When I started sketching for data blocks I tried to incorporate some sort of real object, or to have the visualization live in an object illustration. Data blocks is essentially a bar graph but I wanted to take that in a different direction.
Once I started digitally I knew that the coffee cup would be the main focal point of the visualization. The next step was color and the overall style of the poster.
The final poster is supposed to be bold and straight to the point. I kept the title bold and I orginally had the cups outlined in white, but to fit the theme with the other posters I changed it to red.
When I started my sketching for data circles I knew that the visualization was going to be parts of a whole. The data I had found showed reported recycling rates in countries and the actual recycling rates.
I wanted to flood the page with graphics to keep the same style as the first poster. Keeping the colors to black, red and white for the style as well.
For the final I tried several different layouts but this is where I landed. Again like the previous posters I tried to bet a bold and flood the page with graphics.
Data waves shows a change in data over a period of time. I decided to show the USA's total waste production from the years 1960-2012 and how much of that waste was recycled.
Starting the digital iterations for data waves I already had my color and title style worked out so I just needed the graphic. With the data I found it was easy to visualize this graphic and execute it.
Data waves was the most straight forward poster I designed, the last little change I made was to the labeling.
Data maps was the most difficult poster to design. From the data I collected I knew I would need the whole map visible. I wanted to show which states have enacted recycling based laws.
As I continued to work through the poster iterations I struggled with laying out the map horizontally. I tried several different layouts to try and balance the poster out.
The correct layout that I needed was this. After several rounds of revision I tried to place the graphic of the US slightly off the page. Leaving just enough room on the states that get cut off so that you can still recognize them.
