Because of the complexity of each case, the attorneys want simple posters crystallizing some critical part of their case that the jury can stare at when they get bored. Attorneys typically hand me a tall stack of legal briefs and leave it to me to discern the essentials of their case to present visually. All names have been changed here.
Real estate fraud: One poster shows the plan that the defendant had tricked the plaintiff into agreeing to. The second shows what actually happened.
Timeline for corporate law trial: The defense's case largely hinged on when things happened, so I created three timelines: this overall timeline and one each for the two most critical years. In each, the plaintiff's actions are shown in the bottom half, and the defendants' and the corporation's actions are shown in the top half.
Allegation and response for corporate law trial: The defense had strong responses to each of the plaintiff's many allegations. This is one of a dozen allegation/response posters.
Diagrammed text: This poster takes a 215-word sentence of legalese and breaks it up visually to make it easier for the jury to parse. The essential thrust of the sentence is in the left column, with the details in the right. No words or punctuation are changed or omitted.
Inheritance dispute: This trial hinged largely on whether a man really intended to leave his ranches to his children or to his second wife. She argued that he was not competent to make the will that clearly left the ranches to his kids.
Inheritance dispute: To prove that the will really expressed the deceased man's true intentions, the plaintiff (my client) got testimony from his friends, doctors, and lawyer.
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Can a classic be improved? A redesign of CJ Minard's graphic of Napoleon's March
You Are Here maps typically suffer from two problems: visual noise and a coding system instead of place names. Coding forces you to look back and forth between numbers on the map and a separate directory of place names. My designs try to eliminate both problems, making it easier to find what you're looking for. A directory then becomes an optional extra.
University map: Like most You Are Here maps, the old map for Notre Dame de Namur University was a recycled architectural drawing. The result was a jangle of useless detail. As meaningful as that detail would be to architects, it was noninformative to visitors trying to find a building.
Shopping center map: Like many YAH maps, the old Carlmont Shopping Center map was misoriented to its environment, sending people left when they should go right. Buildings that shoppers perceive as a single unit were shown as separate shapes. And there was no hint of the center's quaint charm.
Bed & breakfast inn map: This map on a B&B's site had three purposes: to save the innkeeper the trouble of giving directions over the phone ten times a day, to get guests to the inn easily no matter which direction they are coming from, and to work just as well when printed in black and white as in color.
Information design is the way information is presented. Information design and graphic design are both about visual communication. But. whereas a graphic designer's strengths and priorities tend to be at the aesthetic end of the spectrum, an information designer's strengths and priorities tend to be at the analytical end. Graphic designers make things beautiful. Information designers communicate serious information clearly and effectively.
I am definitely not a graphic designer. But clear visual communication has been intrinsic to much of my work. I've taught information design for University of California Berkeley Extension.
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ORIGINAL
REDESIGN
