Interacting with info-graphics in a print-based environment

Abstract

Technology and our experiences with it are constantly evolving, therefore our views of how media can enhance our experiences with the in formation it presents to us must also evolve. Designers are able to learn from these “new” digital experiences in order to reinterpret and apply new methods and theories to traditional print based information technologies for the benefit of the user. This research endeavours to develop an enhanced method of presenting and navigating statistical information in a printed medium through the use of interactive methods. The fields of print, hypertext and information visualisation inform the development, with a view to create cognitive awareness in readers, as well as their ability to build information relationships. In both hypertext environments and information visualisations the clarity of context and structure play key roles in the successful presentation of the relationships between aspects of information. Through the process of a Design- Analyse-Refine methodology, a range of designs for unifying these forms of media were explored and analysed. This produced a single design solution where the strengths of print are being interwoven with those of hypertext and data visualisation.