An international panel of lawyers and academics had reviewed a complex policy area for our client. The panel reported its findings and advice in long and detailed documents. To communicate the panel’s recommendations to a broad audience, the client wanted to create an infographic. They extracted the key points from the reports, but realised that they needed expert graphic design for an impactful and memorable infographic.
The challenge
The client’s draft was low on graphics and heavy on text – more information than infographic. The layout was unbalanced and had distracting different-coloured backgrounds. The parts didn’t ‘hang together’, and there was nothing to catch the eye and draw the reader in.
We couldn’t change the text, which had been signed off by the client. But we needed to improve the visual design to attract and engage people and to better communicate the key messages.
The approach
The client’s brand was professional and authoritative, so our design approach had to be understated. No pretty or cutesy graphics for this assignment. Instead, we started by rearranging the text so that it flowed in a more logical order and told a story that showed relationships and interdependencies. We also removed the coloured backgrounds to signal connection rather than separation. Taking inspiration from the client’s logo, we sparingly added a bright colour to mark milestones and important controls. The few pops of colour created a fresher, stronger look and helped guide the eye across the page.
Finally, we connected text with subtle stylised koru motifs to illustrate that a Te Ao Māori perspective informed and underpinned the policy.
The result
Our revised infographic balanced the text with visual design that engaged the reader and supported and enhanced the message without drawing attention to itself. The client was impressed with the designer’s thoughtful interpretation of the brief and the infographic was widely circulated.
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