, list 2 is combined with list 4, list 3 is combined with list 7, list 4 is combined with list 2. Who exactly do I vote for if I cross position 13 on list 2 if I know that there are only 3 or 4 seats available?] Kind regards, Karel. waarde at glo.be >>> >In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the >proportational representation system used for the European >Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. >Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that >would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you >voted. > >In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on >the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: > >http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm > >__________________________________ > >Rob Waller >Department of Typography & Graphic Communication >University of Reading From waarde at glo.be Wed Jun 17 09:20:31 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:20:31 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: IDA event - 29 June - London: Exhibition & talk by David Sless In-Reply-To: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: ** IDA event - 29 June - London: Exhibition & talk by David Sless Following the success of IDC2009, we have two events on the evening of 29 June at The Cass Business School. The IDA's June meeting will be a talk by David Sless at 6.30pm, and there?s also a chance to see the Business Mystery MBA exhibition from 5.30pm ** Where & when Monday 29 June 2009 Cass Business School, 106 Bunhill Row, EC1Y 8TZ Exhibition: from 5.30pm ? Lower ground floor ? Talk: 6.30pm Room 2005, level 2 Book tickets for the talk (if you?re not already an IDA member, you can join now to get a discounted member ticket) http://www.amiando.com/IDAJune09 ** The Communication Benchmark Project A talk by David Sless The Communication Research Institute (CRI) has been undertaking benchmarking research in information design for 20 years. David Sless will explain some of the background to that work and some of their findings. Earlier this year CRI put together an international group of volunteers who have now completed the first of what they hope will be many future Communication Benchmark studies. The subject of this first study was credit card statements?a type of document that has attracted a lot of recent political interest worldwide, as a result of the current economic mess. David will share with you some of the results of this study and their implications for information design. http://communication.org.au/modules/home ** The Business Mystery MBA exhibition Please come along earlier in the evening to see the Business Mystery MBA work The Business Mystery MBA elective was conceived in 2004 with the aim of applying perspectives from the arts as a route to gaining insights into management problem solving. It involved treating the arts as a lens or perspective on management. It also overtly sought to redress the lack of right brain emphasis which is endemic to MBA programmes internationally. The course consists of 5 experiences on a theme and usually in a specific space, in 2009 these include the Barbican Art Gallery (Corbusier), the streets of London (Flow), A recording studio in Hackney (Composition), the Whitechapel Gallery (Integration) and the Drill Hall Theatre (Performance). It was decided from the very beginning that there would be avoidance of formal lectures, leading to the idea of ?learning without teaching?. Students are immersed in the experience and have to carry out site-specific tasks and achieve results by the end of each session. Coursework 1: Describe the experience in one specific week taking one of the following roles: critic; supporter; employer; response to cynics Coursework 2: Keep a continuous sketchbook of your learnings Coursework 3: Produce an artifact which sums up either the elective, the MBA year or your career The work will be on display at this end-of-term exhibition. ? Find the event on upcoming: http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/2869970 Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/InfodesignUK Find out more about the IDA: http://www.infodesign.org.uk Contact us: eventadmin at infodesign.org.uk From W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk Wed Jun 17 11:09:55 2009 From: W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk (Will Stahl-Timmins) Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 10:09:55 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: online PhD study - health decision task Message-ID: Hi folks, Thanks to everyone on the list who helped me source studies on the empirical evaluation of information graphics for my PhD. The relevant literature comes from a number of different areas, and it's been quite a challenge pulling enough together for my purposes. I've just put a small Flash-based decision task online to test which of the measurements that are commonly used in such studies might apply in my area of interest (health policy decision-making). If anyone would be prepared to have a go, I'd really appreciate it... The target audience is the internet-using general public, and I'm afraid that if you're reading this, you pretty much qualify... The link is here: www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/evaluation Please feel free to pass this on to anyone you feel might be interested. Many thanks, Will. ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com PenTAG Noy Scott House Peninsula Medical School RD&E Hospital (Wonford) Heavitree Exeter EX2 5DW UK -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090617/c335bbaf/attachment-0014.htm From waarde at glo.be Mon Jun 29 06:21:38 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 29 Jun 2009 06:21:38 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: IDA talk today In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Dear all, Just a reminder about our two events coming up this Monday 29 June at The Cass Business School. The IDA's June meeting will be a talk by David Sless at 6.30 for 7pm, and a chance to see the Business Mystery MBA exhibition from 5.30pm? There are still some tickets available! Where & when (please note the rooms have changed ? see below!) Monday 29 June 2009 Cass Business School, 106 Bunhill Row, EC1Y 8TZ Exhibition: from 5.30pm ? ?3rd floor restaurant (The Hub) Talk: 6.30 for 7pm Room 2003, level 2 Book tickets for the talk (if you?re not already an IDA member, you can join now to get a discounted member ticket) http://www.amiando.com/IDAJune09 -------------------------------------------------- The Communication Benchmark Project A talk by David Sless The Communication Research Institute (CRI) has been undertaking benchmarking research in information design for 20 years. David Sless will explain some of the background to that work and some of their findings. Earlier this year CRI put together an international group of volunteers who have now completed the first of what they hope will be many future Communication Benchmark studies. The subject of this first study was credit card statements?a type of document that has attracted a lot of recent political interest worldwide, as a result of the current economic mess. David will share with you some of the results of this study and their implications for information design. http://communication.org.au/modules/home/ Please come along earlier in the evening to see the Business Mystery MBA work? The Business Mystery MBA exhibition The Business Mystery MBA elective was conceived in 2004 with the aim of applying perspectives from the arts as a route to gaining insights into management problem solving. It involved treating the arts as a lens or perspective on management. It also overtly sought to redress the lack of right brain emphasis which is endemic to MBA programmes internationally. The course consists of 5 experiences on a theme and usually in a specific space, in 2009 these include the Barbican Art Gallery (Corbusier), the streets of London (Flow), A recording studio in Hackney (Composition), the Whitechapel Gallery (Integration) and the Drill Hall Theatre (Performance). It was decided from the very beginning that there would be avoidance of formal lectures, leading to the idea of ?learning without teaching?. Students are immersed in the experience and have to carry out site-specific tasks and achieve results by the end of each session. Coursework 1: Describe the experience in one specific week taking one of the following roles: critic; supporter; employer; response to cynics Coursework 2: Keep a continuous sketchbook of your learnings Coursework 3: Produce an artifact which sums up either the elective, the MBA year or your career The work will be on display at this end-of-term exhibition. Find the event on upcoming: http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/2869970 Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/InfodesignUK Find out more about the IDA: http://www.infodesign.org.uk Contact us: eventadmin at infodesign.org.uk From dtp at she-philosopher.com Wed Jun 3 23:24:20 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:24:20 -0700 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: countergenres for ID In-Reply-To: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Hi, all -- This has nothing to do with information design -- except possibly as an example "countergenre" (a concept borrowed from the literary critic, Claudio Guill?n, author of _Literature as System_) -- but I thought the piece was really good, and would be of interest to others working with/in medical communications: Gawande, Atul. "The Cost Conundrum: What a Texas Town Can Teach Us about Health Care." _The New Yorker_, digital edn. for 1 June 2009. available online at http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/06/01/090601fa_fact_gawande Atul Gawande is a physician (specifically, a surgeon at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health) who has been writing for _The New Yorker_ (a U.S. literary mag known for its funny, quirky cartoons) for a while now. (Some of Gawande's earlier essays for _The New Yorker_ were re-printed in his books, _Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science_ [2002] and _Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance_ [2007].) This is an especially good piece, I believe, and while I was reading it, I couldn't help but think about how top-notch IDers might illustrate it differently! ;-) At any rate, the topic is an important one in the U.S., as we prepare to tackle health care reform this summer, and Gawande's treatment of the issues is, as always, both thoughtful and provocative (at least for USers, many of whom are ardent defenders of a mythical can-do entrepreneurial spirit, wherever it surfaces, and whatever the costs ;-). Also, Gawande was interviewed on International Public Radio's _Marketplace_ yesterday: "Why Health Care Costs Are So High," an interview with Dr. Atul Gawande. _Marketplace_, segment for Tuesday, June 2, 2009. http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/06/02/pm_health_care_costs_q/ Deborah (still desperately trying to finish another research project on C17 painting and visual rhetoric, before I can return to working on C17 calligraphy ... so, more delays ahead here :( ... sorry, but it can't be helped) _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From info at userdesign.co.uk Thu Jun 4 15:10:33 2009 From: info at userdesign.co.uk (info at userdesign.co.uk) Date: Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:10:33 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research Message-ID: <20090604141033.abelp6m3kkc0ck4w@webmail.userdesign.co.uk> - Trebuchet is a fairly accessible typeface, for instance the characters: l, I, 1, cl (d), rn (m), are all fairly well defined, unlike typefaces like: Arial or Myraid. - Preference based opinions will not lead to useful data, what do you want them to do? (CRI) - For typefaces: www.fonts.com, www.linotype.com, www.fontshop.com, www.adobe.com/type/. Kind regards Thomas User design Graphic communication design, illustration and production service W www.userdesign.co.uk E info at userdesign.co.uk --- On Tue, 26/5/09, katie at raincharm.co.uk wrote: > From: katie at raincharm.co.uk > Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research > To: infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > Date: Tuesday, 26 May, 2009, 2:43 PM > Hi > > I am working on a small project with a local council with > regard to the > accessibility and readability of their corporate font. They > currently use > Trebuchet but have been criticised by a local disability > organisation for > doing this. They say it is not accessible. As a result they > have engaged > my services to explore and gain opinions from others about > the general > accessibility of Trebuchet in comparison to other (mainly) > system fonts. > They are willing to consider moving to a new font but would > prefer this to > be a system font so that everyone in the organisation can > access it. I > have conducted some primary consultations via telephone and > email > opinion-based research. Before I send out mockups of fonts > chosen to trial > with selected user groups - these have been selected to > cover a range of > impairment, age and other audiences - I would like to ask > the following: > > i) what people think about Trebuchet with regard to > accessibility > ii) current preferred fonts re: accessibility. NB They are > also looking > for a font which has a good range of weights and a good xy > height > difference so please take this into consideration > iii) ideas on user testing to gain feedback - we are > planning to send each > user group a selection of fonts using the same text to ask > them which they > prefer and why. Has anyone carried out anything similar and > if so do you > have any advice on how to structure/phrase the questions? > > All comments/feedback gratefully received. > > With thanks > > Katie Grant > Raincharm Communications > www.raincharm.co.uk > 07971 909007 From r.waller at reading.ac.uk Mon Jun 8 15:28:21 2009 From: r.waller at reading.ac.uk (Rob Waller) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 14:28:21 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem Message-ID: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the proportational representation system used for the European Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you voted. In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm __________________________________ Rob Waller Department of Typography & Graphic Communication University of Reading -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090608/b8da4843/attachment-0025.htm From waarde at glo.be Mon Jun 8 16:38:06 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 16:38:06 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem In-Reply-To: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> References: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> Message-ID: Rob, Thanks for this information: I've just scanned the Dutch Ballot form (49,9 cm by 35,0 cm) as a reference. (If anyone wonders how I smuggled a scanner into the booth, I didn't. I'm living abroad and can only vote by mail.) I've uploaded the voting form on: http://users.telenet.be/waarde/Papers/DutchEU-votingform2009-2.jpg I'm not sure if these are clear and easy to use. I have several questions and qualms about these. [Two questions for those who download the form into their browsers: 1. Why are the 'parties with even numbers' positioned slightly below the parties with odd numbers. Does this 'dancing top line' have a meaning? 2. There is a small text below the names of some of the parties. It states: 'combined with list x (= gecombineerd met lijst x). List 1 is combined with list 6, list 2 is combined with list 4, list 3 is combined with list 7, list 4 is combined with list 2. Who exactly do I vote for if I cross position 13 on list 2 if I know that there are only 3 or 4 seats available?] Kind regards, Karel. waarde at glo.be >>> >In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the >proportational representation system used for the European >Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. >Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that >would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you >voted. > >In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on >the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: > >http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm > >__________________________________ > >Rob Waller >Department of Typography & Graphic Communication >University of Reading From waarde at glo.be Wed Jun 17 09:20:31 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:20:31 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: IDA event - 29 June - London: Exhibition & talk by David Sless In-Reply-To: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: ** IDA event - 29 June - London: Exhibition & talk by David Sless Following the success of IDC2009, we have two events on the evening of 29 June at The Cass Business School. The IDA's June meeting will be a talk by David Sless at 6.30pm, and there?s also a chance to see the Business Mystery MBA exhibition from 5.30pm ** Where & when Monday 29 June 2009 Cass Business School, 106 Bunhill Row, EC1Y 8TZ Exhibition: from 5.30pm ? Lower ground floor ? Talk: 6.30pm Room 2005, level 2 Book tickets for the talk (if you?re not already an IDA member, you can join now to get a discounted member ticket) http://www.amiando.com/IDAJune09 ** The Communication Benchmark Project A talk by David Sless The Communication Research Institute (CRI) has been undertaking benchmarking research in information design for 20 years. David Sless will explain some of the background to that work and some of their findings. Earlier this year CRI put together an international group of volunteers who have now completed the first of what they hope will be many future Communication Benchmark studies. The subject of this first study was credit card statements?a type of document that has attracted a lot of recent political interest worldwide, as a result of the current economic mess. David will share with you some of the results of this study and their implications for information design. http://communication.org.au/modules/home ** The Business Mystery MBA exhibition Please come along earlier in the evening to see the Business Mystery MBA work The Business Mystery MBA elective was conceived in 2004 with the aim of applying perspectives from the arts as a route to gaining insights into management problem solving. It involved treating the arts as a lens or perspective on management. It also overtly sought to redress the lack of right brain emphasis which is endemic to MBA programmes internationally. The course consists of 5 experiences on a theme and usually in a specific space, in 2009 these include the Barbican Art Gallery (Corbusier), the streets of London (Flow), A recording studio in Hackney (Composition), the Whitechapel Gallery (Integration) and the Drill Hall Theatre (Performance). It was decided from the very beginning that there would be avoidance of formal lectures, leading to the idea of ?learning without teaching?. Students are immersed in the experience and have to carry out site-specific tasks and achieve results by the end of each session. Coursework 1: Describe the experience in one specific week taking one of the following roles: critic; supporter; employer; response to cynics Coursework 2: Keep a continuous sketchbook of your learnings Coursework 3: Produce an artifact which sums up either the elective, the MBA year or your career The work will be on display at this end-of-term exhibition. ? Find the event on upcoming: http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/2869970 Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/InfodesignUK Find out more about the IDA: http://www.infodesign.org.uk Contact us: eventadmin at infodesign.org.uk From W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk Wed Jun 17 11:09:55 2009 From: W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk (Will Stahl-Timmins) Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 10:09:55 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: online PhD study - health decision task Message-ID: Hi folks, Thanks to everyone on the list who helped me source studies on the empirical evaluation of information graphics for my PhD. The relevant literature comes from a number of different areas, and it's been quite a challenge pulling enough together for my purposes. I've just put a small Flash-based decision task online to test which of the measurements that are commonly used in such studies might apply in my area of interest (health policy decision-making). If anyone would be prepared to have a go, I'd really appreciate it... The target audience is the internet-using general public, and I'm afraid that if you're reading this, you pretty much qualify... The link is here: www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/evaluation Please feel free to pass this on to anyone you feel might be interested. Many thanks, Will. ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com PenTAG Noy Scott House Peninsula Medical School RD&E Hospital (Wonford) Heavitree Exeter EX2 5DW UK -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090617/c335bbaf/attachment-0015.htm From waarde at glo.be Mon Jun 29 06:21:38 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 29 Jun 2009 06:21:38 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: IDA talk today In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Dear all, Just a reminder about our two events coming up this Monday 29 June at The Cass Business School. The IDA's June meeting will be a talk by David Sless at 6.30 for 7pm, and a chance to see the Business Mystery MBA exhibition from 5.30pm? There are still some tickets available! Where & when (please note the rooms have changed ? see below!) Monday 29 June 2009 Cass Business School, 106 Bunhill Row, EC1Y 8TZ Exhibition: from 5.30pm ? ?3rd floor restaurant (The Hub) Talk: 6.30 for 7pm Room 2003, level 2 Book tickets for the talk (if you?re not already an IDA member, you can join now to get a discounted member ticket) http://www.amiando.com/IDAJune09 -------------------------------------------------- The Communication Benchmark Project A talk by David Sless The Communication Research Institute (CRI) has been undertaking benchmarking research in information design for 20 years. David Sless will explain some of the background to that work and some of their findings. Earlier this year CRI put together an international group of volunteers who have now completed the first of what they hope will be many future Communication Benchmark studies. The subject of this first study was credit card statements?a type of document that has attracted a lot of recent political interest worldwide, as a result of the current economic mess. David will share with you some of the results of this study and their implications for information design. http://communication.org.au/modules/home/ Please come along earlier in the evening to see the Business Mystery MBA work? The Business Mystery MBA exhibition The Business Mystery MBA elective was conceived in 2004 with the aim of applying perspectives from the arts as a route to gaining insights into management problem solving. It involved treating the arts as a lens or perspective on management. It also overtly sought to redress the lack of right brain emphasis which is endemic to MBA programmes internationally. The course consists of 5 experiences on a theme and usually in a specific space, in 2009 these include the Barbican Art Gallery (Corbusier), the streets of London (Flow), A recording studio in Hackney (Composition), the Whitechapel Gallery (Integration) and the Drill Hall Theatre (Performance). It was decided from the very beginning that there would be avoidance of formal lectures, leading to the idea of ?learning without teaching?. Students are immersed in the experience and have to carry out site-specific tasks and achieve results by the end of each session. Coursework 1: Describe the experience in one specific week taking one of the following roles: critic; supporter; employer; response to cynics Coursework 2: Keep a continuous sketchbook of your learnings Coursework 3: Produce an artifact which sums up either the elective, the MBA year or your career The work will be on display at this end-of-term exhibition. Find the event on upcoming: http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/2869970 Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/InfodesignUK Find out more about the IDA: http://www.infodesign.org.uk Contact us: eventadmin at infodesign.org.uk From dtp at she-philosopher.com Wed Jun 3 23:24:20 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:24:20 -0700 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: countergenres for ID In-Reply-To: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Hi, all -- This has nothing to do with information design -- except possibly as an example "countergenre" (a concept borrowed from the literary critic, Claudio Guill?n, author of _Literature as System_) -- but I thought the piece was really good, and would be of interest to others working with/in medical communications: Gawande, Atul. "The Cost Conundrum: What a Texas Town Can Teach Us about Health Care." _The New Yorker_, digital edn. for 1 June 2009. available online at http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/06/01/090601fa_fact_gawande Atul Gawande is a physician (specifically, a surgeon at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health) who has been writing for _The New Yorker_ (a U.S. literary mag known for its funny, quirky cartoons) for a while now. (Some of Gawande's earlier essays for _The New Yorker_ were re-printed in his books, _Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science_ [2002] and _Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance_ [2007].) This is an especially good piece, I believe, and while I was reading it, I couldn't help but think about how top-notch IDers might illustrate it differently! ;-) At any rate, the topic is an important one in the U.S., as we prepare to tackle health care reform this summer, and Gawande's treatment of the issues is, as always, both thoughtful and provocative (at least for USers, many of whom are ardent defenders of a mythical can-do entrepreneurial spirit, wherever it surfaces, and whatever the costs ;-). Also, Gawande was interviewed on International Public Radio's _Marketplace_ yesterday: "Why Health Care Costs Are So High," an interview with Dr. Atul Gawande. _Marketplace_, segment for Tuesday, June 2, 2009. http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/06/02/pm_health_care_costs_q/ Deborah (still desperately trying to finish another research project on C17 painting and visual rhetoric, before I can return to working on C17 calligraphy ... so, more delays ahead here :( ... sorry, but it can't be helped) _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From info at userdesign.co.uk Thu Jun 4 15:10:33 2009 From: info at userdesign.co.uk (info at userdesign.co.uk) Date: Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:10:33 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research Message-ID: <20090604141033.abelp6m3kkc0ck4w@webmail.userdesign.co.uk> - Trebuchet is a fairly accessible typeface, for instance the characters: l, I, 1, cl (d), rn (m), are all fairly well defined, unlike typefaces like: Arial or Myraid. - Preference based opinions will not lead to useful data, what do you want them to do? (CRI) - For typefaces: www.fonts.com, www.linotype.com, www.fontshop.com, www.adobe.com/type/. Kind regards Thomas User design Graphic communication design, illustration and production service W www.userdesign.co.uk E info at userdesign.co.uk --- On Tue, 26/5/09, katie at raincharm.co.uk wrote: > From: katie at raincharm.co.uk > Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research > To: infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > Date: Tuesday, 26 May, 2009, 2:43 PM > Hi > > I am working on a small project with a local council with > regard to the > accessibility and readability of their corporate font. They > currently use > Trebuchet but have been criticised by a local disability > organisation for > doing this. They say it is not accessible. As a result they > have engaged > my services to explore and gain opinions from others about > the general > accessibility of Trebuchet in comparison to other (mainly) > system fonts. > They are willing to consider moving to a new font but would > prefer this to > be a system font so that everyone in the organisation can > access it. I > have conducted some primary consultations via telephone and > email > opinion-based research. Before I send out mockups of fonts > chosen to trial > with selected user groups - these have been selected to > cover a range of > impairment, age and other audiences - I would like to ask > the following: > > i) what people think about Trebuchet with regard to > accessibility > ii) current preferred fonts re: accessibility. NB They are > also looking > for a font which has a good range of weights and a good xy > height > difference so please take this into consideration > iii) ideas on user testing to gain feedback - we are > planning to send each > user group a selection of fonts using the same text to ask > them which they > prefer and why. Has anyone carried out anything similar and > if so do you > have any advice on how to structure/phrase the questions? > > All comments/feedback gratefully received. > > With thanks > > Katie Grant > Raincharm Communications > www.raincharm.co.uk > 07971 909007 From r.waller at reading.ac.uk Mon Jun 8 15:28:21 2009 From: r.waller at reading.ac.uk (Rob Waller) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 14:28:21 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem Message-ID: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the proportational representation system used for the European Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you voted. In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm __________________________________ Rob Waller Department of Typography & Graphic Communication University of Reading -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090608/b8da4843/attachment-0026.htm From waarde at glo.be Mon Jun 8 16:38:06 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 16:38:06 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem In-Reply-To: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> References: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> Message-ID: Rob, Thanks for this information: I've just scanned the Dutch Ballot form (49,9 cm by 35,0 cm) as a reference. (If anyone wonders how I smuggled a scanner into the booth, I didn't. I'm living abroad and can only vote by mail.) I've uploaded the voting form on: http://users.telenet.be/waarde/Papers/DutchEU-votingform2009-2.jpg I'm not sure if these are clear and easy to use. I have several questions and qualms about these. [Two questions for those who download the form into their browsers: 1. Why are the 'parties with even numbers' positioned slightly below the parties with odd numbers. Does this 'dancing top line' have a meaning? 2. There is a small text below the names of some of the parties. It states: 'combined with list x (= gecombineerd met lijst x). List 1 is combined with list 6, list 2 is combined with list 4, list 3 is combined with list 7, list 4 is combined with list 2. Who exactly do I vote for if I cross position 13 on list 2 if I know that there are only 3 or 4 seats available?] Kind regards, Karel. waarde at glo.be >>> >In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the >proportational representation system used for the European >Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. >Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that >would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you >voted. > >In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on >the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: > >http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm > >__________________________________ > >Rob Waller >Department of Typography & Graphic Communication >University of Reading From waarde at glo.be Wed Jun 17 09:20:31 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:20:31 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: IDA event - 29 June - London: Exhibition & talk by David Sless In-Reply-To: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: ** IDA event - 29 June - London: Exhibition & talk by David Sless Following the success of IDC2009, we have two events on the evening of 29 June at The Cass Business School. The IDA's June meeting will be a talk by David Sless at 6.30pm, and there?s also a chance to see the Business Mystery MBA exhibition from 5.30pm ** Where & when Monday 29 June 2009 Cass Business School, 106 Bunhill Row, EC1Y 8TZ Exhibition: from 5.30pm ? Lower ground floor ? Talk: 6.30pm Room 2005, level 2 Book tickets for the talk (if you?re not already an IDA member, you can join now to get a discounted member ticket) http://www.amiando.com/IDAJune09 ** The Communication Benchmark Project A talk by David Sless The Communication Research Institute (CRI) has been undertaking benchmarking research in information design for 20 years. David Sless will explain some of the background to that work and some of their findings. Earlier this year CRI put together an international group of volunteers who have now completed the first of what they hope will be many future Communication Benchmark studies. The subject of this first study was credit card statements?a type of document that has attracted a lot of recent political interest worldwide, as a result of the current economic mess. David will share with you some of the results of this study and their implications for information design. http://communication.org.au/modules/home ** The Business Mystery MBA exhibition Please come along earlier in the evening to see the Business Mystery MBA work The Business Mystery MBA elective was conceived in 2004 with the aim of applying perspectives from the arts as a route to gaining insights into management problem solving. It involved treating the arts as a lens or perspective on management. It also overtly sought to redress the lack of right brain emphasis which is endemic to MBA programmes internationally. The course consists of 5 experiences on a theme and usually in a specific space, in 2009 these include the Barbican Art Gallery (Corbusier), the streets of London (Flow), A recording studio in Hackney (Composition), the Whitechapel Gallery (Integration) and the Drill Hall Theatre (Performance). It was decided from the very beginning that there would be avoidance of formal lectures, leading to the idea of ?learning without teaching?. Students are immersed in the experience and have to carry out site-specific tasks and achieve results by the end of each session. Coursework 1: Describe the experience in one specific week taking one of the following roles: critic; supporter; employer; response to cynics Coursework 2: Keep a continuous sketchbook of your learnings Coursework 3: Produce an artifact which sums up either the elective, the MBA year or your career The work will be on display at this end-of-term exhibition. ? Find the event on upcoming: http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/2869970 Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/InfodesignUK Find out more about the IDA: http://www.infodesign.org.uk Contact us: eventadmin at infodesign.org.uk From W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk Wed Jun 17 11:09:55 2009 From: W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk (Will Stahl-Timmins) Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 10:09:55 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: online PhD study - health decision task Message-ID: Hi folks, Thanks to everyone on the list who helped me source studies on the empirical evaluation of information graphics for my PhD. The relevant literature comes from a number of different areas, and it's been quite a challenge pulling enough together for my purposes. I've just put a small Flash-based decision task online to test which of the measurements that are commonly used in such studies might apply in my area of interest (health policy decision-making). If anyone would be prepared to have a go, I'd really appreciate it... The target audience is the internet-using general public, and I'm afraid that if you're reading this, you pretty much qualify... The link is here: www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/evaluation Please feel free to pass this on to anyone you feel might be interested. Many thanks, Will. ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com PenTAG Noy Scott House Peninsula Medical School RD&E Hospital (Wonford) Heavitree Exeter EX2 5DW UK -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090617/c335bbaf/attachment-0016.htm From waarde at glo.be Mon Jun 29 06:21:38 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 29 Jun 2009 06:21:38 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: IDA talk today In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Dear all, Just a reminder about our two events coming up this Monday 29 June at The Cass Business School. The IDA's June meeting will be a talk by David Sless at 6.30 for 7pm, and a chance to see the Business Mystery MBA exhibition from 5.30pm? There are still some tickets available! Where & when (please note the rooms have changed ? see below!) Monday 29 June 2009 Cass Business School, 106 Bunhill Row, EC1Y 8TZ Exhibition: from 5.30pm ? ?3rd floor restaurant (The Hub) Talk: 6.30 for 7pm Room 2003, level 2 Book tickets for the talk (if you?re not already an IDA member, you can join now to get a discounted member ticket) http://www.amiando.com/IDAJune09 -------------------------------------------------- The Communication Benchmark Project A talk by David Sless The Communication Research Institute (CRI) has been undertaking benchmarking research in information design for 20 years. David Sless will explain some of the background to that work and some of their findings. Earlier this year CRI put together an international group of volunteers who have now completed the first of what they hope will be many future Communication Benchmark studies. The subject of this first study was credit card statements?a type of document that has attracted a lot of recent political interest worldwide, as a result of the current economic mess. David will share with you some of the results of this study and their implications for information design. http://communication.org.au/modules/home/ Please come along earlier in the evening to see the Business Mystery MBA work? The Business Mystery MBA exhibition The Business Mystery MBA elective was conceived in 2004 with the aim of applying perspectives from the arts as a route to gaining insights into management problem solving. It involved treating the arts as a lens or perspective on management. It also overtly sought to redress the lack of right brain emphasis which is endemic to MBA programmes internationally. The course consists of 5 experiences on a theme and usually in a specific space, in 2009 these include the Barbican Art Gallery (Corbusier), the streets of London (Flow), A recording studio in Hackney (Composition), the Whitechapel Gallery (Integration) and the Drill Hall Theatre (Performance). It was decided from the very beginning that there would be avoidance of formal lectures, leading to the idea of ?learning without teaching?. Students are immersed in the experience and have to carry out site-specific tasks and achieve results by the end of each session. Coursework 1: Describe the experience in one specific week taking one of the following roles: critic; supporter; employer; response to cynics Coursework 2: Keep a continuous sketchbook of your learnings Coursework 3: Produce an artifact which sums up either the elective, the MBA year or your career The work will be on display at this end-of-term exhibition. Find the event on upcoming: http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/2869970 Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/InfodesignUK Find out more about the IDA: http://www.infodesign.org.uk Contact us: eventadmin at infodesign.org.uk From dtp at she-philosopher.com Wed Jun 3 23:24:20 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:24:20 -0700 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: countergenres for ID In-Reply-To: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Hi, all -- This has nothing to do with information design -- except possibly as an example "countergenre" (a concept borrowed from the literary critic, Claudio Guill?n, author of _Literature as System_) -- but I thought the piece was really good, and would be of interest to others working with/in medical communications: Gawande, Atul. "The Cost Conundrum: What a Texas Town Can Teach Us about Health Care." _The New Yorker_, digital edn. for 1 June 2009. available online at http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/06/01/090601fa_fact_gawande Atul Gawande is a physician (specifically, a surgeon at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health) who has been writing for _The New Yorker_ (a U.S. literary mag known for its funny, quirky cartoons) for a while now. (Some of Gawande's earlier essays for _The New Yorker_ were re-printed in his books, _Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science_ [2002] and _Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance_ [2007].) This is an especially good piece, I believe, and while I was reading it, I couldn't help but think about how top-notch IDers might illustrate it differently! ;-) At any rate, the topic is an important one in the U.S., as we prepare to tackle health care reform this summer, and Gawande's treatment of the issues is, as always, both thoughtful and provocative (at least for USers, many of whom are ardent defenders of a mythical can-do entrepreneurial spirit, wherever it surfaces, and whatever the costs ;-). Also, Gawande was interviewed on International Public Radio's _Marketplace_ yesterday: "Why Health Care Costs Are So High," an interview with Dr. Atul Gawande. _Marketplace_, segment for Tuesday, June 2, 2009. http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/06/02/pm_health_care_costs_q/ Deborah (still desperately trying to finish another research project on C17 painting and visual rhetoric, before I can return to working on C17 calligraphy ... so, more delays ahead here :( ... sorry, but it can't be helped) _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From info at userdesign.co.uk Thu Jun 4 15:10:33 2009 From: info at userdesign.co.uk (info at userdesign.co.uk) Date: Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:10:33 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research Message-ID: <20090604141033.abelp6m3kkc0ck4w@webmail.userdesign.co.uk> - Trebuchet is a fairly accessible typeface, for instance the characters: l, I, 1, cl (d), rn (m), are all fairly well defined, unlike typefaces like: Arial or Myraid. - Preference based opinions will not lead to useful data, what do you want them to do? (CRI) - For typefaces: www.fonts.com, www.linotype.com, www.fontshop.com, www.adobe.com/type/. Kind regards Thomas User design Graphic communication design, illustration and production service W www.userdesign.co.uk E info at userdesign.co.uk --- On Tue, 26/5/09, katie at raincharm.co.uk wrote: > From: katie at raincharm.co.uk > Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research > To: infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > Date: Tuesday, 26 May, 2009, 2:43 PM > Hi > > I am working on a small project with a local council with > regard to the > accessibility and readability of their corporate font. They > currently use > Trebuchet but have been criticised by a local disability > organisation for > doing this. They say it is not accessible. As a result they > have engaged > my services to explore and gain opinions from others about > the general > accessibility of Trebuchet in comparison to other (mainly) > system fonts. > They are willing to consider moving to a new font but would > prefer this to > be a system font so that everyone in the organisation can > access it. I > have conducted some primary consultations via telephone and > email > opinion-based research. Before I send out mockups of fonts > chosen to trial > with selected user groups - these have been selected to > cover a range of > impairment, age and other audiences - I would like to ask > the following: > > i) what people think about Trebuchet with regard to > accessibility > ii) current preferred fonts re: accessibility. NB They are > also looking > for a font which has a good range of weights and a good xy > height > difference so please take this into consideration > iii) ideas on user testing to gain feedback - we are > planning to send each > user group a selection of fonts using the same text to ask > them which they > prefer and why. Has anyone carried out anything similar and > if so do you > have any advice on how to structure/phrase the questions? > > All comments/feedback gratefully received. > > With thanks > > Katie Grant > Raincharm Communications > www.raincharm.co.uk > 07971 909007 From r.waller at reading.ac.uk Mon Jun 8 15:28:21 2009 From: r.waller at reading.ac.uk (Rob Waller) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 14:28:21 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem Message-ID: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the proportational representation system used for the European Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you voted. In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm __________________________________ Rob Waller Department of Typography & Graphic Communication University of Reading -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090608/b8da4843/attachment-0027.htm From waarde at glo.be Mon Jun 8 16:38:06 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 16:38:06 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem In-Reply-To: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> References: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> Message-ID: Rob, Thanks for this information: I've just scanned the Dutch Ballot form (49,9 cm by 35,0 cm) as a reference. (If anyone wonders how I smuggled a scanner into the booth, I didn't. I'm living abroad and can only vote by mail.) I've uploaded the voting form on: http://users.telenet.be/waarde/Papers/DutchEU-votingform2009-2.jpg I'm not sure if these are clear and easy to use. I have several questions and qualms about these. [Two questions for those who download the form into their browsers: 1. Why are the 'parties with even numbers' positioned slightly below the parties with odd numbers. Does this 'dancing top line' have a meaning? 2. There is a small text below the names of some of the parties. It states: 'combined with list x (= gecombineerd met lijst x). List 1 is combined with list 6, list 2 is combined with list 4, list 3 is combined with list 7, list 4 is combined with list 2. Who exactly do I vote for if I cross position 13 on list 2 if I know that there are only 3 or 4 seats available?] Kind regards, Karel. waarde at glo.be >>> >In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the >proportational representation system used for the European >Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. >Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that >would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you >voted. > >In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on >the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: > >http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm > >__________________________________ > >Rob Waller >Department of Typography & Graphic Communication >University of Reading From waarde at glo.be Wed Jun 17 09:20:31 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:20:31 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: IDA event - 29 June - London: Exhibition & talk by David Sless In-Reply-To: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: ** IDA event - 29 June - London: Exhibition & talk by David Sless Following the success of IDC2009, we have two events on the evening of 29 June at The Cass Business School. The IDA's June meeting will be a talk by David Sless at 6.30pm, and there?s also a chance to see the Business Mystery MBA exhibition from 5.30pm ** Where & when Monday 29 June 2009 Cass Business School, 106 Bunhill Row, EC1Y 8TZ Exhibition: from 5.30pm ? Lower ground floor ? Talk: 6.30pm Room 2005, level 2 Book tickets for the talk (if you?re not already an IDA member, you can join now to get a discounted member ticket) http://www.amiando.com/IDAJune09 ** The Communication Benchmark Project A talk by David Sless The Communication Research Institute (CRI) has been undertaking benchmarking research in information design for 20 years. David Sless will explain some of the background to that work and some of their findings. Earlier this year CRI put together an international group of volunteers who have now completed the first of what they hope will be many future Communication Benchmark studies. The subject of this first study was credit card statements?a type of document that has attracted a lot of recent political interest worldwide, as a result of the current economic mess. David will share with you some of the results of this study and their implications for information design. http://communication.org.au/modules/home ** The Business Mystery MBA exhibition Please come along earlier in the evening to see the Business Mystery MBA work The Business Mystery MBA elective was conceived in 2004 with the aim of applying perspectives from the arts as a route to gaining insights into management problem solving. It involved treating the arts as a lens or perspective on management. It also overtly sought to redress the lack of right brain emphasis which is endemic to MBA programmes internationally. The course consists of 5 experiences on a theme and usually in a specific space, in 2009 these include the Barbican Art Gallery (Corbusier), the streets of London (Flow), A recording studio in Hackney (Composition), the Whitechapel Gallery (Integration) and the Drill Hall Theatre (Performance). It was decided from the very beginning that there would be avoidance of formal lectures, leading to the idea of ?learning without teaching?. Students are immersed in the experience and have to carry out site-specific tasks and achieve results by the end of each session. Coursework 1: Describe the experience in one specific week taking one of the following roles: critic; supporter; employer; response to cynics Coursework 2: Keep a continuous sketchbook of your learnings Coursework 3: Produce an artifact which sums up either the elective, the MBA year or your career The work will be on display at this end-of-term exhibition. ? Find the event on upcoming: http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/2869970 Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/InfodesignUK Find out more about the IDA: http://www.infodesign.org.uk Contact us: eventadmin at infodesign.org.uk From W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk Wed Jun 17 11:09:55 2009 From: W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk (Will Stahl-Timmins) Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 10:09:55 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: online PhD study - health decision task Message-ID: Hi folks, Thanks to everyone on the list who helped me source studies on the empirical evaluation of information graphics for my PhD. The relevant literature comes from a number of different areas, and it's been quite a challenge pulling enough together for my purposes. I've just put a small Flash-based decision task online to test which of the measurements that are commonly used in such studies might apply in my area of interest (health policy decision-making). If anyone would be prepared to have a go, I'd really appreciate it... The target audience is the internet-using general public, and I'm afraid that if you're reading this, you pretty much qualify... The link is here: www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/evaluation Please feel free to pass this on to anyone you feel might be interested. Many thanks, Will. ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com PenTAG Noy Scott House Peninsula Medical School RD&E Hospital (Wonford) Heavitree Exeter EX2 5DW UK -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090617/c335bbaf/attachment-0017.htm From waarde at glo.be Mon Jun 29 06:21:38 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 29 Jun 2009 06:21:38 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: IDA talk today In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Dear all, Just a reminder about our two events coming up this Monday 29 June at The Cass Business School. The IDA's June meeting will be a talk by David Sless at 6.30 for 7pm, and a chance to see the Business Mystery MBA exhibition from 5.30pm? There are still some tickets available! Where & when (please note the rooms have changed ? see below!) Monday 29 June 2009 Cass Business School, 106 Bunhill Row, EC1Y 8TZ Exhibition: from 5.30pm ? ?3rd floor restaurant (The Hub) Talk: 6.30 for 7pm Room 2003, level 2 Book tickets for the talk (if you?re not already an IDA member, you can join now to get a discounted member ticket) http://www.amiando.com/IDAJune09 -------------------------------------------------- The Communication Benchmark Project A talk by David Sless The Communication Research Institute (CRI) has been undertaking benchmarking research in information design for 20 years. David Sless will explain some of the background to that work and some of their findings. Earlier this year CRI put together an international group of volunteers who have now completed the first of what they hope will be many future Communication Benchmark studies. The subject of this first study was credit card statements?a type of document that has attracted a lot of recent political interest worldwide, as a result of the current economic mess. David will share with you some of the results of this study and their implications for information design. http://communication.org.au/modules/home/ Please come along earlier in the evening to see the Business Mystery MBA work? The Business Mystery MBA exhibition The Business Mystery MBA elective was conceived in 2004 with the aim of applying perspectives from the arts as a route to gaining insights into management problem solving. It involved treating the arts as a lens or perspective on management. It also overtly sought to redress the lack of right brain emphasis which is endemic to MBA programmes internationally. The course consists of 5 experiences on a theme and usually in a specific space, in 2009 these include the Barbican Art Gallery (Corbusier), the streets of London (Flow), A recording studio in Hackney (Composition), the Whitechapel Gallery (Integration) and the Drill Hall Theatre (Performance). It was decided from the very beginning that there would be avoidance of formal lectures, leading to the idea of ?learning without teaching?. Students are immersed in the experience and have to carry out site-specific tasks and achieve results by the end of each session. Coursework 1: Describe the experience in one specific week taking one of the following roles: critic; supporter; employer; response to cynics Coursework 2: Keep a continuous sketchbook of your learnings Coursework 3: Produce an artifact which sums up either the elective, the MBA year or your career The work will be on display at this end-of-term exhibition. Find the event on upcoming: http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/2869970 Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/InfodesignUK Find out more about the IDA: http://www.infodesign.org.uk Contact us: eventadmin at infodesign.org.uk From dtp at she-philosopher.com Wed Jun 3 23:24:20 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:24:20 -0700 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: countergenres for ID In-Reply-To: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Hi, all -- This has nothing to do with information design -- except possibly as an example "countergenre" (a concept borrowed from the literary critic, Claudio Guill?n, author of _Literature as System_) -- but I thought the piece was really good, and would be of interest to others working with/in medical communications: Gawande, Atul. "The Cost Conundrum: What a Texas Town Can Teach Us about Health Care." _The New Yorker_, digital edn. for 1 June 2009. available online at http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/06/01/090601fa_fact_gawande Atul Gawande is a physician (specifically, a surgeon at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health) who has been writing for _The New Yorker_ (a U.S. literary mag known for its funny, quirky cartoons) for a while now. (Some of Gawande's earlier essays for _The New Yorker_ were re-printed in his books, _Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science_ [2002] and _Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance_ [2007].) This is an especially good piece, I believe, and while I was reading it, I couldn't help but think about how top-notch IDers might illustrate it differently! ;-) At any rate, the topic is an important one in the U.S., as we prepare to tackle health care reform this summer, and Gawande's treatment of the issues is, as always, both thoughtful and provocative (at least for USers, many of whom are ardent defenders of a mythical can-do entrepreneurial spirit, wherever it surfaces, and whatever the costs ;-). Also, Gawande was interviewed on International Public Radio's _Marketplace_ yesterday: "Why Health Care Costs Are So High," an interview with Dr. Atul Gawande. _Marketplace_, segment for Tuesday, June 2, 2009. http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/06/02/pm_health_care_costs_q/ Deborah (still desperately trying to finish another research project on C17 painting and visual rhetoric, before I can return to working on C17 calligraphy ... so, more delays ahead here :( ... sorry, but it can't be helped) _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From info at userdesign.co.uk Thu Jun 4 15:10:33 2009 From: info at userdesign.co.uk (info at userdesign.co.uk) Date: Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:10:33 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research Message-ID: <20090604141033.abelp6m3kkc0ck4w@webmail.userdesign.co.uk> - Trebuchet is a fairly accessible typeface, for instance the characters: l, I, 1, cl (d), rn (m), are all fairly well defined, unlike typefaces like: Arial or Myraid. - Preference based opinions will not lead to useful data, what do you want them to do? (CRI) - For typefaces: www.fonts.com, www.linotype.com, www.fontshop.com, www.adobe.com/type/. Kind regards Thomas User design Graphic communication design, illustration and production service W www.userdesign.co.uk E info at userdesign.co.uk --- On Tue, 26/5/09, katie at raincharm.co.uk wrote: > From: katie at raincharm.co.uk > Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research > To: infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > Date: Tuesday, 26 May, 2009, 2:43 PM > Hi > > I am working on a small project with a local council with > regard to the > accessibility and readability of their corporate font. They > currently use > Trebuchet but have been criticised by a local disability > organisation for > doing this. They say it is not accessible. As a result they > have engaged > my services to explore and gain opinions from others about > the general > accessibility of Trebuchet in comparison to other (mainly) > system fonts. > They are willing to consider moving to a new font but would > prefer this to > be a system font so that everyone in the organisation can > access it. I > have conducted some primary consultations via telephone and > email > opinion-based research. Before I send out mockups of fonts > chosen to trial > with selected user groups - these have been selected to > cover a range of > impairment, age and other audiences - I would like to ask > the following: > > i) what people think about Trebuchet with regard to > accessibility > ii) current preferred fonts re: accessibility. NB They are > also looking > for a font which has a good range of weights and a good xy > height > difference so please take this into consideration > iii) ideas on user testing to gain feedback - we are > planning to send each > user group a selection of fonts using the same text to ask > them which they > prefer and why. Has anyone carried out anything similar and > if so do you > have any advice on how to structure/phrase the questions? > > All comments/feedback gratefully received. > > With thanks > > Katie Grant > Raincharm Communications > www.raincharm.co.uk > 07971 909007 From r.waller at reading.ac.uk Mon Jun 8 15:28:21 2009 From: r.waller at reading.ac.uk (Rob Waller) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 14:28:21 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem Message-ID: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the proportational representation system used for the European Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you voted. In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm __________________________________ Rob Waller Department of Typography & Graphic Communication University of Reading -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090608/b8da4843/attachment-0028.htm From waarde at glo.be Mon Jun 8 16:38:06 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 16:38:06 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem In-Reply-To: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> References: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> Message-ID: Rob, Thanks for this information: I've just scanned the Dutch Ballot form (49,9 cm by 35,0 cm) as a reference. (If anyone wonders how I smuggled a scanner into the booth, I didn't. I'm living abroad and can only vote by mail.) I've uploaded the voting form on: http://users.telenet.be/waarde/Papers/DutchEU-votingform2009-2.jpg I'm not sure if these are clear and easy to use. I have several questions and qualms about these. [Two questions for those who download the form into their browsers: 1. Why are the 'parties with even numbers' positioned slightly below the parties with odd numbers. Does this 'dancing top line' have a meaning? 2. There is a small text below the names of some of the parties. It states: 'combined with list x (= gecombineerd met lijst x). List 1 is combined with list 6, list 2 is combined with list 4, list 3 is combined with list 7, list 4 is combined with list 2. Who exactly do I vote for if I cross position 13 on list 2 if I know that there are only 3 or 4 seats available?] Kind regards, Karel. waarde at glo.be >>> >In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the >proportational representation system used for the European >Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. >Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that >would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you >voted. > >In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on >the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: > >http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm > >__________________________________ > >Rob Waller >Department of Typography & Graphic Communication >University of Reading From waarde at glo.be Wed Jun 17 09:20:31 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:20:31 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: IDA event - 29 June - London: Exhibition & talk by David Sless In-Reply-To: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: ** IDA event - 29 June - London: Exhibition & talk by David Sless Following the success of IDC2009, we have two events on the evening of 29 June at The Cass Business School. The IDA's June meeting will be a talk by David Sless at 6.30pm, and there?s also a chance to see the Business Mystery MBA exhibition from 5.30pm ** Where & when Monday 29 June 2009 Cass Business School, 106 Bunhill Row, EC1Y 8TZ Exhibition: from 5.30pm ? Lower ground floor ? Talk: 6.30pm Room 2005, level 2 Book tickets for the talk (if you?re not already an IDA member, you can join now to get a discounted member ticket) http://www.amiando.com/IDAJune09 ** The Communication Benchmark Project A talk by David Sless The Communication Research Institute (CRI) has been undertaking benchmarking research in information design for 20 years. David Sless will explain some of the background to that work and some of their findings. Earlier this year CRI put together an international group of volunteers who have now completed the first of what they hope will be many future Communication Benchmark studies. The subject of this first study was credit card statements?a type of document that has attracted a lot of recent political interest worldwide, as a result of the current economic mess. David will share with you some of the results of this study and their implications for information design. http://communication.org.au/modules/home ** The Business Mystery MBA exhibition Please come along earlier in the evening to see the Business Mystery MBA work The Business Mystery MBA elective was conceived in 2004 with the aim of applying perspectives from the arts as a route to gaining insights into management problem solving. It involved treating the arts as a lens or perspective on management. It also overtly sought to redress the lack of right brain emphasis which is endemic to MBA programmes internationally. The course consists of 5 experiences on a theme and usually in a specific space, in 2009 these include the Barbican Art Gallery (Corbusier), the streets of London (Flow), A recording studio in Hackney (Composition), the Whitechapel Gallery (Integration) and the Drill Hall Theatre (Performance). It was decided from the very beginning that there would be avoidance of formal lectures, leading to the idea of ?learning without teaching?. Students are immersed in the experience and have to carry out site-specific tasks and achieve results by the end of each session. Coursework 1: Describe the experience in one specific week taking one of the following roles: critic; supporter; employer; response to cynics Coursework 2: Keep a continuous sketchbook of your learnings Coursework 3: Produce an artifact which sums up either the elective, the MBA year or your career The work will be on display at this end-of-term exhibition. ? Find the event on upcoming: http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/2869970 Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/InfodesignUK Find out more about the IDA: http://www.infodesign.org.uk Contact us: eventadmin at infodesign.org.uk From W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk Wed Jun 17 11:09:55 2009 From: W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk (Will Stahl-Timmins) Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 10:09:55 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: online PhD study - health decision task Message-ID: Hi folks, Thanks to everyone on the list who helped me source studies on the empirical evaluation of information graphics for my PhD. The relevant literature comes from a number of different areas, and it's been quite a challenge pulling enough together for my purposes. I've just put a small Flash-based decision task online to test which of the measurements that are commonly used in such studies might apply in my area of interest (health policy decision-making). If anyone would be prepared to have a go, I'd really appreciate it... The target audience is the internet-using general public, and I'm afraid that if you're reading this, you pretty much qualify... The link is here: www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/evaluation Please feel free to pass this on to anyone you feel might be interested. Many thanks, Will. ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com PenTAG Noy Scott House Peninsula Medical School RD&E Hospital (Wonford) Heavitree Exeter EX2 5DW UK -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090617/c335bbaf/attachment-0018.htm From waarde at glo.be Mon Jun 29 06:21:38 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 29 Jun 2009 06:21:38 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: IDA talk today In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Dear all, Just a reminder about our two events coming up this Monday 29 June at The Cass Business School. The IDA's June meeting will be a talk by David Sless at 6.30 for 7pm, and a chance to see the Business Mystery MBA exhibition from 5.30pm? There are still some tickets available! Where & when (please note the rooms have changed ? see below!) Monday 29 June 2009 Cass Business School, 106 Bunhill Row, EC1Y 8TZ Exhibition: from 5.30pm ? ?3rd floor restaurant (The Hub) Talk: 6.30 for 7pm Room 2003, level 2 Book tickets for the talk (if you?re not already an IDA member, you can join now to get a discounted member ticket) http://www.amiando.com/IDAJune09 -------------------------------------------------- The Communication Benchmark Project A talk by David Sless The Communication Research Institute (CRI) has been undertaking benchmarking research in information design for 20 years. David Sless will explain some of the background to that work and some of their findings. Earlier this year CRI put together an international group of volunteers who have now completed the first of what they hope will be many future Communication Benchmark studies. The subject of this first study was credit card statements?a type of document that has attracted a lot of recent political interest worldwide, as a result of the current economic mess. David will share with you some of the results of this study and their implications for information design. http://communication.org.au/modules/home/ Please come along earlier in the evening to see the Business Mystery MBA work? The Business Mystery MBA exhibition The Business Mystery MBA elective was conceived in 2004 with the aim of applying perspectives from the arts as a route to gaining insights into management problem solving. It involved treating the arts as a lens or perspective on management. It also overtly sought to redress the lack of right brain emphasis which is endemic to MBA programmes internationally. The course consists of 5 experiences on a theme and usually in a specific space, in 2009 these include the Barbican Art Gallery (Corbusier), the streets of London (Flow), A recording studio in Hackney (Composition), the Whitechapel Gallery (Integration) and the Drill Hall Theatre (Performance). It was decided from the very beginning that there would be avoidance of formal lectures, leading to the idea of ?learning without teaching?. Students are immersed in the experience and have to carry out site-specific tasks and achieve results by the end of each session. Coursework 1: Describe the experience in one specific week taking one of the following roles: critic; supporter; employer; response to cynics Coursework 2: Keep a continuous sketchbook of your learnings Coursework 3: Produce an artifact which sums up either the elective, the MBA year or your career The work will be on display at this end-of-term exhibition. Find the event on upcoming: http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/2869970 Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/InfodesignUK Find out more about the IDA: http://www.infodesign.org.uk Contact us: eventadmin at infodesign.org.uk From dtp at she-philosopher.com Wed Jun 3 23:24:20 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:24:20 -0700 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: countergenres for ID In-Reply-To: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Hi, all -- This has nothing to do with information design -- except possibly as an example "countergenre" (a concept borrowed from the literary critic, Claudio Guill?n, author of _Literature as System_) -- but I thought the piece was really good, and would be of interest to others working with/in medical communications: Gawande, Atul. "The Cost Conundrum: What a Texas Town Can Teach Us about Health Care." _The New Yorker_, digital edn. for 1 June 2009. available online at http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/06/01/090601fa_fact_gawande Atul Gawande is a physician (specifically, a surgeon at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health) who has been writing for _The New Yorker_ (a U.S. literary mag known for its funny, quirky cartoons) for a while now. (Some of Gawande's earlier essays for _The New Yorker_ were re-printed in his books, _Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science_ [2002] and _Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance_ [2007].) This is an especially good piece, I believe, and while I was reading it, I couldn't help but think about how top-notch IDers might illustrate it differently! ;-) At any rate, the topic is an important one in the U.S., as we prepare to tackle health care reform this summer, and Gawande's treatment of the issues is, as always, both thoughtful and provocative (at least for USers, many of whom are ardent defenders of a mythical can-do entrepreneurial spirit, wherever it surfaces, and whatever the costs ;-). Also, Gawande was interviewed on International Public Radio's _Marketplace_ yesterday: "Why Health Care Costs Are So High," an interview with Dr. Atul Gawande. _Marketplace_, segment for Tuesday, June 2, 2009. http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/06/02/pm_health_care_costs_q/ Deborah (still desperately trying to finish another research project on C17 painting and visual rhetoric, before I can return to working on C17 calligraphy ... so, more delays ahead here :( ... sorry, but it can't be helped) _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From info at userdesign.co.uk Thu Jun 4 15:10:33 2009 From: info at userdesign.co.uk (info at userdesign.co.uk) Date: Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:10:33 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research Message-ID: <20090604141033.abelp6m3kkc0ck4w@webmail.userdesign.co.uk> - Trebuchet is a fairly accessible typeface, for instance the characters: l, I, 1, cl (d), rn (m), are all fairly well defined, unlike typefaces like: Arial or Myraid. - Preference based opinions will not lead to useful data, what do you want them to do? (CRI) - For typefaces: www.fonts.com, www.linotype.com, www.fontshop.com, www.adobe.com/type/. Kind regards Thomas User design Graphic communication design, illustration and production service W www.userdesign.co.uk E info at userdesign.co.uk --- On Tue, 26/5/09, katie at raincharm.co.uk wrote: > From: katie at raincharm.co.uk > Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research > To: infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > Date: Tuesday, 26 May, 2009, 2:43 PM > Hi > > I am working on a small project with a local council with > regard to the > accessibility and readability of their corporate font. They > currently use > Trebuchet but have been criticised by a local disability > organisation for > doing this. They say it is not accessible. As a result they > have engaged > my services to explore and gain opinions from others about > the general > accessibility of Trebuchet in comparison to other (mainly) > system fonts. > They are willing to consider moving to a new font but would > prefer this to > be a system font so that everyone in the organisation can > access it. I > have conducted some primary consultations via telephone and > email > opinion-based research. Before I send out mockups of fonts > chosen to trial > with selected user groups - these have been selected to > cover a range of > impairment, age and other audiences - I would like to ask > the following: > > i) what people think about Trebuchet with regard to > accessibility > ii) current preferred fonts re: accessibility. NB They are > also looking > for a font which has a good range of weights and a good xy > height > difference so please take this into consideration > iii) ideas on user testing to gain feedback - we are > planning to send each > user group a selection of fonts using the same text to ask > them which they > prefer and why. Has anyone carried out anything similar and > if so do you > have any advice on how to structure/phrase the questions? > > All comments/feedback gratefully received. > > With thanks > > Katie Grant > Raincharm Communications > www.raincharm.co.uk > 07971 909007 From r.waller at reading.ac.uk Mon Jun 8 15:28:21 2009 From: r.waller at reading.ac.uk (Rob Waller) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 14:28:21 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem Message-ID: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the proportational representation system used for the European Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you voted. In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm __________________________________ Rob Waller Department of Typography & Graphic Communication University of Reading -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090608/b8da4843/attachment-0029.htm From waarde at glo.be Mon Jun 8 16:38:06 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 16:38:06 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem In-Reply-To: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> References: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> Message-ID: Rob, Thanks for this information: I've just scanned the Dutch Ballot form (49,9 cm by 35,0 cm) as a reference. (If anyone wonders how I smuggled a scanner into the booth, I didn't. I'm living abroad and can only vote by mail.) I've uploaded the voting form on: http://users.telenet.be/waarde/Papers/DutchEU-votingform2009-2.jpg I'm not sure if these are clear and easy to use. I have several questions and qualms about these. [Two questions for those who download the form into their browsers: 1. Why are the 'parties with even numbers' positioned slightly below the parties with odd numbers. Does this 'dancing top line' have a meaning? 2. There is a small text below the names of some of the parties. It states: 'combined with list x (= gecombineerd met lijst x). List 1 is combined with list 6, list 2 is combined with list 4, list 3 is combined with list 7, list 4 is combined with list 2. Who exactly do I vote for if I cross position 13 on list 2 if I know that there are only 3 or 4 seats available?] Kind regards, Karel. waarde at glo.be >>> >In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the >proportational representation system used for the European >Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. >Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that >would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you >voted. > >In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on >the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: > >http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm > >__________________________________ > >Rob Waller >Department of Typography & Graphic Communication >University of Reading From waarde at glo.be Wed Jun 17 09:20:31 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:20:31 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: IDA event - 29 June - London: Exhibition & talk by David Sless In-Reply-To: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: ** IDA event - 29 June - London: Exhibition & talk by David Sless Following the success of IDC2009, we have two events on the evening of 29 June at The Cass Business School. The IDA's June meeting will be a talk by David Sless at 6.30pm, and there?s also a chance to see the Business Mystery MBA exhibition from 5.30pm ** Where & when Monday 29 June 2009 Cass Business School, 106 Bunhill Row, EC1Y 8TZ Exhibition: from 5.30pm ? Lower ground floor ? Talk: 6.30pm Room 2005, level 2 Book tickets for the talk (if you?re not already an IDA member, you can join now to get a discounted member ticket) http://www.amiando.com/IDAJune09 ** The Communication Benchmark Project A talk by David Sless The Communication Research Institute (CRI) has been undertaking benchmarking research in information design for 20 years. David Sless will explain some of the background to that work and some of their findings. Earlier this year CRI put together an international group of volunteers who have now completed the first of what they hope will be many future Communication Benchmark studies. The subject of this first study was credit card statements?a type of document that has attracted a lot of recent political interest worldwide, as a result of the current economic mess. David will share with you some of the results of this study and their implications for information design. http://communication.org.au/modules/home ** The Business Mystery MBA exhibition Please come along earlier in the evening to see the Business Mystery MBA work The Business Mystery MBA elective was conceived in 2004 with the aim of applying perspectives from the arts as a route to gaining insights into management problem solving. It involved treating the arts as a lens or perspective on management. It also overtly sought to redress the lack of right brain emphasis which is endemic to MBA programmes internationally. The course consists of 5 experiences on a theme and usually in a specific space, in 2009 these include the Barbican Art Gallery (Corbusier), the streets of London (Flow), A recording studio in Hackney (Composition), the Whitechapel Gallery (Integration) and the Drill Hall Theatre (Performance). It was decided from the very beginning that there would be avoidance of formal lectures, leading to the idea of ?learning without teaching?. Students are immersed in the experience and have to carry out site-specific tasks and achieve results by the end of each session. Coursework 1: Describe the experience in one specific week taking one of the following roles: critic; supporter; employer; response to cynics Coursework 2: Keep a continuous sketchbook of your learnings Coursework 3: Produce an artifact which sums up either the elective, the MBA year or your career The work will be on display at this end-of-term exhibition. ? Find the event on upcoming: http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/2869970 Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/InfodesignUK Find out more about the IDA: http://www.infodesign.org.uk Contact us: eventadmin at infodesign.org.uk From W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk Wed Jun 17 11:09:55 2009 From: W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk (Will Stahl-Timmins) Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 10:09:55 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: online PhD study - health decision task Message-ID: Hi folks, Thanks to everyone on the list who helped me source studies on the empirical evaluation of information graphics for my PhD. The relevant literature comes from a number of different areas, and it's been quite a challenge pulling enough together for my purposes. I've just put a small Flash-based decision task online to test which of the measurements that are commonly used in such studies might apply in my area of interest (health policy decision-making). If anyone would be prepared to have a go, I'd really appreciate it... The target audience is the internet-using general public, and I'm afraid that if you're reading this, you pretty much qualify... The link is here: www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/evaluation Please feel free to pass this on to anyone you feel might be interested. Many thanks, Will. ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com PenTAG Noy Scott House Peninsula Medical School RD&E Hospital (Wonford) Heavitree Exeter EX2 5DW UK -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090617/c335bbaf/attachment-0019.htm From waarde at glo.be Mon Jun 29 06:21:38 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 29 Jun 2009 06:21:38 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: IDA talk today In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Dear all, Just a reminder about our two events coming up this Monday 29 June at The Cass Business School. The IDA's June meeting will be a talk by David Sless at 6.30 for 7pm, and a chance to see the Business Mystery MBA exhibition from 5.30pm? There are still some tickets available! Where & when (please note the rooms have changed ? see below!) Monday 29 June 2009 Cass Business School, 106 Bunhill Row, EC1Y 8TZ Exhibition: from 5.30pm ? ?3rd floor restaurant (The Hub) Talk: 6.30 for 7pm Room 2003, level 2 Book tickets for the talk (if you?re not already an IDA member, you can join now to get a discounted member ticket) http://www.amiando.com/IDAJune09 -------------------------------------------------- The Communication Benchmark Project A talk by David Sless The Communication Research Institute (CRI) has been undertaking benchmarking research in information design for 20 years. David Sless will explain some of the background to that work and some of their findings. Earlier this year CRI put together an international group of volunteers who have now completed the first of what they hope will be many future Communication Benchmark studies. The subject of this first study was credit card statements?a type of document that has attracted a lot of recent political interest worldwide, as a result of the current economic mess. David will share with you some of the results of this study and their implications for information design. http://communication.org.au/modules/home/ Please come along earlier in the evening to see the Business Mystery MBA work? The Business Mystery MBA exhibition The Business Mystery MBA elective was conceived in 2004 with the aim of applying perspectives from the arts as a route to gaining insights into management problem solving. It involved treating the arts as a lens or perspective on management. It also overtly sought to redress the lack of right brain emphasis which is endemic to MBA programmes internationally. The course consists of 5 experiences on a theme and usually in a specific space, in 2009 these include the Barbican Art Gallery (Corbusier), the streets of London (Flow), A recording studio in Hackney (Composition), the Whitechapel Gallery (Integration) and the Drill Hall Theatre (Performance). It was decided from the very beginning that there would be avoidance of formal lectures, leading to the idea of ?learning without teaching?. Students are immersed in the experience and have to carry out site-specific tasks and achieve results by the end of each session. Coursework 1: Describe the experience in one specific week taking one of the following roles: critic; supporter; employer; response to cynics Coursework 2: Keep a continuous sketchbook of your learnings Coursework 3: Produce an artifact which sums up either the elective, the MBA year or your career The work will be on display at this end-of-term exhibition. Find the event on upcoming: http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/2869970 Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/InfodesignUK Find out more about the IDA: http://www.infodesign.org.uk Contact us: eventadmin at infodesign.org.uk From dtp at she-philosopher.com Wed Jun 3 23:24:20 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:24:20 -0700 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: countergenres for ID In-Reply-To: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Hi, all -- This has nothing to do with information design -- except possibly as an example "countergenre" (a concept borrowed from the literary critic, Claudio Guill?n, author of _Literature as System_) -- but I thought the piece was really good, and would be of interest to others working with/in medical communications: Gawande, Atul. "The Cost Conundrum: What a Texas Town Can Teach Us about Health Care." _The New Yorker_, digital edn. for 1 June 2009. available online at http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/06/01/090601fa_fact_gawande Atul Gawande is a physician (specifically, a surgeon at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health) who has been writing for _The New Yorker_ (a U.S. literary mag known for its funny, quirky cartoons) for a while now. (Some of Gawande's earlier essays for _The New Yorker_ were re-printed in his books, _Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science_ [2002] and _Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance_ [2007].) This is an especially good piece, I believe, and while I was reading it, I couldn't help but think about how top-notch IDers might illustrate it differently! ;-) At any rate, the topic is an important one in the U.S., as we prepare to tackle health care reform this summer, and Gawande's treatment of the issues is, as always, both thoughtful and provocative (at least for USers, many of whom are ardent defenders of a mythical can-do entrepreneurial spirit, wherever it surfaces, and whatever the costs ;-). Also, Gawande was interviewed on International Public Radio's _Marketplace_ yesterday: "Why Health Care Costs Are So High," an interview with Dr. Atul Gawande. _Marketplace_, segment for Tuesday, June 2, 2009. http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/06/02/pm_health_care_costs_q/ Deborah (still desperately trying to finish another research project on C17 painting and visual rhetoric, before I can return to working on C17 calligraphy ... so, more delays ahead here :( ... sorry, but it can't be helped) _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From info at userdesign.co.uk Thu Jun 4 15:10:33 2009 From: info at userdesign.co.uk (info at userdesign.co.uk) Date: Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:10:33 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research Message-ID: <20090604141033.abelp6m3kkc0ck4w@webmail.userdesign.co.uk> - Trebuchet is a fairly accessible typeface, for instance the characters: l, I, 1, cl (d), rn (m), are all fairly well defined, unlike typefaces like: Arial or Myraid. - Preference based opinions will not lead to useful data, what do you want them to do? (CRI) - For typefaces: www.fonts.com, www.linotype.com, www.fontshop.com, www.adobe.com/type/. Kind regards Thomas User design Graphic communication design, illustration and production service W www.userdesign.co.uk E info at userdesign.co.uk --- On Tue, 26/5/09, katie at raincharm.co.uk wrote: > From: katie at raincharm.co.uk > Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research > To: infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > Date: Tuesday, 26 May, 2009, 2:43 PM > Hi > > I am working on a small project with a local council with > regard to the > accessibility and readability of their corporate font. They > currently use > Trebuchet but have been criticised by a local disability > organisation for > doing this. They say it is not accessible. As a result they > have engaged > my services to explore and gain opinions from others about > the general > accessibility of Trebuchet in comparison to other (mainly) > system fonts. > They are willing to consider moving to a new font but would > prefer this to > be a system font so that everyone in the organisation can > access it. I > have conducted some primary consultations via telephone and > email > opinion-based research. Before I send out mockups of fonts > chosen to trial > with selected user groups - these have been selected to > cover a range of > impairment, age and other audiences - I would like to ask > the following: > > i) what people think about Trebuchet with regard to > accessibility > ii) current preferred fonts re: accessibility. NB They are > also looking > for a font which has a good range of weights and a good xy > height > difference so please take this into consideration > iii) ideas on user testing to gain feedback - we are > planning to send each > user group a selection of fonts using the same text to ask > them which they > prefer and why. Has anyone carried out anything similar and > if so do you > have any advice on how to structure/phrase the questions? > > All comments/feedback gratefully received. > > With thanks > > Katie Grant > Raincharm Communications > www.raincharm.co.uk > 07971 909007 From r.waller at reading.ac.uk Mon Jun 8 15:28:21 2009 From: r.waller at reading.ac.uk (Rob Waller) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 14:28:21 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem Message-ID: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the proportational representation system used for the European Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you voted. In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm __________________________________ Rob Waller Department of Typography & Graphic Communication University of Reading -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090608/b8da4843/attachment-0030.htm From waarde at glo.be Mon Jun 8 16:38:06 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 16:38:06 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem In-Reply-To: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> References: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> Message-ID: Rob, Thanks for this information: I've just scanned the Dutch Ballot form (49,9 cm by 35,0 cm) as a reference. (If anyone wonders how I smuggled a scanner into the booth, I didn't. I'm living abroad and can only vote by mail.) I've uploaded the voting form on: http://users.telenet.be/waarde/Papers/DutchEU-votingform2009-2.jpg I'm not sure if these are clear and easy to use. I have several questions and qualms about these. [Two questions for those who download the form into their browsers: 1. Why are the 'parties with even numbers' positioned slightly below the parties with odd numbers. Does this 'dancing top line' have a meaning? 2. There is a small text below the names of some of the parties. It states: 'combined with list x (= gecombineerd met lijst x). List 1 is combined with list 6, list 2 is combined with list 4, list 3 is combined with list 7, list 4 is combined with list 2. Who exactly do I vote for if I cross position 13 on list 2 if I know that there are only 3 or 4 seats available?] Kind regards, Karel. waarde at glo.be >>> >In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the >proportational representation system used for the European >Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. >Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that >would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you >voted. > >In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on >the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: > >http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm > >__________________________________ > >Rob Waller >Department of Typography & Graphic Communication >University of Reading From waarde at glo.be Wed Jun 17 09:20:31 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:20:31 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: IDA event - 29 June - London: Exhibition & talk by David Sless In-Reply-To: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: ** IDA event - 29 June - London: Exhibition & talk by David Sless Following the success of IDC2009, we have two events on the evening of 29 June at The Cass Business School. The IDA's June meeting will be a talk by David Sless at 6.30pm, and there?s also a chance to see the Business Mystery MBA exhibition from 5.30pm ** Where & when Monday 29 June 2009 Cass Business School, 106 Bunhill Row, EC1Y 8TZ Exhibition: from 5.30pm ? Lower ground floor ? Talk: 6.30pm Room 2005, level 2 Book tickets for the talk (if you?re not already an IDA member, you can join now to get a discounted member ticket) http://www.amiando.com/IDAJune09 ** The Communication Benchmark Project A talk by David Sless The Communication Research Institute (CRI) has been undertaking benchmarking research in information design for 20 years. David Sless will explain some of the background to that work and some of their findings. Earlier this year CRI put together an international group of volunteers who have now completed the first of what they hope will be many future Communication Benchmark studies. The subject of this first study was credit card statements?a type of document that has attracted a lot of recent political interest worldwide, as a result of the current economic mess. David will share with you some of the results of this study and their implications for information design. http://communication.org.au/modules/home ** The Business Mystery MBA exhibition Please come along earlier in the evening to see the Business Mystery MBA work The Business Mystery MBA elective was conceived in 2004 with the aim of applying perspectives from the arts as a route to gaining insights into management problem solving. It involved treating the arts as a lens or perspective on management. It also overtly sought to redress the lack of right brain emphasis which is endemic to MBA programmes internationally. The course consists of 5 experiences on a theme and usually in a specific space, in 2009 these include the Barbican Art Gallery (Corbusier), the streets of London (Flow), A recording studio in Hackney (Composition), the Whitechapel Gallery (Integration) and the Drill Hall Theatre (Performance). It was decided from the very beginning that there would be avoidance of formal lectures, leading to the idea of ?learning without teaching?. Students are immersed in the experience and have to carry out site-specific tasks and achieve results by the end of each session. Coursework 1: Describe the experience in one specific week taking one of the following roles: critic; supporter; employer; response to cynics Coursework 2: Keep a continuous sketchbook of your learnings Coursework 3: Produce an artifact which sums up either the elective, the MBA year or your career The work will be on display at this end-of-term exhibition. ? Find the event on upcoming: http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/2869970 Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/InfodesignUK Find out more about the IDA: http://www.infodesign.org.uk Contact us: eventadmin at infodesign.org.uk From W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk Wed Jun 17 11:09:55 2009 From: W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk (Will Stahl-Timmins) Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 10:09:55 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: online PhD study - health decision task Message-ID: Hi folks, Thanks to everyone on the list who helped me source studies on the empirical evaluation of information graphics for my PhD. The relevant literature comes from a number of different areas, and it's been quite a challenge pulling enough together for my purposes. I've just put a small Flash-based decision task online to test which of the measurements that are commonly used in such studies might apply in my area of interest (health policy decision-making). If anyone would be prepared to have a go, I'd really appreciate it... The target audience is the internet-using general public, and I'm afraid that if you're reading this, you pretty much qualify... The link is here: www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/evaluation Please feel free to pass this on to anyone you feel might be interested. Many thanks, Will. ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com PenTAG Noy Scott House Peninsula Medical School RD&E Hospital (Wonford) Heavitree Exeter EX2 5DW UK -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090617/c335bbaf/attachment-0020.htm From waarde at glo.be Mon Jun 29 06:21:38 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 29 Jun 2009 06:21:38 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: IDA talk today In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Dear all, Just a reminder about our two events coming up this Monday 29 June at The Cass Business School. The IDA's June meeting will be a talk by David Sless at 6.30 for 7pm, and a chance to see the Business Mystery MBA exhibition from 5.30pm? There are still some tickets available! Where & when (please note the rooms have changed ? see below!) Monday 29 June 2009 Cass Business School, 106 Bunhill Row, EC1Y 8TZ Exhibition: from 5.30pm ? ?3rd floor restaurant (The Hub) Talk: 6.30 for 7pm Room 2003, level 2 Book tickets for the talk (if you?re not already an IDA member, you can join now to get a discounted member ticket) http://www.amiando.com/IDAJune09 -------------------------------------------------- The Communication Benchmark Project A talk by David Sless The Communication Research Institute (CRI) has been undertaking benchmarking research in information design for 20 years. David Sless will explain some of the background to that work and some of their findings. Earlier this year CRI put together an international group of volunteers who have now completed the first of what they hope will be many future Communication Benchmark studies. The subject of this first study was credit card statements?a type of document that has attracted a lot of recent political interest worldwide, as a result of the current economic mess. David will share with you some of the results of this study and their implications for information design. http://communication.org.au/modules/home/ Please come along earlier in the evening to see the Business Mystery MBA work? The Business Mystery MBA exhibition The Business Mystery MBA elective was conceived in 2004 with the aim of applying perspectives from the arts as a route to gaining insights into management problem solving. It involved treating the arts as a lens or perspective on management. It also overtly sought to redress the lack of right brain emphasis which is endemic to MBA programmes internationally. The course consists of 5 experiences on a theme and usually in a specific space, in 2009 these include the Barbican Art Gallery (Corbusier), the streets of London (Flow), A recording studio in Hackney (Composition), the Whitechapel Gallery (Integration) and the Drill Hall Theatre (Performance). It was decided from the very beginning that there would be avoidance of formal lectures, leading to the idea of ?learning without teaching?. Students are immersed in the experience and have to carry out site-specific tasks and achieve results by the end of each session. Coursework 1: Describe the experience in one specific week taking one of the following roles: critic; supporter; employer; response to cynics Coursework 2: Keep a continuous sketchbook of your learnings Coursework 3: Produce an artifact which sums up either the elective, the MBA year or your career The work will be on display at this end-of-term exhibition. Find the event on upcoming: http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/2869970 Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/InfodesignUK Find out more about the IDA: http://www.infodesign.org.uk Contact us: eventadmin at infodesign.org.uk From dtp at she-philosopher.com Wed Jun 3 23:24:20 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:24:20 -0700 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: countergenres for ID In-Reply-To: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Hi, all -- This has nothing to do with information design -- except possibly as an example "countergenre" (a concept borrowed from the literary critic, Claudio Guill?n, author of _Literature as System_) -- but I thought the piece was really good, and would be of interest to others working with/in medical communications: Gawande, Atul. "The Cost Conundrum: What a Texas Town Can Teach Us about Health Care." _The New Yorker_, digital edn. for 1 June 2009. available online at http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/06/01/090601fa_fact_gawande Atul Gawande is a physician (specifically, a surgeon at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health) who has been writing for _The New Yorker_ (a U.S. literary mag known for its funny, quirky cartoons) for a while now. (Some of Gawande's earlier essays for _The New Yorker_ were re-printed in his books, _Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science_ [2002] and _Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance_ [2007].) This is an especially good piece, I believe, and while I was reading it, I couldn't help but think about how top-notch IDers might illustrate it differently! ;-) At any rate, the topic is an important one in the U.S., as we prepare to tackle health care reform this summer, and Gawande's treatment of the issues is, as always, both thoughtful and provocative (at least for USers, many of whom are ardent defenders of a mythical can-do entrepreneurial spirit, wherever it surfaces, and whatever the costs ;-). Also, Gawande was interviewed on International Public Radio's _Marketplace_ yesterday: "Why Health Care Costs Are So High," an interview with Dr. Atul Gawande. _Marketplace_, segment for Tuesday, June 2, 2009. http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/06/02/pm_health_care_costs_q/ Deborah (still desperately trying to finish another research project on C17 painting and visual rhetoric, before I can return to working on C17 calligraphy ... so, more delays ahead here :( ... sorry, but it can't be helped) _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From info at userdesign.co.uk Thu Jun 4 15:10:33 2009 From: info at userdesign.co.uk (info at userdesign.co.uk) Date: Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:10:33 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research Message-ID: <20090604141033.abelp6m3kkc0ck4w@webmail.userdesign.co.uk> - Trebuchet is a fairly accessible typeface, for instance the characters: l, I, 1, cl (d), rn (m), are all fairly well defined, unlike typefaces like: Arial or Myraid. - Preference based opinions will not lead to useful data, what do you want them to do? (CRI) - For typefaces: www.fonts.com, www.linotype.com, www.fontshop.com, www.adobe.com/type/. Kind regards Thomas User design Graphic communication design, illustration and production service W www.userdesign.co.uk E info at userdesign.co.uk --- On Tue, 26/5/09, katie at raincharm.co.uk wrote: > From: katie at raincharm.co.uk > Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research > To: infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > Date: Tuesday, 26 May, 2009, 2:43 PM > Hi > > I am working on a small project with a local council with > regard to the > accessibility and readability of their corporate font. They > currently use > Trebuchet but have been criticised by a local disability > organisation for > doing this. They say it is not accessible. As a result they > have engaged > my services to explore and gain opinions from others about > the general > accessibility of Trebuchet in comparison to other (mainly) > system fonts. > They are willing to consider moving to a new font but would > prefer this to > be a system font so that everyone in the organisation can > access it. I > have conducted some primary consultations via telephone and > email > opinion-based research. Before I send out mockups of fonts > chosen to trial > with selected user groups - these have been selected to > cover a range of > impairment, age and other audiences - I would like to ask > the following: > > i) what people think about Trebuchet with regard to > accessibility > ii) current preferred fonts re: accessibility. NB They are > also looking > for a font which has a good range of weights and a good xy > height > difference so please take this into consideration > iii) ideas on user testing to gain feedback - we are > planning to send each > user group a selection of fonts using the same text to ask > them which they > prefer and why. Has anyone carried out anything similar and > if so do you > have any advice on how to structure/phrase the questions? > > All comments/feedback gratefully received. > > With thanks > > Katie Grant > Raincharm Communications > www.raincharm.co.uk > 07971 909007 From r.waller at reading.ac.uk Mon Jun 8 15:28:21 2009 From: r.waller at reading.ac.uk (Rob Waller) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 14:28:21 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem Message-ID: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the proportational representation system used for the European Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you voted. In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm __________________________________ Rob Waller Department of Typography & Graphic Communication University of Reading -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090608/b8da4843/attachment-0031.htm From waarde at glo.be Mon Jun 8 16:38:06 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 16:38:06 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem In-Reply-To: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> References: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> Message-ID: Rob, Thanks for this information: I've just scanned the Dutch Ballot form (49,9 cm by 35,0 cm) as a reference. (If anyone wonders how I smuggled a scanner into the booth, I didn't. I'm living abroad and can only vote by mail.) I've uploaded the voting form on: http://users.telenet.be/waarde/Papers/DutchEU-votingform2009-2.jpg I'm not sure if these are clear and easy to use. I have several questions and qualms about these. [Two questions for those who download the form into their browsers: 1. Why are the 'parties with even numbers' positioned slightly below the parties with odd numbers. Does this 'dancing top line' have a meaning? 2. There is a small text below the names of some of the parties. It states: 'combined with list x (= gecombineerd met lijst x). List 1 is combined with list 6, list 2 is combined with list 4, list 3 is combined with list 7, list 4 is combined with list 2. Who exactly do I vote for if I cross position 13 on list 2 if I know that there are only 3 or 4 seats available?] Kind regards, Karel. waarde at glo.be >>> >In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the >proportational representation system used for the European >Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. >Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that >would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you >voted. > >In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on >the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: > >http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm > >__________________________________ > >Rob Waller >Department of Typography & Graphic Communication >University of Reading From waarde at glo.be Wed Jun 17 09:20:31 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:20:31 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: IDA event - 29 June - London: Exhibition & talk by David Sless In-Reply-To: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: ** IDA event - 29 June - London: Exhibition & talk by David Sless Following the success of IDC2009, we have two events on the evening of 29 June at The Cass Business School. The IDA's June meeting will be a talk by David Sless at 6.30pm, and there?s also a chance to see the Business Mystery MBA exhibition from 5.30pm ** Where & when Monday 29 June 2009 Cass Business School, 106 Bunhill Row, EC1Y 8TZ Exhibition: from 5.30pm ? Lower ground floor ? Talk: 6.30pm Room 2005, level 2 Book tickets for the talk (if you?re not already an IDA member, you can join now to get a discounted member ticket) http://www.amiando.com/IDAJune09 ** The Communication Benchmark Project A talk by David Sless The Communication Research Institute (CRI) has been undertaking benchmarking research in information design for 20 years. David Sless will explain some of the background to that work and some of their findings. Earlier this year CRI put together an international group of volunteers who have now completed the first of what they hope will be many future Communication Benchmark studies. The subject of this first study was credit card statements?a type of document that has attracted a lot of recent political interest worldwide, as a result of the current economic mess. David will share with you some of the results of this study and their implications for information design. http://communication.org.au/modules/home ** The Business Mystery MBA exhibition Please come along earlier in the evening to see the Business Mystery MBA work The Business Mystery MBA elective was conceived in 2004 with the aim of applying perspectives from the arts as a route to gaining insights into management problem solving. It involved treating the arts as a lens or perspective on management. It also overtly sought to redress the lack of right brain emphasis which is endemic to MBA programmes internationally. The course consists of 5 experiences on a theme and usually in a specific space, in 2009 these include the Barbican Art Gallery (Corbusier), the streets of London (Flow), A recording studio in Hackney (Composition), the Whitechapel Gallery (Integration) and the Drill Hall Theatre (Performance). It was decided from the very beginning that there would be avoidance of formal lectures, leading to the idea of ?learning without teaching?. Students are immersed in the experience and have to carry out site-specific tasks and achieve results by the end of each session. Coursework 1: Describe the experience in one specific week taking one of the following roles: critic; supporter; employer; response to cynics Coursework 2: Keep a continuous sketchbook of your learnings Coursework 3: Produce an artifact which sums up either the elective, the MBA year or your career The work will be on display at this end-of-term exhibition. ? Find the event on upcoming: http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/2869970 Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/InfodesignUK Find out more about the IDA: http://www.infodesign.org.uk Contact us: eventadmin at infodesign.org.uk From W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk Wed Jun 17 11:09:55 2009 From: W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk (Will Stahl-Timmins) Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 10:09:55 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: online PhD study - health decision task Message-ID: Hi folks, Thanks to everyone on the list who helped me source studies on the empirical evaluation of information graphics for my PhD. The relevant literature comes from a number of different areas, and it's been quite a challenge pulling enough together for my purposes. I've just put a small Flash-based decision task online to test which of the measurements that are commonly used in such studies might apply in my area of interest (health policy decision-making). If anyone would be prepared to have a go, I'd really appreciate it... The target audience is the internet-using general public, and I'm afraid that if you're reading this, you pretty much qualify... The link is here: www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/evaluation Please feel free to pass this on to anyone you feel might be interested. Many thanks, Will. ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com PenTAG Noy Scott House Peninsula Medical School RD&E Hospital (Wonford) Heavitree Exeter EX2 5DW UK -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090617/c335bbaf/attachment-0022.htm From waarde at glo.be Mon Jun 29 06:21:38 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 29 Jun 2009 06:21:38 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: IDA talk today In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Dear all, Just a reminder about our two events coming up this Monday 29 June at The Cass Business School. The IDA's June meeting will be a talk by David Sless at 6.30 for 7pm, and a chance to see the Business Mystery MBA exhibition from 5.30pm? There are still some tickets available! Where & when (please note the rooms have changed ? see below!) Monday 29 June 2009 Cass Business School, 106 Bunhill Row, EC1Y 8TZ Exhibition: from 5.30pm ? ?3rd floor restaurant (The Hub) Talk: 6.30 for 7pm Room 2003, level 2 Book tickets for the talk (if you?re not already an IDA member, you can join now to get a discounted member ticket) http://www.amiando.com/IDAJune09 -------------------------------------------------- The Communication Benchmark Project A talk by David Sless The Communication Research Institute (CRI) has been undertaking benchmarking research in information design for 20 years. David Sless will explain some of the background to that work and some of their findings. Earlier this year CRI put together an international group of volunteers who have now completed the first of what they hope will be many future Communication Benchmark studies. The subject of this first study was credit card statements?a type of document that has attracted a lot of recent political interest worldwide, as a result of the current economic mess. David will share with you some of the results of this study and their implications for information design. http://communication.org.au/modules/home/ Please come along earlier in the evening to see the Business Mystery MBA work? The Business Mystery MBA exhibition The Business Mystery MBA elective was conceived in 2004 with the aim of applying perspectives from the arts as a route to gaining insights into management problem solving. It involved treating the arts as a lens or perspective on management. It also overtly sought to redress the lack of right brain emphasis which is endemic to MBA programmes internationally. The course consists of 5 experiences on a theme and usually in a specific space, in 2009 these include the Barbican Art Gallery (Corbusier), the streets of London (Flow), A recording studio in Hackney (Composition), the Whitechapel Gallery (Integration) and the Drill Hall Theatre (Performance). It was decided from the very beginning that there would be avoidance of formal lectures, leading to the idea of ?learning without teaching?. Students are immersed in the experience and have to carry out site-specific tasks and achieve results by the end of each session. Coursework 1: Describe the experience in one specific week taking one of the following roles: critic; supporter; employer; response to cynics Coursework 2: Keep a continuous sketchbook of your learnings Coursework 3: Produce an artifact which sums up either the elective, the MBA year or your career The work will be on display at this end-of-term exhibition. Find the event on upcoming: http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/2869970 Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/InfodesignUK Find out more about the IDA: http://www.infodesign.org.uk Contact us: eventadmin at infodesign.org.uk From dtp at she-philosopher.com Wed Jun 3 23:24:20 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:24:20 -0700 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: countergenres for ID In-Reply-To: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Hi, all -- This has nothing to do with information design -- except possibly as an example "countergenre" (a concept borrowed from the literary critic, Claudio Guill?n, author of _Literature as System_) -- but I thought the piece was really good, and would be of interest to others working with/in medical communications: Gawande, Atul. "The Cost Conundrum: What a Texas Town Can Teach Us about Health Care." _The New Yorker_, digital edn. for 1 June 2009. available online at http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/06/01/090601fa_fact_gawande Atul Gawande is a physician (specifically, a surgeon at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health) who has been writing for _The New Yorker_ (a U.S. literary mag known for its funny, quirky cartoons) for a while now. (Some of Gawande's earlier essays for _The New Yorker_ were re-printed in his books, _Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science_ [2002] and _Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance_ [2007].) This is an especially good piece, I believe, and while I was reading it, I couldn't help but think about how top-notch IDers might illustrate it differently! ;-) At any rate, the topic is an important one in the U.S., as we prepare to tackle health care reform this summer, and Gawande's treatment of the issues is, as always, both thoughtful and provocative (at least for USers, many of whom are ardent defenders of a mythical can-do entrepreneurial spirit, wherever it surfaces, and whatever the costs ;-). Also, Gawande was interviewed on International Public Radio's _Marketplace_ yesterday: "Why Health Care Costs Are So High," an interview with Dr. Atul Gawande. _Marketplace_, segment for Tuesday, June 2, 2009. http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/06/02/pm_health_care_costs_q/ Deborah (still desperately trying to finish another research project on C17 painting and visual rhetoric, before I can return to working on C17 calligraphy ... so, more delays ahead here :( ... sorry, but it can't be helped) _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From info at userdesign.co.uk Thu Jun 4 15:10:33 2009 From: info at userdesign.co.uk (info at userdesign.co.uk) Date: Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:10:33 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research Message-ID: <20090604141033.abelp6m3kkc0ck4w@webmail.userdesign.co.uk> - Trebuchet is a fairly accessible typeface, for instance the characters: l, I, 1, cl (d), rn (m), are all fairly well defined, unlike typefaces like: Arial or Myraid. - Preference based opinions will not lead to useful data, what do you want them to do? (CRI) - For typefaces: www.fonts.com, www.linotype.com, www.fontshop.com, www.adobe.com/type/. Kind regards Thomas User design Graphic communication design, illustration and production service W www.userdesign.co.uk E info at userdesign.co.uk --- On Tue, 26/5/09, katie at raincharm.co.uk wrote: > From: katie at raincharm.co.uk > Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research > To: infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > Date: Tuesday, 26 May, 2009, 2:43 PM > Hi > > I am working on a small project with a local council with > regard to the > accessibility and readability of their corporate font. They > currently use > Trebuchet but have been criticised by a local disability > organisation for > doing this. They say it is not accessible. As a result they > have engaged > my services to explore and gain opinions from others about > the general > accessibility of Trebuchet in comparison to other (mainly) > system fonts. > They are willing to consider moving to a new font but would > prefer this to > be a system font so that everyone in the organisation can > access it. I > have conducted some primary consultations via telephone and > email > opinion-based research. Before I send out mockups of fonts > chosen to trial > with selected user groups - these have been selected to > cover a range of > impairment, age and other audiences - I would like to ask > the following: > > i) what people think about Trebuchet with regard to > accessibility > ii) current preferred fonts re: accessibility. NB They are > also looking > for a font which has a good range of weights and a good xy > height > difference so please take this into consideration > iii) ideas on user testing to gain feedback - we are > planning to send each > user group a selection of fonts using the same text to ask > them which they > prefer and why. Has anyone carried out anything similar and > if so do you > have any advice on how to structure/phrase the questions? > > All comments/feedback gratefully received. > > With thanks > > Katie Grant > Raincharm Communications > www.raincharm.co.uk > 07971 909007 From r.waller at reading.ac.uk Mon Jun 8 15:28:21 2009 From: r.waller at reading.ac.uk (Rob Waller) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 14:28:21 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem Message-ID: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the proportational representation system used for the European Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you voted. In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm __________________________________ Rob Waller Department of Typography & Graphic Communication University of Reading -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090608/b8da4843/attachment-0032.htm From waarde at glo.be Mon Jun 8 16:38:06 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 16:38:06 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem In-Reply-To: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> References: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> Message-ID: Rob, Thanks for this information: I've just scanned the Dutch Ballot form (49,9 cm by 35,0 cm) as a reference. (If anyone wonders how I smuggled a scanner into the booth, I didn't. I'm living abroad and can only vote by mail.) I've uploaded the voting form on: http://users.telenet.be/waarde/Papers/DutchEU-votingform2009-2.jpg I'm not sure if these are clear and easy to use. I have several questions and qualms about these. [Two questions for those who download the form into their browsers: 1. Why are the 'parties with even numbers' positioned slightly below the parties with odd numbers. Does this 'dancing top line' have a meaning? 2. There is a small text below the names of some of the parties. It states: 'combined with list x (= gecombineerd met lijst x). List 1 is combined with list 6, list 2 is combined with list 4, list 3 is combined with list 7, list 4 is combined with list 2. Who exactly do I vote for if I cross position 13 on list 2 if I know that there are only 3 or 4 seats available?] Kind regards, Karel. waarde at glo.be >>> >In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the >proportational representation system used for the European >Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. >Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that >would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you >voted. > >In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on >the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: > >http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm > >__________________________________ > >Rob Waller >Department of Typography & Graphic Communication >University of Reading From waarde at glo.be Wed Jun 17 09:20:31 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:20:31 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: IDA event - 29 June - London: Exhibition & talk by David Sless In-Reply-To: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: ** IDA event - 29 June - London: Exhibition & talk by David Sless Following the success of IDC2009, we have two events on the evening of 29 June at The Cass Business School. The IDA's June meeting will be a talk by David Sless at 6.30pm, and there?s also a chance to see the Business Mystery MBA exhibition from 5.30pm ** Where & when Monday 29 June 2009 Cass Business School, 106 Bunhill Row, EC1Y 8TZ Exhibition: from 5.30pm ? Lower ground floor ? Talk: 6.30pm Room 2005, level 2 Book tickets for the talk (if you?re not already an IDA member, you can join now to get a discounted member ticket) http://www.amiando.com/IDAJune09 ** The Communication Benchmark Project A talk by David Sless The Communication Research Institute (CRI) has been undertaking benchmarking research in information design for 20 years. David Sless will explain some of the background to that work and some of their findings. Earlier this year CRI put together an international group of volunteers who have now completed the first of what they hope will be many future Communication Benchmark studies. The subject of this first study was credit card statements?a type of document that has attracted a lot of recent political interest worldwide, as a result of the current economic mess. David will share with you some of the results of this study and their implications for information design. http://communication.org.au/modules/home ** The Business Mystery MBA exhibition Please come along earlier in the evening to see the Business Mystery MBA work The Business Mystery MBA elective was conceived in 2004 with the aim of applying perspectives from the arts as a route to gaining insights into management problem solving. It involved treating the arts as a lens or perspective on management. It also overtly sought to redress the lack of right brain emphasis which is endemic to MBA programmes internationally. The course consists of 5 experiences on a theme and usually in a specific space, in 2009 these include the Barbican Art Gallery (Corbusier), the streets of London (Flow), A recording studio in Hackney (Composition), the Whitechapel Gallery (Integration) and the Drill Hall Theatre (Performance). It was decided from the very beginning that there would be avoidance of formal lectures, leading to the idea of ?learning without teaching?. Students are immersed in the experience and have to carry out site-specific tasks and achieve results by the end of each session. Coursework 1: Describe the experience in one specific week taking one of the following roles: critic; supporter; employer; response to cynics Coursework 2: Keep a continuous sketchbook of your learnings Coursework 3: Produce an artifact which sums up either the elective, the MBA year or your career The work will be on display at this end-of-term exhibition. ? Find the event on upcoming: http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/2869970 Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/InfodesignUK Find out more about the IDA: http://www.infodesign.org.uk Contact us: eventadmin at infodesign.org.uk From W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk Wed Jun 17 11:09:55 2009 From: W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk (Will Stahl-Timmins) Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 10:09:55 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: online PhD study - health decision task Message-ID: Hi folks, Thanks to everyone on the list who helped me source studies on the empirical evaluation of information graphics for my PhD. The relevant literature comes from a number of different areas, and it's been quite a challenge pulling enough together for my purposes. I've just put a small Flash-based decision task online to test which of the measurements that are commonly used in such studies might apply in my area of interest (health policy decision-making). If anyone would be prepared to have a go, I'd really appreciate it... The target audience is the internet-using general public, and I'm afraid that if you're reading this, you pretty much qualify... The link is here: www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/evaluation Please feel free to pass this on to anyone you feel might be interested. Many thanks, Will. ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com PenTAG Noy Scott House Peninsula Medical School RD&E Hospital (Wonford) Heavitree Exeter EX2 5DW UK -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090617/c335bbaf/attachment-0023.htm From waarde at glo.be Mon Jun 29 06:21:38 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 29 Jun 2009 06:21:38 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: IDA talk today In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Dear all, Just a reminder about our two events coming up this Monday 29 June at The Cass Business School. The IDA's June meeting will be a talk by David Sless at 6.30 for 7pm, and a chance to see the Business Mystery MBA exhibition from 5.30pm? There are still some tickets available! Where & when (please note the rooms have changed ? see below!) Monday 29 June 2009 Cass Business School, 106 Bunhill Row, EC1Y 8TZ Exhibition: from 5.30pm ? ?3rd floor restaurant (The Hub) Talk: 6.30 for 7pm Room 2003, level 2 Book tickets for the talk (if you?re not already an IDA member, you can join now to get a discounted member ticket) http://www.amiando.com/IDAJune09 -------------------------------------------------- The Communication Benchmark Project A talk by David Sless The Communication Research Institute (CRI) has been undertaking benchmarking research in information design for 20 years. David Sless will explain some of the background to that work and some of their findings. Earlier this year CRI put together an international group of volunteers who have now completed the first of what they hope will be many future Communication Benchmark studies. The subject of this first study was credit card statements?a type of document that has attracted a lot of recent political interest worldwide, as a result of the current economic mess. David will share with you some of the results of this study and their implications for information design. http://communication.org.au/modules/home/ Please come along earlier in the evening to see the Business Mystery MBA work? The Business Mystery MBA exhibition The Business Mystery MBA elective was conceived in 2004 with the aim of applying perspectives from the arts as a route to gaining insights into management problem solving. It involved treating the arts as a lens or perspective on management. It also overtly sought to redress the lack of right brain emphasis which is endemic to MBA programmes internationally. The course consists of 5 experiences on a theme and usually in a specific space, in 2009 these include the Barbican Art Gallery (Corbusier), the streets of London (Flow), A recording studio in Hackney (Composition), the Whitechapel Gallery (Integration) and the Drill Hall Theatre (Performance). It was decided from the very beginning that there would be avoidance of formal lectures, leading to the idea of ?learning without teaching?. Students are immersed in the experience and have to carry out site-specific tasks and achieve results by the end of each session. Coursework 1: Describe the experience in one specific week taking one of the following roles: critic; supporter; employer; response to cynics Coursework 2: Keep a continuous sketchbook of your learnings Coursework 3: Produce an artifact which sums up either the elective, the MBA year or your career The work will be on display at this end-of-term exhibition. Find the event on upcoming: http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/2869970 Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/InfodesignUK Find out more about the IDA: http://www.infodesign.org.uk Contact us: eventadmin at infodesign.org.uk From dtp at she-philosopher.com Wed Jun 3 23:24:20 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:24:20 -0700 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: countergenres for ID In-Reply-To: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Hi, all -- This has nothing to do with information design -- except possibly as an example "countergenre" (a concept borrowed from the literary critic, Claudio Guill?n, author of _Literature as System_) -- but I thought the piece was really good, and would be of interest to others working with/in medical communications: Gawande, Atul. "The Cost Conundrum: What a Texas Town Can Teach Us about Health Care." _The New Yorker_, digital edn. for 1 June 2009. available online at http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/06/01/090601fa_fact_gawande Atul Gawande is a physician (specifically, a surgeon at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health) who has been writing for _The New Yorker_ (a U.S. literary mag known for its funny, quirky cartoons) for a while now. (Some of Gawande's earlier essays for _The New Yorker_ were re-printed in his books, _Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science_ [2002] and _Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance_ [2007].) This is an especially good piece, I believe, and while I was reading it, I couldn't help but think about how top-notch IDers might illustrate it differently! ;-) At any rate, the topic is an important one in the U.S., as we prepare to tackle health care reform this summer, and Gawande's treatment of the issues is, as always, both thoughtful and provocative (at least for USers, many of whom are ardent defenders of a mythical can-do entrepreneurial spirit, wherever it surfaces, and whatever the costs ;-). Also, Gawande was interviewed on International Public Radio's _Marketplace_ yesterday: "Why Health Care Costs Are So High," an interview with Dr. Atul Gawande. _Marketplace_, segment for Tuesday, June 2, 2009. http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/06/02/pm_health_care_costs_q/ Deborah (still desperately trying to finish another research project on C17 painting and visual rhetoric, before I can return to working on C17 calligraphy ... so, more delays ahead here :( ... sorry, but it can't be helped) _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From info at userdesign.co.uk Thu Jun 4 15:10:33 2009 From: info at userdesign.co.uk (info at userdesign.co.uk) Date: Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:10:33 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research Message-ID: <20090604141033.abelp6m3kkc0ck4w@webmail.userdesign.co.uk> - Trebuchet is a fairly accessible typeface, for instance the characters: l, I, 1, cl (d), rn (m), are all fairly well defined, unlike typefaces like: Arial or Myraid. - Preference based opinions will not lead to useful data, what do you want them to do? (CRI) - For typefaces: www.fonts.com, www.linotype.com, www.fontshop.com, www.adobe.com/type/. Kind regards Thomas User design Graphic communication design, illustration and production service W www.userdesign.co.uk E info at userdesign.co.uk --- On Tue, 26/5/09, katie at raincharm.co.uk wrote: > From: katie at raincharm.co.uk > Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research > To: infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > Date: Tuesday, 26 May, 2009, 2:43 PM > Hi > > I am working on a small project with a local council with > regard to the > accessibility and readability of their corporate font. They > currently use > Trebuchet but have been criticised by a local disability > organisation for > doing this. They say it is not accessible. As a result they > have engaged > my services to explore and gain opinions from others about > the general > accessibility of Trebuchet in comparison to other (mainly) > system fonts. > They are willing to consider moving to a new font but would > prefer this to > be a system font so that everyone in the organisation can > access it. I > have conducted some primary consultations via telephone and > email > opinion-based research. Before I send out mockups of fonts > chosen to trial > with selected user groups - these have been selected to > cover a range of > impairment, age and other audiences - I would like to ask > the following: > > i) what people think about Trebuchet with regard to > accessibility > ii) current preferred fonts re: accessibility. NB They are > also looking > for a font which has a good range of weights and a good xy > height > difference so please take this into consideration > iii) ideas on user testing to gain feedback - we are > planning to send each > user group a selection of fonts using the same text to ask > them which they > prefer and why. Has anyone carried out anything similar and > if so do you > have any advice on how to structure/phrase the questions? > > All comments/feedback gratefully received. > > With thanks > > Katie Grant > Raincharm Communications > www.raincharm.co.uk > 07971 909007 From r.waller at reading.ac.uk Mon Jun 8 15:28:21 2009 From: r.waller at reading.ac.uk (Rob Waller) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 14:28:21 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem Message-ID: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the proportational representation system used for the European Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you voted. In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm __________________________________ Rob Waller Department of Typography & Graphic Communication University of Reading -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090608/b8da4843/attachment-0033.htm From waarde at glo.be Mon Jun 8 16:38:06 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 16:38:06 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem In-Reply-To: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> References: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> Message-ID: Rob, Thanks for this information: I've just scanned the Dutch Ballot form (49,9 cm by 35,0 cm) as a reference. (If anyone wonders how I smuggled a scanner into the booth, I didn't. I'm living abroad and can only vote by mail.) I've uploaded the voting form on: http://users.telenet.be/waarde/Papers/DutchEU-votingform2009-2.jpg I'm not sure if these are clear and easy to use. I have several questions and qualms about these. [Two questions for those who download the form into their browsers: 1. Why are the 'parties with even numbers' positioned slightly below the parties with odd numbers. Does this 'dancing top line' have a meaning? 2. There is a small text below the names of some of the parties. It states: 'combined with list x (= gecombineerd met lijst x). List 1 is combined with list 6, list 2 is combined with list 4, list 3 is combined with list 7, list 4 is combined with list 2. Who exactly do I vote for if I cross position 13 on list 2 if I know that there are only 3 or 4 seats available?] Kind regards, Karel. waarde at glo.be >>> >In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the >proportational representation system used for the European >Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. >Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that >would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you >voted. > >In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on >the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: > >http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm > >__________________________________ > >Rob Waller >Department of Typography & Graphic Communication >University of Reading From waarde at glo.be Wed Jun 17 09:20:31 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:20:31 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: IDA event - 29 June - London: Exhibition & talk by David Sless In-Reply-To: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: ** IDA event - 29 June - London: Exhibition & talk by David Sless Following the success of IDC2009, we have two events on the evening of 29 June at The Cass Business School. The IDA's June meeting will be a talk by David Sless at 6.30pm, and there?s also a chance to see the Business Mystery MBA exhibition from 5.30pm ** Where & when Monday 29 June 2009 Cass Business School, 106 Bunhill Row, EC1Y 8TZ Exhibition: from 5.30pm ? Lower ground floor ? Talk: 6.30pm Room 2005, level 2 Book tickets for the talk (if you?re not already an IDA member, you can join now to get a discounted member ticket) http://www.amiando.com/IDAJune09 ** The Communication Benchmark Project A talk by David Sless The Communication Research Institute (CRI) has been undertaking benchmarking research in information design for 20 years. David Sless will explain some of the background to that work and some of their findings. Earlier this year CRI put together an international group of volunteers who have now completed the first of what they hope will be many future Communication Benchmark studies. The subject of this first study was credit card statements?a type of document that has attracted a lot of recent political interest worldwide, as a result of the current economic mess. David will share with you some of the results of this study and their implications for information design. http://communication.org.au/modules/home ** The Business Mystery MBA exhibition Please come along earlier in the evening to see the Business Mystery MBA work The Business Mystery MBA elective was conceived in 2004 with the aim of applying perspectives from the arts as a route to gaining insights into management problem solving. It involved treating the arts as a lens or perspective on management. It also overtly sought to redress the lack of right brain emphasis which is endemic to MBA programmes internationally. The course consists of 5 experiences on a theme and usually in a specific space, in 2009 these include the Barbican Art Gallery (Corbusier), the streets of London (Flow), A recording studio in Hackney (Composition), the Whitechapel Gallery (Integration) and the Drill Hall Theatre (Performance). It was decided from the very beginning that there would be avoidance of formal lectures, leading to the idea of ?learning without teaching?. Students are immersed in the experience and have to carry out site-specific tasks and achieve results by the end of each session. Coursework 1: Describe the experience in one specific week taking one of the following roles: critic; supporter; employer; response to cynics Coursework 2: Keep a continuous sketchbook of your learnings Coursework 3: Produce an artifact which sums up either the elective, the MBA year or your career The work will be on display at this end-of-term exhibition. ? Find the event on upcoming: http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/2869970 Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/InfodesignUK Find out more about the IDA: http://www.infodesign.org.uk Contact us: eventadmin at infodesign.org.uk From W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk Wed Jun 17 11:09:55 2009 From: W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk (Will Stahl-Timmins) Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 10:09:55 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: online PhD study - health decision task Message-ID: Hi folks, Thanks to everyone on the list who helped me source studies on the empirical evaluation of information graphics for my PhD. The relevant literature comes from a number of different areas, and it's been quite a challenge pulling enough together for my purposes. I've just put a small Flash-based decision task online to test which of the measurements that are commonly used in such studies might apply in my area of interest (health policy decision-making). If anyone would be prepared to have a go, I'd really appreciate it... The target audience is the internet-using general public, and I'm afraid that if you're reading this, you pretty much qualify... The link is here: www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/evaluation Please feel free to pass this on to anyone you feel might be interested. Many thanks, Will. ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com PenTAG Noy Scott House Peninsula Medical School RD&E Hospital (Wonford) Heavitree Exeter EX2 5DW UK -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090617/c335bbaf/attachment-0024.htm From waarde at glo.be Mon Jun 29 06:21:38 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 29 Jun 2009 06:21:38 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: IDA talk today In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Dear all, Just a reminder about our two events coming up this Monday 29 June at The Cass Business School. The IDA's June meeting will be a talk by David Sless at 6.30 for 7pm, and a chance to see the Business Mystery MBA exhibition from 5.30pm? There are still some tickets available! Where & when (please note the rooms have changed ? see below!) Monday 29 June 2009 Cass Business School, 106 Bunhill Row, EC1Y 8TZ Exhibition: from 5.30pm ? ?3rd floor restaurant (The Hub) Talk: 6.30 for 7pm Room 2003, level 2 Book tickets for the talk (if you?re not already an IDA member, you can join now to get a discounted member ticket) http://www.amiando.com/IDAJune09 -------------------------------------------------- The Communication Benchmark Project A talk by David Sless The Communication Research Institute (CRI) has been undertaking benchmarking research in information design for 20 years. David Sless will explain some of the background to that work and some of their findings. Earlier this year CRI put together an international group of volunteers who have now completed the first of what they hope will be many future Communication Benchmark studies. The subject of this first study was credit card statements?a type of document that has attracted a lot of recent political interest worldwide, as a result of the current economic mess. David will share with you some of the results of this study and their implications for information design. http://communication.org.au/modules/home/ Please come along earlier in the evening to see the Business Mystery MBA work? The Business Mystery MBA exhibition The Business Mystery MBA elective was conceived in 2004 with the aim of applying perspectives from the arts as a route to gaining insights into management problem solving. It involved treating the arts as a lens or perspective on management. It also overtly sought to redress the lack of right brain emphasis which is endemic to MBA programmes internationally. The course consists of 5 experiences on a theme and usually in a specific space, in 2009 these include the Barbican Art Gallery (Corbusier), the streets of London (Flow), A recording studio in Hackney (Composition), the Whitechapel Gallery (Integration) and the Drill Hall Theatre (Performance). It was decided from the very beginning that there would be avoidance of formal lectures, leading to the idea of ?learning without teaching?. Students are immersed in the experience and have to carry out site-specific tasks and achieve results by the end of each session. Coursework 1: Describe the experience in one specific week taking one of the following roles: critic; supporter; employer; response to cynics Coursework 2: Keep a continuous sketchbook of your learnings Coursework 3: Produce an artifact which sums up either the elective, the MBA year or your career The work will be on display at this end-of-term exhibition. Find the event on upcoming: http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/2869970 Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/InfodesignUK Find out more about the IDA: http://www.infodesign.org.uk Contact us: eventadmin at infodesign.org.uk From dtp at she-philosopher.com Wed Jun 3 23:24:20 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:24:20 -0700 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: countergenres for ID In-Reply-To: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Hi, all -- This has nothing to do with information design -- except possibly as an example "countergenre" (a concept borrowed from the literary critic, Claudio Guill?n, author of _Literature as System_) -- but I thought the piece was really good, and would be of interest to others working with/in medical communications: Gawande, Atul. "The Cost Conundrum: What a Texas Town Can Teach Us about Health Care." _The New Yorker_, digital edn. for 1 June 2009. available online at http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/06/01/090601fa_fact_gawande Atul Gawande is a physician (specifically, a surgeon at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health) who has been writing for _The New Yorker_ (a U.S. literary mag known for its funny, quirky cartoons) for a while now. (Some of Gawande's earlier essays for _The New Yorker_ were re-printed in his books, _Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science_ [2002] and _Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance_ [2007].) This is an especially good piece, I believe, and while I was reading it, I couldn't help but think about how top-notch IDers might illustrate it differently! ;-) At any rate, the topic is an important one in the U.S., as we prepare to tackle health care reform this summer, and Gawande's treatment of the issues is, as always, both thoughtful and provocative (at least for USers, many of whom are ardent defenders of a mythical can-do entrepreneurial spirit, wherever it surfaces, and whatever the costs ;-). Also, Gawande was interviewed on International Public Radio's _Marketplace_ yesterday: "Why Health Care Costs Are So High," an interview with Dr. Atul Gawande. _Marketplace_, segment for Tuesday, June 2, 2009. http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/06/02/pm_health_care_costs_q/ Deborah (still desperately trying to finish another research project on C17 painting and visual rhetoric, before I can return to working on C17 calligraphy ... so, more delays ahead here :( ... sorry, but it can't be helped) _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From info at userdesign.co.uk Thu Jun 4 15:10:33 2009 From: info at userdesign.co.uk (info at userdesign.co.uk) Date: Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:10:33 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research Message-ID: <20090604141033.abelp6m3kkc0ck4w@webmail.userdesign.co.uk> - Trebuchet is a fairly accessible typeface, for instance the characters: l, I, 1, cl (d), rn (m), are all fairly well defined, unlike typefaces like: Arial or Myraid. - Preference based opinions will not lead to useful data, what do you want them to do? (CRI) - For typefaces: www.fonts.com, www.linotype.com, www.fontshop.com, www.adobe.com/type/. Kind regards Thomas User design Graphic communication design, illustration and production service W www.userdesign.co.uk E info at userdesign.co.uk --- On Tue, 26/5/09, katie at raincharm.co.uk wrote: > From: katie at raincharm.co.uk > Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research > To: infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > Date: Tuesday, 26 May, 2009, 2:43 PM > Hi > > I am working on a small project with a local council with > regard to the > accessibility and readability of their corporate font. They > currently use > Trebuchet but have been criticised by a local disability > organisation for > doing this. They say it is not accessible. As a result they > have engaged > my services to explore and gain opinions from others about > the general > accessibility of Trebuchet in comparison to other (mainly) > system fonts. > They are willing to consider moving to a new font but would > prefer this to > be a system font so that everyone in the organisation can > access it. I > have conducted some primary consultations via telephone and > email > opinion-based research. Before I send out mockups of fonts > chosen to trial > with selected user groups - these have been selected to > cover a range of > impairment, age and other audiences - I would like to ask > the following: > > i) what people think about Trebuchet with regard to > accessibility > ii) current preferred fonts re: accessibility. NB They are > also looking > for a font which has a good range of weights and a good xy > height > difference so please take this into consideration > iii) ideas on user testing to gain feedback - we are > planning to send each > user group a selection of fonts using the same text to ask > them which they > prefer and why. Has anyone carried out anything similar and > if so do you > have any advice on how to structure/phrase the questions? > > All comments/feedback gratefully received. > > With thanks > > Katie Grant > Raincharm Communications > www.raincharm.co.uk > 07971 909007 From r.waller at reading.ac.uk Mon Jun 8 15:28:21 2009 From: r.waller at reading.ac.uk (Rob Waller) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 14:28:21 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem Message-ID: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the proportational representation system used for the European Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you voted. In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm __________________________________ Rob Waller Department of Typography & Graphic Communication University of Reading -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090608/b8da4843/attachment-0034.htm From waarde at glo.be Mon Jun 8 16:38:06 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 16:38:06 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem In-Reply-To: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> References: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> Message-ID: Rob, Thanks for this information: I've just scanned the Dutch Ballot form (49,9 cm by 35,0 cm) as a reference. (If anyone wonders how I smuggled a scanner into the booth, I didn't. I'm living abroad and can only vote by mail.) I've uploaded the voting form on: http://users.telenet.be/waarde/Papers/DutchEU-votingform2009-2.jpg I'm not sure if these are clear and easy to use. I have several questions and qualms about these. [Two questions for those who download the form into their browsers: 1. Why are the 'parties with even numbers' positioned slightly below the parties with odd numbers. Does this 'dancing top line' have a meaning? 2. There is a small text below the names of some of the parties. It states: 'combined with list x (= gecombineerd met lijst x). List 1 is combined with list 6, list 2 is combined with list 4, list 3 is combined with list 7, list 4 is combined with list 2. Who exactly do I vote for if I cross position 13 on list 2 if I know that there are only 3 or 4 seats available?] Kind regards, Karel. waarde at glo.be >>> >In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the >proportational representation system used for the European >Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. >Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that >would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you >voted. > >In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on >the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: > >http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm > >__________________________________ > >Rob Waller >Department of Typography & Graphic Communication >University of Reading From waarde at glo.be Wed Jun 17 09:20:31 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:20:31 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: IDA event - 29 June - London: Exhibition & talk by David Sless In-Reply-To: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: ** IDA event - 29 June - London: Exhibition & talk by David Sless Following the success of IDC2009, we have two events on the evening of 29 June at The Cass Business School. The IDA's June meeting will be a talk by David Sless at 6.30pm, and there?s also a chance to see the Business Mystery MBA exhibition from 5.30pm ** Where & when Monday 29 June 2009 Cass Business School, 106 Bunhill Row, EC1Y 8TZ Exhibition: from 5.30pm ? Lower ground floor ? Talk: 6.30pm Room 2005, level 2 Book tickets for the talk (if you?re not already an IDA member, you can join now to get a discounted member ticket) http://www.amiando.com/IDAJune09 ** The Communication Benchmark Project A talk by David Sless The Communication Research Institute (CRI) has been undertaking benchmarking research in information design for 20 years. David Sless will explain some of the background to that work and some of their findings. Earlier this year CRI put together an international group of volunteers who have now completed the first of what they hope will be many future Communication Benchmark studies. The subject of this first study was credit card statements?a type of document that has attracted a lot of recent political interest worldwide, as a result of the current economic mess. David will share with you some of the results of this study and their implications for information design. http://communication.org.au/modules/home ** The Business Mystery MBA exhibition Please come along earlier in the evening to see the Business Mystery MBA work The Business Mystery MBA elective was conceived in 2004 with the aim of applying perspectives from the arts as a route to gaining insights into management problem solving. It involved treating the arts as a lens or perspective on management. It also overtly sought to redress the lack of right brain emphasis which is endemic to MBA programmes internationally. The course consists of 5 experiences on a theme and usually in a specific space, in 2009 these include the Barbican Art Gallery (Corbusier), the streets of London (Flow), A recording studio in Hackney (Composition), the Whitechapel Gallery (Integration) and the Drill Hall Theatre (Performance). It was decided from the very beginning that there would be avoidance of formal lectures, leading to the idea of ?learning without teaching?. Students are immersed in the experience and have to carry out site-specific tasks and achieve results by the end of each session. Coursework 1: Describe the experience in one specific week taking one of the following roles: critic; supporter; employer; response to cynics Coursework 2: Keep a continuous sketchbook of your learnings Coursework 3: Produce an artifact which sums up either the elective, the MBA year or your career The work will be on display at this end-of-term exhibition. ? Find the event on upcoming: http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/2869970 Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/InfodesignUK Find out more about the IDA: http://www.infodesign.org.uk Contact us: eventadmin at infodesign.org.uk From W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk Wed Jun 17 11:09:55 2009 From: W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk (Will Stahl-Timmins) Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 10:09:55 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: online PhD study - health decision task Message-ID: Hi folks, Thanks to everyone on the list who helped me source studies on the empirical evaluation of information graphics for my PhD. The relevant literature comes from a number of different areas, and it's been quite a challenge pulling enough together for my purposes. I've just put a small Flash-based decision task online to test which of the measurements that are commonly used in such studies might apply in my area of interest (health policy decision-making). If anyone would be prepared to have a go, I'd really appreciate it... The target audience is the internet-using general public, and I'm afraid that if you're reading this, you pretty much qualify... The link is here: www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/evaluation Please feel free to pass this on to anyone you feel might be interested. Many thanks, Will. ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com PenTAG Noy Scott House Peninsula Medical School RD&E Hospital (Wonford) Heavitree Exeter EX2 5DW UK -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090617/c335bbaf/attachment-0025.htm From waarde at glo.be Mon Jun 29 06:21:38 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 29 Jun 2009 06:21:38 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: IDA talk today In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Dear all, Just a reminder about our two events coming up this Monday 29 June at The Cass Business School. The IDA's June meeting will be a talk by David Sless at 6.30 for 7pm, and a chance to see the Business Mystery MBA exhibition from 5.30pm? There are still some tickets available! Where & when (please note the rooms have changed ? see below!) Monday 29 June 2009 Cass Business School, 106 Bunhill Row, EC1Y 8TZ Exhibition: from 5.30pm ? ?3rd floor restaurant (The Hub) Talk: 6.30 for 7pm Room 2003, level 2 Book tickets for the talk (if you?re not already an IDA member, you can join now to get a discounted member ticket) http://www.amiando.com/IDAJune09 -------------------------------------------------- The Communication Benchmark Project A talk by David Sless The Communication Research Institute (CRI) has been undertaking benchmarking research in information design for 20 years. David Sless will explain some of the background to that work and some of their findings. Earlier this year CRI put together an international group of volunteers who have now completed the first of what they hope will be many future Communication Benchmark studies. The subject of this first study was credit card statements?a type of document that has attracted a lot of recent political interest worldwide, as a result of the current economic mess. David will share with you some of the results of this study and their implications for information design. http://communication.org.au/modules/home/ Please come along earlier in the evening to see the Business Mystery MBA work? The Business Mystery MBA exhibition The Business Mystery MBA elective was conceived in 2004 with the aim of applying perspectives from the arts as a route to gaining insights into management problem solving. It involved treating the arts as a lens or perspective on management. It also overtly sought to redress the lack of right brain emphasis which is endemic to MBA programmes internationally. The course consists of 5 experiences on a theme and usually in a specific space, in 2009 these include the Barbican Art Gallery (Corbusier), the streets of London (Flow), A recording studio in Hackney (Composition), the Whitechapel Gallery (Integration) and the Drill Hall Theatre (Performance). It was decided from the very beginning that there would be avoidance of formal lectures, leading to the idea of ?learning without teaching?. Students are immersed in the experience and have to carry out site-specific tasks and achieve results by the end of each session. Coursework 1: Describe the experience in one specific week taking one of the following roles: critic; supporter; employer; response to cynics Coursework 2: Keep a continuous sketchbook of your learnings Coursework 3: Produce an artifact which sums up either the elective, the MBA year or your career The work will be on display at this end-of-term exhibition. Find the event on upcoming: http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/2869970 Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/InfodesignUK Find out more about the IDA: http://www.infodesign.org.uk Contact us: eventadmin at infodesign.org.uk From dtp at she-philosopher.com Wed Jun 3 23:24:20 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:24:20 -0700 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: countergenres for ID In-Reply-To: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Hi, all -- This has nothing to do with information design -- except possibly as an example "countergenre" (a concept borrowed from the literary critic, Claudio Guill?n, author of _Literature as System_) -- but I thought the piece was really good, and would be of interest to others working with/in medical communications: Gawande, Atul. "The Cost Conundrum: What a Texas Town Can Teach Us about Health Care." _The New Yorker_, digital edn. for 1 June 2009. available online at http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/06/01/090601fa_fact_gawande Atul Gawande is a physician (specifically, a surgeon at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health) who has been writing for _The New Yorker_ (a U.S. literary mag known for its funny, quirky cartoons) for a while now. (Some of Gawande's earlier essays for _The New Yorker_ were re-printed in his books, _Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science_ [2002] and _Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance_ [2007].) This is an especially good piece, I believe, and while I was reading it, I couldn't help but think about how top-notch IDers might illustrate it differently! ;-) At any rate, the topic is an important one in the U.S., as we prepare to tackle health care reform this summer, and Gawande's treatment of the issues is, as always, both thoughtful and provocative (at least for USers, many of whom are ardent defenders of a mythical can-do entrepreneurial spirit, wherever it surfaces, and whatever the costs ;-). Also, Gawande was interviewed on International Public Radio's _Marketplace_ yesterday: "Why Health Care Costs Are So High," an interview with Dr. Atul Gawande. _Marketplace_, segment for Tuesday, June 2, 2009. http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/06/02/pm_health_care_costs_q/ Deborah (still desperately trying to finish another research project on C17 painting and visual rhetoric, before I can return to working on C17 calligraphy ... so, more delays ahead here :( ... sorry, but it can't be helped) _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From info at userdesign.co.uk Thu Jun 4 15:10:33 2009 From: info at userdesign.co.uk (info at userdesign.co.uk) Date: Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:10:33 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research Message-ID: <20090604141033.abelp6m3kkc0ck4w@webmail.userdesign.co.uk> - Trebuchet is a fairly accessible typeface, for instance the characters: l, I, 1, cl (d), rn (m), are all fairly well defined, unlike typefaces like: Arial or Myraid. - Preference based opinions will not lead to useful data, what do you want them to do? (CRI) - For typefaces: www.fonts.com, www.linotype.com, www.fontshop.com, www.adobe.com/type/. Kind regards Thomas User design Graphic communication design, illustration and production service W www.userdesign.co.uk E info at userdesign.co.uk --- On Tue, 26/5/09, katie at raincharm.co.uk wrote: > From: katie at raincharm.co.uk > Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research > To: infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > Date: Tuesday, 26 May, 2009, 2:43 PM > Hi > > I am working on a small project with a local council with > regard to the > accessibility and readability of their corporate font. They > currently use > Trebuchet but have been criticised by a local disability > organisation for > doing this. They say it is not accessible. As a result they > have engaged > my services to explore and gain opinions from others about > the general > accessibility of Trebuchet in comparison to other (mainly) > system fonts. > They are willing to consider moving to a new font but would > prefer this to > be a system font so that everyone in the organisation can > access it. I > have conducted some primary consultations via telephone and > email > opinion-based research. Before I send out mockups of fonts > chosen to trial > with selected user groups - these have been selected to > cover a range of > impairment, age and other audiences - I would like to ask > the following: > > i) what people think about Trebuchet with regard to > accessibility > ii) current preferred fonts re: accessibility. NB They are > also looking > for a font which has a good range of weights and a good xy > height > difference so please take this into consideration > iii) ideas on user testing to gain feedback - we are > planning to send each > user group a selection of fonts using the same text to ask > them which they > prefer and why. Has anyone carried out anything similar and > if so do you > have any advice on how to structure/phrase the questions? > > All comments/feedback gratefully received. > > With thanks > > Katie Grant > Raincharm Communications > www.raincharm.co.uk > 07971 909007 From r.waller at reading.ac.uk Mon Jun 8 15:28:21 2009 From: r.waller at reading.ac.uk (Rob Waller) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 14:28:21 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem Message-ID: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the proportational representation system used for the European Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you voted. In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm __________________________________ Rob Waller Department of Typography & Graphic Communication University of Reading -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090608/b8da4843/attachment-0035.htm From waarde at glo.be Mon Jun 8 16:38:06 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 16:38:06 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem In-Reply-To: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> References: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> Message-ID: Rob, Thanks for this information: I've just scanned the Dutch Ballot form (49,9 cm by 35,0 cm) as a reference. (If anyone wonders how I smuggled a scanner into the booth, I didn't. I'm living abroad and can only vote by mail.) I've uploaded the voting form on: http://users.telenet.be/waarde/Papers/DutchEU-votingform2009-2.jpg I'm not sure if these are clear and easy to use. I have several questions and qualms about these. [Two questions for those who download the form into their browsers: 1. Why are the 'parties with even numbers' positioned slightly below the parties with odd numbers. Does this 'dancing top line' have a meaning? 2. There is a small text below the names of some of the parties. It states: 'combined with list x (= gecombineerd met lijst x). List 1 is combined with list 6, list 2 is combined with list 4, list 3 is combined with list 7, list 4 is combined with list 2. Who exactly do I vote for if I cross position 13 on list 2 if I know that there are only 3 or 4 seats available?] Kind regards, Karel. waarde at glo.be >>> >In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the >proportational representation system used for the European >Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. >Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that >would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you >voted. > >In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on >the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: > >http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm > >__________________________________ > >Rob Waller >Department of Typography & Graphic Communication >University of Reading From waarde at glo.be Wed Jun 17 09:20:31 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:20:31 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: IDA event - 29 June - London: Exhibition & talk by David Sless In-Reply-To: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: ** IDA event - 29 June - London: Exhibition & talk by David Sless Following the success of IDC2009, we have two events on the evening of 29 June at The Cass Business School. The IDA's June meeting will be a talk by David Sless at 6.30pm, and there?s also a chance to see the Business Mystery MBA exhibition from 5.30pm ** Where & when Monday 29 June 2009 Cass Business School, 106 Bunhill Row, EC1Y 8TZ Exhibition: from 5.30pm ? Lower ground floor ? Talk: 6.30pm Room 2005, level 2 Book tickets for the talk (if you?re not already an IDA member, you can join now to get a discounted member ticket) http://www.amiando.com/IDAJune09 ** The Communication Benchmark Project A talk by David Sless The Communication Research Institute (CRI) has been undertaking benchmarking research in information design for 20 years. David Sless will explain some of the background to that work and some of their findings. Earlier this year CRI put together an international group of volunteers who have now completed the first of what they hope will be many future Communication Benchmark studies. The subject of this first study was credit card statements?a type of document that has attracted a lot of recent political interest worldwide, as a result of the current economic mess. David will share with you some of the results of this study and their implications for information design. http://communication.org.au/modules/home ** The Business Mystery MBA exhibition Please come along earlier in the evening to see the Business Mystery MBA work The Business Mystery MBA elective was conceived in 2004 with the aim of applying perspectives from the arts as a route to gaining insights into management problem solving. It involved treating the arts as a lens or perspective on management. It also overtly sought to redress the lack of right brain emphasis which is endemic to MBA programmes internationally. The course consists of 5 experiences on a theme and usually in a specific space, in 2009 these include the Barbican Art Gallery (Corbusier), the streets of London (Flow), A recording studio in Hackney (Composition), the Whitechapel Gallery (Integration) and the Drill Hall Theatre (Performance). It was decided from the very beginning that there would be avoidance of formal lectures, leading to the idea of ?learning without teaching?. Students are immersed in the experience and have to carry out site-specific tasks and achieve results by the end of each session. Coursework 1: Describe the experience in one specific week taking one of the following roles: critic; supporter; employer; response to cynics Coursework 2: Keep a continuous sketchbook of your learnings Coursework 3: Produce an artifact which sums up either the elective, the MBA year or your career The work will be on display at this end-of-term exhibition. ? Find the event on upcoming: http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/2869970 Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/InfodesignUK Find out more about the IDA: http://www.infodesign.org.uk Contact us: eventadmin at infodesign.org.uk From W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk Wed Jun 17 11:09:55 2009 From: W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk (Will Stahl-Timmins) Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 10:09:55 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: online PhD study - health decision task Message-ID: Hi folks, Thanks to everyone on the list who helped me source studies on the empirical evaluation of information graphics for my PhD. The relevant literature comes from a number of different areas, and it's been quite a challenge pulling enough together for my purposes. I've just put a small Flash-based decision task online to test which of the measurements that are commonly used in such studies might apply in my area of interest (health policy decision-making). If anyone would be prepared to have a go, I'd really appreciate it... The target audience is the internet-using general public, and I'm afraid that if you're reading this, you pretty much qualify... The link is here: www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/evaluation Please feel free to pass this on to anyone you feel might be interested. Many thanks, Will. ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com PenTAG Noy Scott House Peninsula Medical School RD&E Hospital (Wonford) Heavitree Exeter EX2 5DW UK -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090617/c335bbaf/attachment-0026.htm From waarde at glo.be Mon Jun 29 06:21:38 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 29 Jun 2009 06:21:38 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: IDA talk today In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Dear all, Just a reminder about our two events coming up this Monday 29 June at The Cass Business School. The IDA's June meeting will be a talk by David Sless at 6.30 for 7pm, and a chance to see the Business Mystery MBA exhibition from 5.30pm? There are still some tickets available! Where & when (please note the rooms have changed ? see below!) Monday 29 June 2009 Cass Business School, 106 Bunhill Row, EC1Y 8TZ Exhibition: from 5.30pm ? ?3rd floor restaurant (The Hub) Talk: 6.30 for 7pm Room 2003, level 2 Book tickets for the talk (if you?re not already an IDA member, you can join now to get a discounted member ticket) http://www.amiando.com/IDAJune09 -------------------------------------------------- The Communication Benchmark Project A talk by David Sless The Communication Research Institute (CRI) has been undertaking benchmarking research in information design for 20 years. David Sless will explain some of the background to that work and some of their findings. Earlier this year CRI put together an international group of volunteers who have now completed the first of what they hope will be many future Communication Benchmark studies. The subject of this first study was credit card statements?a type of document that has attracted a lot of recent political interest worldwide, as a result of the current economic mess. David will share with you some of the results of this study and their implications for information design. http://communication.org.au/modules/home/ Please come along earlier in the evening to see the Business Mystery MBA work? The Business Mystery MBA exhibition The Business Mystery MBA elective was conceived in 2004 with the aim of applying perspectives from the arts as a route to gaining insights into management problem solving. It involved treating the arts as a lens or perspective on management. It also overtly sought to redress the lack of right brain emphasis which is endemic to MBA programmes internationally. The course consists of 5 experiences on a theme and usually in a specific space, in 2009 these include the Barbican Art Gallery (Corbusier), the streets of London (Flow), A recording studio in Hackney (Composition), the Whitechapel Gallery (Integration) and the Drill Hall Theatre (Performance). It was decided from the very beginning that there would be avoidance of formal lectures, leading to the idea of ?learning without teaching?. Students are immersed in the experience and have to carry out site-specific tasks and achieve results by the end of each session. Coursework 1: Describe the experience in one specific week taking one of the following roles: critic; supporter; employer; response to cynics Coursework 2: Keep a continuous sketchbook of your learnings Coursework 3: Produce an artifact which sums up either the elective, the MBA year or your career The work will be on display at this end-of-term exhibition. Find the event on upcoming: http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/2869970 Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/InfodesignUK Find out more about the IDA: http://www.infodesign.org.uk Contact us: eventadmin at infodesign.org.uk From dtp at she-philosopher.com Wed Jun 3 23:24:20 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:24:20 -0700 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: countergenres for ID In-Reply-To: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Hi, all -- This has nothing to do with information design -- except possibly as an example "countergenre" (a concept borrowed from the literary critic, Claudio Guill?n, author of _Literature as System_) -- but I thought the piece was really good, and would be of interest to others working with/in medical communications: Gawande, Atul. "The Cost Conundrum: What a Texas Town Can Teach Us about Health Care." _The New Yorker_, digital edn. for 1 June 2009. available online at http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/06/01/090601fa_fact_gawande Atul Gawande is a physician (specifically, a surgeon at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health) who has been writing for _The New Yorker_ (a U.S. literary mag known for its funny, quirky cartoons) for a while now. (Some of Gawande's earlier essays for _The New Yorker_ were re-printed in his books, _Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science_ [2002] and _Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance_ [2007].) This is an especially good piece, I believe, and while I was reading it, I couldn't help but think about how top-notch IDers might illustrate it differently! ;-) At any rate, the topic is an important one in the U.S., as we prepare to tackle health care reform this summer, and Gawande's treatment of the issues is, as always, both thoughtful and provocative (at least for USers, many of whom are ardent defenders of a mythical can-do entrepreneurial spirit, wherever it surfaces, and whatever the costs ;-). Also, Gawande was interviewed on International Public Radio's _Marketplace_ yesterday: "Why Health Care Costs Are So High," an interview with Dr. Atul Gawande. _Marketplace_, segment for Tuesday, June 2, 2009. http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/06/02/pm_health_care_costs_q/ Deborah (still desperately trying to finish another research project on C17 painting and visual rhetoric, before I can return to working on C17 calligraphy ... so, more delays ahead here :( ... sorry, but it can't be helped) _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From info at userdesign.co.uk Thu Jun 4 15:10:33 2009 From: info at userdesign.co.uk (info at userdesign.co.uk) Date: Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:10:33 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research Message-ID: <20090604141033.abelp6m3kkc0ck4w@webmail.userdesign.co.uk> - Trebuchet is a fairly accessible typeface, for instance the characters: l, I, 1, cl (d), rn (m), are all fairly well defined, unlike typefaces like: Arial or Myraid. - Preference based opinions will not lead to useful data, what do you want them to do? (CRI) - For typefaces: www.fonts.com, www.linotype.com, www.fontshop.com, www.adobe.com/type/. Kind regards Thomas User design Graphic communication design, illustration and production service W www.userdesign.co.uk E info at userdesign.co.uk --- On Tue, 26/5/09, katie at raincharm.co.uk wrote: > From: katie at raincharm.co.uk > Subject: InfoD-Cafe: accessible font research > To: infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > Date: Tuesday, 26 May, 2009, 2:43 PM > Hi > > I am working on a small project with a local council with > regard to the > accessibility and readability of their corporate font. They > currently use > Trebuchet but have been criticised by a local disability > organisation for > doing this. They say it is not accessible. As a result they > have engaged > my services to explore and gain opinions from others about > the general > accessibility of Trebuchet in comparison to other (mainly) > system fonts. > They are willing to consider moving to a new font but would > prefer this to > be a system font so that everyone in the organisation can > access it. I > have conducted some primary consultations via telephone and > email > opinion-based research. Before I send out mockups of fonts > chosen to trial > with selected user groups - these have been selected to > cover a range of > impairment, age and other audiences - I would like to ask > the following: > > i) what people think about Trebuchet with regard to > accessibility > ii) current preferred fonts re: accessibility. NB They are > also looking > for a font which has a good range of weights and a good xy > height > difference so please take this into consideration > iii) ideas on user testing to gain feedback - we are > planning to send each > user group a selection of fonts using the same text to ask > them which they > prefer and why. Has anyone carried out anything similar and > if so do you > have any advice on how to structure/phrase the questions? > > All comments/feedback gratefully received. > > With thanks > > Katie Grant > Raincharm Communications > www.raincharm.co.uk > 07971 909007 From r.waller at reading.ac.uk Mon Jun 8 15:28:21 2009 From: r.waller at reading.ac.uk (Rob Waller) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 14:28:21 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem Message-ID: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the proportational representation system used for the European Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you voted. In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm __________________________________ Rob Waller Department of Typography & Graphic Communication University of Reading -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090608/b8da4843/attachment-0036.htm From waarde at glo.be Mon Jun 8 16:38:06 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 16:38:06 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Another election, another ballot paper problem In-Reply-To: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> References: <181898E4-B2FF-4FA2-A5D1-F7BB95AB925B@reading.ac.uk> Message-ID: Rob, Thanks for this information: I've just scanned the Dutch Ballot form (49,9 cm by 35,0 cm) as a reference. (If anyone wonders how I smuggled a scanner into the booth, I didn't. I'm living abroad and can only vote by mail.) I've uploaded the voting form on: http://users.telenet.be/waarde/Papers/DutchEU-votingform2009-2.jpg I'm not sure if these are clear and easy to use. I have several questions and qualms about these. [Two questions for those who download the form into their browsers: 1. Why are the 'parties with even numbers' positioned slightly below the parties with odd numbers. Does this 'dancing top line' have a meaning? 2. There is a small text below the names of some of the parties. It states: 'combined with list x (= gecombineerd met lijst x). List 1 is combined with list 6, list 2 is combined with list 4, list 3 is combined with list 7, list 4 is combined with list 2. Who exactly do I vote for if I cross position 13 on list 2 if I know that there are only 3 or 4 seats available?] Kind regards, Karel. waarde at glo.be >>> >In the UK we're used to just a few candidates in elections, but the >proportational representation system used for the European >Parliament elections makes it easier for smaller parties to succeed. >Our ballot paper in Reading seemed to be two A4 sheets long (that >would be 210mm x 594mm), and would not fit on the table where you >voted. > >In this BBC news story from another constituency, the last party on >the list was hidden by a unexpected extra fold: > >http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8084086.stm > >__________________________________ > >Rob Waller >Department of Typography & Graphic Communication >University of Reading From waarde at glo.be Wed Jun 17 09:20:31 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:20:31 +0200 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: IDA event - 29 June - London: Exhibition & talk by David Sless In-Reply-To: <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> References: <8CBADBC24D20330-D94-50BE@angweb-usd002.sysops.aol.com> <4A26EA04.1010209@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: ** IDA event - 29 June - London: Exhibition & talk by David Sless Following the success of IDC2009, we have two events on the evening of 29 June at The Cass Business School. The IDA's June meeting will be a talk by David Sless at 6.30pm, and there?s also a chance to see the Business Mystery MBA exhibition from 5.30pm ** Where & when Monday 29 June 2009 Cass Business School, 106 Bunhill Row, EC1Y 8TZ Exhibition: from 5.30pm ? Lower ground floor ? Talk: 6.30pm Room 2005, level 2 Book tickets for the talk (if you?re not already an IDA member, you can join now to get a discounted member ticket) http://www.amiando.com/IDAJune09 ** The Communication Benchmark Project A talk by David Sless The Communication Research Institute (CRI) has been undertaking benchmarking research in information design for 20 years. David Sless will explain some of the background to that work and some of their findings. Earlier this year CRI put together an international group of volunteers who have now completed the first of what they hope will be many future Communication Benchmark studies. The subject of this first study was credit card statements?a type of document that has attracted a lot of recent political interest worldwide, as a result of the current economic mess. David will share with you some of the results of this study and their implications for information design. http://communication.org.au/modules/home ** The Business Mystery MBA exhibition Please come along earlier in the evening to see the Business Mystery MBA work The Business Mystery MBA elective was conceived in 2004 with the aim of applying perspectives from the arts as a route to gaining insights into management problem solving. It involved treating the arts as a lens or perspective on management. It also overtly sought to redress the lack of right brain emphasis which is endemic to MBA programmes internationally. The course consists of 5 experiences on a theme and usually in a specific space, in 2009 these include the Barbican Art Gallery (Corbusier), the streets of London (Flow), A recording studio in Hackney (Composition), the Whitechapel Gallery (Integration) and the Drill Hall Theatre (Performance). It was decided from the very beginning that there would be avoidance of formal lectures, leading to the idea of ?learning without teaching?. Students are immersed in the experience and have to carry out site-specific tasks and achieve results by the end of each session. Coursework 1: Describe the experience in one specific week taking one of the following roles: critic; supporter; employer; response to cynics Coursework 2: Keep a continuous sketchbook of your learnings Coursework 3: Produce an artifact which sums up either the elective, the MBA year or your career The work will be on display at this end-of-term exhibition. ? Find the event on upcoming: http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/2869970 Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/InfodesignUK Find out more about the IDA: http://www.infodesign.org.uk Contact us: eventadmin at infodesign.org.uk From W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk Wed Jun 17 11:09:55 2009 From: W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk (Will Stahl-Timmins) Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 10:09:55 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: online PhD study - health decision task Message-I