Author: sheilapontis
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The affective experience behind problem-solving
Let’s start from the end: We finally have solved that problem we have been working on for a while. How did we do it? Rationally, first we made sense of the problem-situation. Then to understand that situation we learnt new knowledge, made decisions, and sought for relevant information, until we identified an appropriate solution and…
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Designing a Pink Experience
Last week I received the above pink set of objects in the post. They were all part of the welcome kit for the ‘Race For Life’ marathon of Cancer Research UK, in which I will be taking part this summer. When I opened the package, I was amused with the content and delighted to see…
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The role of expertise in information design problem-solving
In a previous post I provided an overview of 10 key factors involved in the way information designers solve problems, this post gives a more detailed explanation of how some of those factors, particularly experience and expertise, actually work in practice. According to how information designers make sense of a problem situation, they can fit…
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A gap beyond design
I’m in Argentina for the Easter break, and four days ago (in the early morning of Tuesday 2nd April) we were hit by a storm which causes serious flooding in the cities of Buenos Aires and La plata. The storm only lasted three hours, but the amount of rain was equivalent to that of the…
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10 factors to information design problem-solving
(Information) designers approach problems and go through the problem-solving process using diverse methods, but eventually they all arrive to (different degrees of successful) solutions. Some designers seem to go through the conceptual design process with no apparent method, others take longer or need many iterative stages to decide how to start the process, and others…
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Evidence-based information design principles
Last week I attended a lecture entirely about underground diagrammatic maps! (one of my first loves) In the lecture, the London Underground diagram (LUD) was presented as the case study to unravel various information design and cognitive principles. Created back in 1933 by Henry Beck, the LUD is currently considered an iconic (information) design piece…
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Terminologies can be confusing
Sometimes, terminologies can obscure rather than shed light. Cross-disciplinary projects are the perfect scenario to illustrate this point as to achieve common understanding among all parties involved could be a challenge. Ambiguous understanding is likely to happen when we see a problem situation solely through our own eyes and fail to realise that although other…
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the functional art: The Book
When I first heard of the functional art (Cairo, 2012), I asked myself: What makes this book different from the many other information graphics books which are currently out there? At the beginning, the word ‘functional’ caught my attention as it was in line with my practice approach and research interests. Then, during the Malofiej…
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When people interact with information
Software, intelligent devices and machines are constantly being developed to assist people’s everyday actions and help them solve problems, from simple tasks like writing, reading, shopping online or booking flights to more complex ones, such as online banking (best invention ever) and medical related analyses. While these innovations help us save time and quite a…
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Understanding the role of Big Data
One of the current concerns among many domains (e.g. information design, technology, cognition, psychology) is how to make sense of extensive and complex sets of data in order to improve understanding and communication. While tools, systems and methods are designed to assist those purposes, the Big Data phenomenon seems to be the one to beat.…
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Mind the gap!
Tomorrow the London Underground is 150 years old! On 8 January 1863, the journey completed between Paddington and Farringdon stations by the Metropolitan Railway (today Metropolitan line) was the very first one of the London Underground. Since then, the Underground system has grown from 30 to over 270 stations, and the number of travellers has…
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Making sense of information (visual) practices
Among information (visual) fields there seems to be great confusion on the appropriate use of core terms. Particularly, the terms: information design, information visualisation and data visualisation are the ones that are daily used and, at the same time, arise more uncertainties among practitioners, academics, students and teachers from diverse disciplines. Other terms, which are…
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