The fourth MOOC Talk was delivered by Professor Brian Stone. He is a practicing designer, educator and researcher in the field of interactive design, information design, user experience and communication through motion. He also teaches visual communication at the Ohio State University and is a principal partner at the international consultancy, Latitude for the Design. His focus is mainly on interactive screen based forms which can be incorporated into websites, interactive experiences, multimedia presentations and typographic messages. Dr. Stone has received multiple awards including the Apple Distinguished Educator Award.
Visual Literacy and Metaliteracy go hand in hand and therefore it has become very necessary for visual forms of communication and design to be enhanced in this modern age to make the visualization of information way more easy and meaningful. Websites, interactive experiences, multimedia presentations and typographic messages collectively help establish visual connections that create a better mental picture as well as aid all types of users make informed decisions as far as information design is concerned. Visual messages are directly linked with metaliteracy. The combination of the two forms of literacy helps users to make inferences about language, comparison in terms of information, symbolism, familiarity, ambiguity, understanding and connotations.
Dr. Stone shared a couple of visual and typographic materials which really caught my attention. The first one was a map used in my country, England-the London Underground Navigation System. Although the underground map was not really based on actual geographic scales, it still achieved its purpose of making underground transportation easier for all travelers, both local and foreign. The map indicated the starting and ending points of each rail line as well as hubs and locations for making connections. Transport for London(TFL), the body in charge of most aspects of the transportation system in Greater London also adopts a similar approach to make moving around London very simple for all travelers. In my opinion, London has one of the best transportation systems around the world barring the occasional delays and change in schedules.
The second visual representation used by Dr. Stone was based on typographic messages used around the Ohio State University Campus to motivate the students as they walked around. Two visual messages shown in his presentation were the words "thrive" and "grow." Thrive was spelled around a tall tree and this tree happened to take the place of the letter "i" in the word. I felt this was an effective and a very creative communication tool in getting specific messages across to the student body. Dr. Stone used one more example in his presentation which came about when went on an Information Exchange to teach in Singapore in 2010. He mentioned that prior to this experience he was used to teaching about 18 students in his class. However, he had a class size of about 45 students in his class in Singapore which meant he had to devise a smart plan on how he could remember the names of all his students. A group of students collected some visual and specific data which included gender, height and nationalities on each student which made it easier for Professor Stone to remember their names. That was very innovative!
Icons, symbols and signs have really helped in promoting the connection between visual literacy and metaliteracy. In the same manner, narratives or story telling also incorporate understanding the content of the big picture related to information design. It has become very essential for multiple modes of communication to cater to the needs of all manner of information users and metacognitive learners. A lot of consideration has to be put in place to make sure disabled people and the older generations are not left out of the the gradually emerging methods of visual communication and metaliteracy. Progressive disclosure, which involves starting by process and synthesizing a concept from scratch is also very necessary in developing visual literacy and it connection with metaliteracy. Dr. Stone's presentation was very informative!
I agree with your consideration of the older generation and the disabled people in this emerging world, or else they will be left out. But what do we do about this?
ReplyDeleteWe have to find creative ways of better suiting everyone so that disabled people and older people are not left out of the new trend of visual communication and metaliteracy for that matter. It is not as straightforward as it may sound but when the will is there then there is definitely a way to make it all work through collaborating with the right parties and channels.
ReplyDelete