Information Design/Final Project

03/02/2025 - 17/03/2024 (Week 01 – Week 07)

Shao Han / 0369187

Information Design / Bachelor of Design (Honours) in Creative Media / Taylors University

Final Project

CONCENT

• INTRODUCTION
• FINAL PROJECT
• FINAL SUBMISSION
• FEEDBACK
• REFLECTION

INTRODUCTION

FINAL PROJECT

Introduction

Based on FLIP group topic research, produce a basic video animation.

Using a processed design framework, you will now produce an infographic report to present the given information to a ‘target audience’ with the purpose of:

1. Creating awareness
2. Explaining a process
3. Defining a concept

Any time based media and software using photography, vector imagery.

● Organization Principles – LATCH and Content Organization
● Aesthetic Principles – Animation principles
● Cognitive Principles – Principles of visualization

The presentation must be deliberated on, consider each assessment rubric of sorts to your final outcome:
● Show causality
● Multivariate graphics and visuals
● Integrate word number and images
● Content count
● Within eyesight
● Use multiple charts
● Do not de-quantify

Process

Week 1

At the beginning, we discussed the general production direction of the final work to ensure the progress of subsequent work.

There are three major directions for us to choose.

1. Creating awareness (such as Global Warming, Recycle, etc.)
2. Explaining a process (such as "how to" video)
3. Defining a concept (such as "What is Fast Fashion", "What is Color Wheel", etc.)

Faced with three themes, our group voted and we finally chose Theme 2-Explaining a Process.

Fig1.1 Voting discussion,Week 1 (05/02/2025)

We think that for 2, there are many topics we can explore, such as science, food, manufacturing and technology, for example, if we agree on the theme of manufacturing, our topics can be "The recycling process" or "How processed food is made"

Then our group started to list ideas. If you have any ideas, add them to the list one by one.

Ideas:

• How to recycle crayons
• How a seed grows into a tree
• How to make handmade soaps
• How caterpillars transform into a butterfly
• How volcano erupts
• How a virus spreads
• How to make mungbean cake
• How animation productions work
• How to conduct the scientific method
• How to make user-centred designs

Week 2

We initially decided to set "How to make mung bean cake" as the theme of this course, but we soon found that there were few traditional mung bean cake making methods on the Internet, which was not conducive to the advancement of our project.

After a new round of proposals and discussions, we unanimously decided to use the method of making mooncakes, which is widely available on the Internet, as the theme.Since moon cakes are more widely known than mung bean cakes, they are more conducive to dissemination.

We plan to send our ideas to the teacher, and after receiving the teacher's feedback, we will further modify our theme.

Mr. Fauzi's advice：

• You guys may finds poor info graphics video from Internet then improvise it to your final project.
• Once you've overcome the poor video as benchmark, you get more clear picture of what will be more interesting and easier to produce.
• I let you guys to decide what topic is the best to produce.

After receiving feedback, we conducted another round of discussion on whether to continue using mung bean cake as the theme or change to moon cake.

The final result is themed on how to make mooncakes.

Fig1.2 Topic voting results,Week 2 (12/02/2025)

Week 3

We then began preparing the presentation and gathering reference material for the final video. We were responsible for adding each section to the slides and adding our names to the end of the task.

This is the division of labor for our slides：

1. Introduction - Tristan
2. What is a mooncake? - Shao Han
3. History of mooncake - Wu Ziyang
4. Why mooncakes - Yong 
5. Target audience - Sheryne
6. Mooncake festival/ mooncake story - Wangyifan
7. Mooncake video we want to make  infographic animation of -Yang jiayi
8. Make infographic with info extraction from mooncake video - Velicia 
9. Style references - Zhang
10. Ending statement - Tristan
11. Bibliography - Yong

According to the grouping, I started to search online for explanations of "what is mooncake". While completing the slideshow, I also expanded my understanding of mooncakes. 

For the first time, I learned that mooncakes can be divided into so many traditional categories.

Fig1.3 Personal Section，Week 3 (18/02/2025)

In further discussion, we need to determine the painting style of the subsequent animation product. Among the four style references, we chose the fourth one (decided by voting) because the fourth style is simple but easy to show details, which can provide better information expression for our final product.

Fig1.4 Style Selection，Week 3 (18/02/2025)

Fig1.5 Finished Slide，Week 3 (22/02/2025)

After finishing the slides, we started preparing to present the group's interim results to the teacher.

This is our speaker list：

• Opening - Introduction (slide 1-3) - Valerie
• History & mooncake story (slide 4-5) - Yang Jiayi
• Why & target audience (slide 6-8) - Sheryne
• Video ref & conclusion + closing (9-11) - Tristan

Week 4

After the group presented its interim results, Mr. Fauzi gave us the following feedback:

1. Make the information simpler.
2. Make a script (using voiceover for the video) to be able to visualize the video.
3. Then make a storyboard.
4. The animation doesn’t have to be fully illustrated per frame (I think he meant that we can use motion graphic animation so its easier).

In the fourth week, we started to divide the work for the final product. Most of the members in our group didn't know how to make animations, so the animation was made by the four of us, and the rest of the members were responsible for other tasks.

Final project tasks:

• Script: Tristan Zhang
• Voice-over: Yong
• Storyboard: Sheryne, Ziyang
• Animation:Yang Jiayi, Shao Han, Velicia 
• Editor/sound effects: Wang Yifan

According to the division of labor, we complete individual tasks in sequence.

Fig1.6 Our team members created the script,Week 4 (28/02/2025)

Week 5-6

After the script was completed, our team members started to make a storyboard to facilitate our post-production animation.We completed the storyboard in great detail, including the duration, scenes, and voice-overs of each important part, which will be very convenient for our later work.

Fig1.7 Our team members created the storyboard,Week 5 (07/03/2025)

Then we finished recording the sound.

The students in charge of recording prepared alternative plans for us, which was very helpful for our later video production.

Fig1.8 Our team members created the audio,Week 6 (10/03/2025)

Fig1.9 Our team members created the audio,Week 6 (10/03/2025)

Week 7

During this week, I and other team members (Yang Jiayi, Valerie, Sheryne, Velicia)  started drawing pictures for the final presentation video.

This is our specific division of labor：

• Yang Jiayi: Scene 17-21(with ShaoHan);Scene 22,24
• Shao Han: Scene 8-11;Scene 17-21(with Jiayi)
• Velicia: Scene 1, 3, 4
• Sheryne: Scene 2, 5, 6, 7
• Valerie: Scene 12-16, 25-26

I started with the plate from scene 8. I found some simple plate images on the internet which helped me with the reference.

Fig1.10 Basic plate drawing,Week 7 (17/03/2025)

Since Jiayi and I were responsible for a lot of mooncakes and hands, in order to unify the style of the picture, Jiayi was responsible for drawing all the mooncakes in our picture, and I was responsible for drawing all the hands.

After Jiayi finished a scene, we reached a unified tone - we used the colors used in this picture to color each part of the picture, which made the whole video more harmonious and unified.

Fig1.11 Determination of color tone,Week 7 (17/03/2025)

Based on the basic color tone, I drew all the parts I needed to draw according to the storyboard.

Because the Mid-Autumn Festival is a day that symbolizes reunion, the picture I draw needs to reflect the concept of a family in detail. Therefore, the part I draw has different skin colors and different clothes, which can show the family reunion from the side and create a happy atmosphere.

Fig1.12 Picture details,Week 7 (17/03/2025)

After all the images were drawn, I imported them into Photoshop and edited the layers and scenes to facilitate the subsequent animation production.

Fig1.13 Parts that I am responsible for (except background and mooncakes),Week 7 (17/03/2025)

The original picture did not have a yellow-green background, but in order to unify the picture, I copied Jiayi's background to make our picture more integrated.

After completing the picture, we also gave some suggestions to other team members' pictures.

In this picture, the colors are too bright, and the atmosphere is more like the joyous New Year rather than the Mid-Autumn Festival with flowers and a full moon. Therefore, it is more appropriate to change the background color to a calmer dark yellow to echo the moon outside the window.

Fig1.14 Screen detail modification,Week 7 (17/03/2025)

We finished drawing all the scenes before the last week of class and sent them to the group. The group leader added them to our slides and got feedback from Mr.Fauzi.

• Our illustrations were too detailed and only needed to be animated subtly, which we adjusted in post.

After completing all the illustrations, the team leader shared Google Drive and put all the completed scenes in PNG format, so that it would be convenient for other team members to start making AE animations later.

Fig1.15 All scenes,Week 7 (17/03/2025)

After we finished all the scenes, another team member (Wang Yifan) started to create the animation in AE.

Then the team leader will add and edit the sound.

FINAL SUBMISSION

Group 2 Flip Presentation

SLIDES_How To Make Mooncakes,PDF

YOUTUBE LINK

GOOGLE DRIVE LINK

FEEDBACK

Week 4

• Make the information simpler.
• Make a script (using voiceover for the video) to be able to visualize the video.
• Then make a storyboard.
• The animation doesn’t have to be fully illustrated per frame (I think he meant that we can use motion graphic animation so its easier).

Week 5-6

• Pie chart: the other objects can be smaller while the piechart can be made bigger.
• Think and reevaluate about certain scenes bcs it may too long (with voiceover included).
• Final editing: animate part by part. render so that we will have mov and mp4 (AE). move on to premiere pro: then can just slot in the renders based on timing.
• Storytelling: eg. scene 1: highlight certain words like Mooncakes and Tang Dynasty in the animation.

Week 7

• The illustration is too detailed and needs to be simplified to only complete the basic animation.

REFLECTION

Experiences

During the Final Project, I was involved in both research and animated video production, both of which gave me a deep understanding of effective visual communication. The research phase required me to develop creative concepts while managing the project efficiently and keeping creativity at the core. The animated video portion, on the other hand, tested my technical abilities, from designing engaging visual elements to ensuring a smooth presentation process. Balancing these two aspects was challenging, but it gave me a comprehensive lesson in how to communicate information in an organized manner.

Observations

While working on this project, I realized that having clear data is exceptionally critical. Indeed in case the picture looks incredible, individuals will still be confounded in case the expression isn't clear. I moreover saw that things like textual styles, colors, and how livelinesss move can alter how pleasant it is to watch.For case, in some cases the off-base text style will make the substance see muddled; the activity beat is as well quick or as well moderate, which can influence understanding. Luckily, through the input from classmates and teachers, we gradually balanced the plan strategy to form the data expression more coordinate and appealing.

Findings

Through this experience, I found that for a good information design, the preliminary research really cannot be sloppy. Without a solid idea, no matter how good the visual performance is, it will be useless. In addition, creativity and technology must be combined. If there is only creativity but the technology cannot keep up, or if the technology is good but lacks ideas, the final work will be lacking something. Moreover, I also realized that improving the work is a continuous iterative process. Every time I receive feedback, the work will become better after adjustment, so keep an open mind to modify and optimize, and the final result will be more complete.