392A F21 O'Gorman

University of Waterloo

Department of English Language and Literature

ENGL  392A-01

Information Design

Fall Term, 2021

Remote Classroom with Weekly Meeting Wednesdays 2:30-3:50 p.m.

Instructor Information 

Instructor: Marcel O’Gorman

Office: HH 225

Office Hours: by appointment Email: marcel@uwaterloo.ca

Course Description 

The UW Course Calendar describes ENGL 392A as follows: “This course introduces students to the theory and practice of the ways in which people package information for other people: space, weight, line, colour, typography, and representation. Students apply this knowledge by developing or revising documents.” This term, we will look at information design both as a professional activity and as a critical practice that can be applied to everything from infographics and public signage to “evil” digital interfaces. The course content ranges from classic texts in information design to short magazine articles and videos. Course workshops and assignments provide hands-on experience in interpreting designs and implementing the elements of graphic design creatively and inclusively. Students will be given access to the online design platform Venngage to support their projects.

Course Goals and Learning Outcomes     

This course introduces students to the field of Information Design, with a specific focus on designing critically and inclusively. Students will learn to analyze designs by identifying physical, cognitive, and affective components. They will also gain basic skills in graphic design by learning to manipulate space, page architecture, type, and other basic elements of a unified design object. These skills will be applied specifically to the organization of data sets, some pre-existing and some assembled by the students themselves.

Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:

A. Analyze a design artefact (poster, infographic, billboard, advertisement, etc.) by:

  • Applying theories of information design.
  • Explaining how the artefact adheres to or diverges from inclusive design guidelines and traditional elements of graphic design. B. Create an information design document by:
  • Gathering a data set and organizing it into a visual concept.
  • Planning and implementing a design document based on inclusive design practices and traditional graphic design elements.

Required Texts – All Available for Free Online or via UW Library

  • Aschoff, Nicole. The Smartphone Society: Technology, Power and Resistance in the New Gilded Age. New York: Beacon Press, 2021.
  • Balliet, Amy. “The Do’s and Don’ts of Infographic Design.” Smashing Magazine, October 14, 2011.
  • Brignull, Harry. How Dark Patterns Trick You Online. Video. https://youtu.be/kxkrdLI6e6M .
  • Carliner, Saul. “Physical, Cognitive, and Affective: A Three-Part Framework for Information Design.” Technical Communication, fourth quarter, 2000.
  • Crawford, Kate and Vladan Joler. “Anatomy of an AI System: The Amazon Echo As An Anatomical Map of Human Labor, Data and Planetary Resources,” AI Now Institute and Share Lab, (September 7, 2018) https://anatomyof.ai .
  • Dunne, Anthony and Fiona Raby. “Critical Design FAQ.” http://dunneandraby.co.uk/content/ bydandr/13/0 . 
  • Hilder, Rosie. “Design’s Gender Problem, and What You Can Do About It.” Creative Bloq, March 06, 2020. https://www.creativebloq.com/features/join-the-fight-for-gender-equality-in-design
  • Holmes, Kat et al. Inclusive Design Toolkit. Microsoft, 2016. https://katholmesdesign.com/inclusive-toolkit .
  • Hsu, Hua. “What W.E.B. Dubois Conveyed in his Captivating Infographics.” The New Yorker, Nov. 6, 2019. https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/what-web-du-bois-conveyed-in-hiscaptivating-infographics .
  • Interactive Design Foundation (IDF). “What Is Design Thinking?” n.d. https://www.interactiondesign.org/literature/topics/design-thinking .
  • Krause, Heather. “Inclusivity in Design: How Not to Design like a Racist.” Blog post. Toronto: Datassist, n.d. https://idatassist.com/inclusivity-in-design-how-not-to-design-like-a-racist/ .
  • Larson, Jordan. “The Invisible, Manipulative Power of Persuasive Technology.” Pacific Standard, June 14, 2017. https://psmag.com/environment/captology-fogg-invisible-manipulative-powerpersuasive-technology-81301 .
  • Lipton, Ronnie.  The Practical Guide to Information Design.  Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007.
  • Noble, Safiya Umoja. Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism. New York: NYU Press, 2018.
  • Nodder, Chris. Evil by Design: Interaction Design to Lead Us into Temptation. New York: Wiley, 2013.
  • Tang, Herman, Groonie Tang, Alex Coutin, Laurence Biro.  LGBT Infographic. Toronto: University of Toronto School of Medicine, 2016. http://thehub.utoronto.ca/family/wpcontent/uploads/2018/03/LGBT-Infographic.pdf .
  • Tufte, Edward. Envisioning Information. Cheshire, CT: Graphics Press, 1990.
  • White, Alexander W. The Elements of Graphic Design, 2nd Ed. New York: Allworth Press, 2011.

Course Requirements and Assessment

Assessment Date of Evaluation Weighting
Studios x2 (10% each) Any time throughout the term 20%
Information Design Dissection October 20 30%

Responsible Innovation Infographic Design

(Group Project)

 December 1 25%
Responsible Innovation Infographic Essay December 6 25%
Total   100%

Studios          

Over the course of the term, students will be invited to complete at least TWO of five “studios” as described in the Discussion Forum. These are small design assignments inspired by course readings, and they range from a poster about gender inclusivity to an “evil interface” designed to mislead the public. This work is to be done independently, but class time will be allotted for the sharing of concepts and design iterations. On a given studio day, students should come prepared to share ideas or designs they have ALREADY developed and be willing to offer constructive criticism to their colleagues. Completed studio projects must be submitted to the appropriate Discussion Forum Topic and accompanied by a one or two paragraph analysis (no more than 300 words) of the design. 

Grading Rubric:

10 – Project Complete: adhered to instructions and demonstrated care in both design and writing.

5 – Project Incomplete: was submitted but did not follow instructions or was unfinished.

0 – Project was not submitted or was incoherent or inappropriate.

Students may submit as many studio projects as they wish throughout the term. Two bonus points will be given for each project submitted beyond the two required submissions, for a possible total of 6 additional points (i.e., 26/20).

Information Design Dissection

For this assignment, each student will select an informationally-rich document such as an infographic, poster, advertisement, map, or other artefact, and analyze it according to: 

  1. Saul Carliner’s “physical, cognitive, and affective framework”;
  2. Ronnie Lipton’s “perception principles” (Chapter 1);
  3. One additional reading on design and/or perception chosen by the student.

The essay must be between 1250 and 1500 words (5 -6 double-spaced pages, 12pt font, 1-inch margins, not including images) and the chosen image must be provided along with the essay as either a link, a supplementary image file, or a figure integrated directly into the essay document. A dropbox in LEARN will be provided for submission. 

The paper will be graded on:

1) accurate use of readings to analyze the artefact, including use of direct quotations; 2) organization of concepts and arguments into coherent, topical paragraphs; 3) technical details such as spelling, grammar, punctuation, word choice.

Responsible Innovation Infographic

Students will work in groups of 4 or 5 to create a detailed infographic designed for the web, paying close attention to design concepts discussed in class. The infographic may demonstrate a process, make an argument, break down components of a news topic, or follow some other formulation approved by the instructor, but the main topic should be “responsible innovation.” Consider, for example, how technologies impact society, human behaviour, or the environment, as discussed in course readings and elsewhere. The infographic will be designed in iterations posted to the appropriate Discussion Forum topic and reviewed during crit sessions in class. Free access to the online design platform Venngage will be provided to all students for this and other projects.

Infographic Essay

Each student will write an individual essay of 1500 words that analyzes and justifies the design of their group infographic project. The essay must refer to readings by Lipton and White, in addition to at least TWO MORE READINGS from the syllabus or from individual research. As with the first essay, this assignment will be graded on:

1) accurate use of readings to analyze the infographic, including use of direct quotations; 2) organization of concepts and arguments into coherent, topical paragraphs; 3) technical details such as spelling, grammar, punctuation, word choice.

Because the infographic file will be submitted separately, there is no need to reproduce it in this essay, but students may wish to reproduce images of details from the infographic to make specific points.

Course Outline

Readings are due on the date indicated in preparation for the weekly synchronous meeting.

Week

Date

Topic

Readings

1

September 8

Design Critique/Designing Critically

Studio Warm-up:

Typographic Autoportrait

Course Syllabus

Dunne & Raby, “Critical Design FAQ”

2

September 15

What is (Information) Design?

Intro to Assignment 1

Lipton, “Introduction”

White, Preface and Intro

3

September 22

A Three-Part Framework for Info Design

Carliner, “Physical, Cognitive and Affective”

4

September 29

Design and Human

Perception

Studio 1: Illustrating Space

Lipton, Chapter 1

White, Section 1: Space

5

October 6 

Usability

Guest: Rebecca Kain

Lipton, Chapter 2

IDF, “What Is Design Thinking?”

White, Section 2: Unity
 

October 13

READING WEEK – no class

  

6

October 20

Due: Assignment 1 

Inclusive Design 1 Guest: Jason Lajoie

Holmes, Inclusive Design Toolkit Hilder, “Design’s Gender Problem”
   

Studio 2: COVID-19 Wayfinding

Tang, etc., “LGBT Infographic” Lipton, Chapter 9

7

October 27

Classics in Info Design

Studio 3: StatsCan in Small

Multiples

Tufte, “Layering and Separation” and “Small Multiples”

8

November 3

Responsible Design

Guest: Alexi Orchard

Studio 4: Graphing

Innovation, Critically

Nicole Aschoff, The Smartphone

Society

Safiya Noble, Algorithms of Oppression

Crawford and Joler, “Anatomy of an AI

System”

White, Section 3: Page Architecture

9

November 10

DUE: Infographic

Wireframe

Irresponsible Design

Studio 5: “Evil” Interface

Nodder, Evil by Design 

Larson, “Persuasive Technology”

Brignull, Dark Patterns Video

White, Section 4: Type

10

November 17

DUE: Infographic

Iteration 1

Inclusive Design 2

Infographics Crit Session

Krause, “How Not to Design like a

Racist”

Hua, “What W.E.B. Dubois Conveyed”

11

November 24

DUE: Infographic

Iteration 2

Infographics Crit Session

Week 11 readings

12

December 1

DUE: Final

Infographic

Infographics Review

Week 12 readings

Late Work

Work that is submitted late will be graded with a reduction of 10% per day. If you want an extension, and you have a good reason, do not hesitate to ask the instructor.

Safe Space

This class promotes a Safe Space, whether online or not. Be respectful of others’ differences, discuss issues politely and try to observe cues that indicate others may be uncomfortable with your behavior. Be a good citizen. These are difficult times. Let’s take care of one another.   

Institutional-required statements for undergraduate course outlines approved by Senate Undergraduate Council, April 14, 2009 Academic Integrity

In order to maintain a culture of academic integrity, members of the University of Waterloo are expected to promote honesty, trust, fairness, respect and responsibility. Check the Office of Academic Integrity webpage for more information.

Discipline

A student is expected to know what constitutes academic integrity, to avoid committing academic offences, and to take responsibility for their actions. Check the Office of Academic Integrity for more information. A student who is unsure whether an action constitutes an offence, or who needs help in learning how to avoid offences (e.g., plagiarism, cheating) or about “rules” for group work/collaboration should seek guidance from the course professor, academic advisor, or the Undergraduate Associate Dean. When misconduct has been found to have occurred, disciplinary penalties will be imposed under Policy 71 – Student Discipline. For information on categories of offenses and types of penalties, students should refer to Policy 71 - Student Discipline. For typical penalties check Guidelines for the Assessment of Penalties.

Grievance

A student who believes that a decision affecting some aspect of his/her university life has been unfair or unreasonable may have grounds for initiating a grievance. Read Policy 70 - Student Petitions and Grievances, Section 4. When in doubt, please be certain to contact the department’s administrative assistant who will provide further assistance.

Appeals

A decision made or penalty imposed under Policy 70 - Student Petitions and Grievances (other than a petition) or Policy 71 - Student Discipline may be appealed if there is a ground. A student who believes they have a ground for an appeal should refer to Policy 72 - Student Appeals.

Note for Students with Disabilities

The AccessAbility Services office, located on the first floor of the Needles Hall extension (NH 1401), collaborates with all academic departments to arrange appropriate accommodations for students with disabilities without compromising the academic integrity of the curriculum. If you require academic accommodations to lessen the impact of your disability, please register with the AS office at the beginning of each academic term.