Chapter 5 Reading

Principle 4 Make the Abstract Concrete

How Abstract Graphics Work

Making things abstract can possibly enhance the credibility of the message. A designer has to figure out what information should fit and what shouldn't be used. These elements could be an icon, symbols, and illustrations. Also figuring out which colors and patterns will up enhance communication and the last is the conventions that should be ignored or followed through.

Cognitive Aspect

Space conveys meaning. This details that the spatial relationships between objects have a meaningful quality in which we find through familiarity with physical space.
Reducing cognitive load. It easy to become overloaded with information and with most of our brain being untapped completely we have a limited capacity on what we can actually integrate. With abstraction we can tone down the amount information taken in at one moment and let the working memory focus on one thing.

Data Displays

Having just information or data and images to explain a some thing make it difficult in understanding all of the data. Having an abstract way of looking at things like a infographic that takes some images and pairs them up with factual information can greatly increase the understanding of the data. Having a poor design and feel to the images can backfire because all data does not communicate clearly and the images or objects just become confusing and obstructing obstacles.