The purpose of this assessment task is to get you to think about how to creatively and
effectively communicate complex scientific information to a lay target audience using
information graphics (or infographics). The term infographics was coined to describe the
visual communication of information and data. Examples of infographics are all around us
and we rely on them in our daily lives. Take, for instance, the Melbourne metro map which
distils the city’s extensive train network into a graphic that is both informative and relatively
straightforward to interpret.
Infographics are also wildly used in the communication of scientific information, and are
widely used in a range of contexts, from children’s books and public brochures to
government pamphlets and magazine features. For some science‐related examples, please
have a look at these links:
http://naturalon.com/wp‐content/uploads/2014/04/sexual‐intercourse‐a‐true‐secret‐tohealth_
52fdfa2e452ef_w1500.jpg
https://kaiserscience.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/how‐can‐two‐populations‐of‐the‐samesquirrel‐
species‐become‐two‐different‐species.jpg?w=960
https://s‐media‐cacheak0.
pinimg.com/736x/a5/14/17/a5141738e2e29a74bc6761c2c54d0fea.jpg
http://image.guardian.co.uk/sysimages/
Guardian/Pix/pictures/2014/3/7/1394194698893/Food‐chain‐infographic‐001.jpg
For this assessment, you will be required to create an infographic relevant to your chosen
topic to accompany your news article. You will have the opportunity to bring along a draft of
your infographic to the tutorial scheduled in week 9 (Assignment focus tutorial) so that we
can provide constructive feedback prior to final submission in week 11.
Your infographics can be created using your choice of software program (e.g. PowerPoint,
Photoshop, illustrator) and should be saved as a jpeg or PDF. The size of the infographic
should be A4 size (210 x 297 mm) and you can choose whether to orient the infographic in
either