Sign in or register
for additional privileges

[UIUC] MACS364: Food Networks - S2014

Anita Chan, Author

You appear to be using an older verion of Internet Explorer. For the best experience please upgrade your IE version or switch to a another web browser.

ExerciseIllinoisInfographic_Chloe


Part A


Part B

The design process for my infographic works mainly from top to bottom. It begins with the title and some basic important information regarding soybeans being the number two crop and the number 1 agricultural export in Illinois. I made these two facts quite large and put them at the top because I thought they were the most important and deserved a considerable amount of emphasis in the layout. I then followed with information to support up the first two facts which then traveled using the arrow to show the amount in percentage form to give readers a better understanding on just how much soybeans total for agricultural exports. After that I concluded with a question - "Where do Illinois soybeans go?" - since the infographic mainly discusses soybeans as an agricultural export. This is placed in the center lower portion of the page and branches out into three main categories which are further explained with short blurbs of statistics.

When making the infographic I chose to make statistically important numbers large and in two different shades of colors. I mostly chose to put percentages in the orange/red color and dates, amounts, rank, and other various words I figured should be somewhat emphasized in the green. Making the important numbers bigger and colorful makes them stand out to the reader when normally readers skim over statistics that include a ton of numbers and symbols. I also chose to put these numbers in a different, more powerful font to create emphasis as well. I put the statement about farmers in a row of what looks to be soybean plants and grass in front of a small sun to show a farm-like scene. Then for the statement regarding animal agriculture being the number one customer for soybean growers I chose the pig graphic because the animal agriculture that uses soybeans consists mostly of pigs. I enlarged the pig and the "94%" because it was such a big statistic which deserved the most emphasis out of the three answers for where the soybeans go. I chose the color scheme because soybeans are more of an earthy, lower to the ground plant so I thought the background looked similar to the dirt and it was also below the title that consisted of grass and plants to look like soybeans and I chose the font colors to be earthier tones too to compliment each other. 


Part C

I believe Marion Nestle would probably be surprised at how little information was on the infographic and how vague and almost "cookie-cutter" the information I did display was. Her focus is all about food safety and my infographic deals with nothing of the sort. As for general design adjustments, from reading simply the first preface for the 2010 edition she wrote that she chose to change the name from "Bacteria, Biotechnology, and Bioterrorism" to "The Politics of Food Safety." This title was more relevant to what she was going to be talking about in the book. The title for my infographic, "Soybeans," was somewhat bland and unoriginal and she would most likely suggest changing the name to something a little more relevant to what is shown in the infographic. I could choose a title that deals more with the main theme - that soybeans are mainly an agricultural export.

As for any new information she might suggest I include, her writing is more about food safety while my infographic simply entails facts regarding the product's rank, how much of it is made, and what it is used for. Nestle might recommend that I include something about the history of the product regarding food safety. Has there been any recalls on soybeans? What are the dangers in mass producing it? Or even, what makes it more safe compared to other products? Although the infographic is pretty cluttered already, if I were to go further into the research about soybeans I could make a series of infographics or make the original longer and go into detail about soybeans relationship to food safety. Her book also regards the mass production and commercialization of foods and soybeans accounts for a good portion of agricultural exports because of its mass production. She might propose I go into depth about the production of soybeans in the grand scheme of mass production of foods and possibly talk about the products commercialization efforts.

Comment on this page
 

Discussion of "ExerciseIllinoisInfographic_Chloe"

Add your voice to this discussion.

Checking your signed in status ...