red ink rising
The Texas Public Policy Foundation, a local non-partisan public policy organization, needs help condensing eight pages of information in a one page handout to be distributed on the statehouse floor to state representatives. Here is how I tackled this challenge.
OVERVIEW
I designed a one page handout from an eight page packet of fairly dense information.
WHAT I DID
Researched the audience and context, information architecture, visual design, print design
THE PROMPT
Research this piece and create a visually compelling one-page info piece that could be passed out to legislative staff.
My Role
Digital Designer
Duration
One day
STEP 1: who is our audience/user?
The first step in this design process wasn’t to immediately start going through the eight pages from the Quintero piece. Rather, it actually makes more sense to understand who the audience and context first (I will explain more on this in a bit). I was told that it was going to be state politicians and aides and this is what I discovered from a quick search online:
Educated, middle aged to older professional
Busy
Inundated with papers and information
Environment may be chaotic
This tells me that the work should be:
Eye catching
Clear
Concise
Useful
Professional
Validated
And that the work should NOT be:
Cluttered
Cutesy
Awkward
Text heavy
Step 2: REFINE THE DATA
As I mentioned earlier, there is a lot of data in those eight pages. With our user in my mind, I wanted to figure out what was the main idea of the packet, why things need to change, and what we want our legislators to do about it. So I went through the data presented to pull out the most pertinent pieces and summarized where I could. You can find these insights in the slides below.
Step 3: Design
I then took out a sheet of paper and mapped out how I wanted information to be presented to our users. I felt that this set up, with the logo/tab on top, a clear problem statement, and the call to action on the bottom, made logical sense. Now we just need to use color to drive these ideas home.
With my map in hand, I then turned to Adobe Illustrator to actually make the handout. Here is how the first and only draft looked like (A second draft was not needed in this case).
I used the Design System the foundation already had in place for the colors and fonts for the piece.
The logo appears on top while a large red tab on the right indicates the type of issue the piece deals with.
The term “legislative guide” indicates the type of piece this and so aides can quickly retrieve it if requested.
The problem statement is in red, while supporting details and data are in white/gray. The eye is drawn to the large red block and if needed, the representative can easily repeat the issue without having to piece together a statement on the fly.
Pie charts are 2D now. This is clearer and easier to read.
Consequences are clearly spelled out in one sentence.
The Call to Action below is in bright yellow. This is what we want our legislators to do in seven clear, actionable statements.
conclusion
In sum, the way information is presented to users is crucial, especially if that information has a call to action. By knowing our users and understanding the context in which they will be consuming this information, we can pull and present information in meaningful ways.