Author: sheilapontis
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Clear Communication Matters
When people think about information design, they often think about the creation of information graphics or visual explanations, but not so much about the presentation of ideas or the creation of stories (e.g. PPT or PDF presentations). But, stories also fall into the type of projects information designers do. As with any information design output,…
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Teaching Information Design and Research Virtually: Challenges & Learnings
The last week of class before spring break was challenging. I went to sleep prepared to go teach my class the next day, and when I woke up, everything was changed: campus was close and classes had been moved online for the rest of the semester. I had one week to plan and prepare how…
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What is effective information design?
This post is based on my Week 2 class for EGR381: Design for Understanding this semester. Cognitive-neuroscience is one of the core building blocks of information design. Understanding how we learn and process information is as essential to effectively design information as learning design principles. Gaining familiarity with cognitive activities involved in those processes can…
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Design Thinking isn’t for everyone
Design thinking (DT) has been hot topic for a while, and many people advocate for it arguing that this approach can help solve any problems. While there is a lot written and said about the approach and the methods, and wicked problems, not much has been said about the challenges of working with design thinking. An…
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Final Step: Designing Your Ideal Experience
What does the ideal college experience look like for freshman students just twelve weeks into their first semester? How could colleges support that experience? After eight weeks of self-reflection, metacognitive activities and creativity exercises, students in my Creativity seminar answered these questions with the final project. The goal of this project was to help students…
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Step 3: Using Analogies
In previous posts, I wrote about two important steps involved in the creativity journey that students explored in my creativity freshman seminar in the Fall: Coloring outside and beyond the lines, and moving from unconscious to conscious levels. This post dives into a third step; to me, one of the most important ones: using analogies…
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A Decade of Learnings
I started this blog in July 2009 as a way to share my learnings and struggles on my PhD research about the London Underground Map, diagrams and design methods. Looking back at the posts published throughout the last decade, it is clear how my interests and ideas have evolved, changed and even broadened. After a…
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Get MapCI Cards to design information!
More than 10 years ago, I started working on the idea of creating something to help information designers do their job better (like using color effectively!). It took me several workshops and research studies to understand why even experienced designers frequently struggle with the basics. It took me loads of reading, researching and learning to…
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Similar systems, different info design decisions
Last month, I went to check out the Changing Signs, Changing Times: A History Of Wayfinding In Transit exhibit at Grand Central Station in New York City. Although, the exhibit was tiny, it was both visually and informationally rich. Overall, it provided an overview of how information design in the subway system has evolved since…
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Step 2: Moving from unconscious to conscious levels
My previous post discussed the impact of coloring books in students’ creativity and argued for breaking the rules as the first step for reconnecting with creative thinking. This post examines having a deep understanding of your own mental processes as a second step. Cognitively, certain mechanisms (deactivation of pre-frontal cortex, increase of alpha waves) need…
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Step 1: Coloring outside and beyond the lines
Do coloring books stifle creativity? Or do coloring books encourage creativity? Some people believe coloring books are good because they provide children with an opportunity to practice creative skills (i.e. painting) and help children learn elements from the world. However researchers argue that coloring books can actually hurt the development of creative thinking. I agree with the…
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Creativity + Happiness + Wellbeing
As a designer, creativity has been an intrinsic part of my life since a very early age. However, I didn’t become fully aware of the impact that this way of thinking and related skills have had, not only, in my professional work but in the way I see life until I started teaching design in…
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