Reflections on Visual Communication - Rudai 23, Thing 9
For the Visual Communicator portion of Rudai 23, I chose to complete Things 3, 7 and 8. In this blog post I will reflect on my experience of the new skills and tools I discovered using the Gibbs Reflective Cycle.
Thing 3, Step 1 – Decription
Thing 3, Image Banks, asked us to find a striking image, consider its ownership and whether it could be shared, and upload it to a blog. My post can be found here.
Thing 3, Step 2 – Feelings
My initial reaction to this task was, ‘this will be easy’ – all I had to do was find a picture and post it! I am glad to say my initial reaction was wrong, and I found myself learning and experiencing much more than I expected from this task. By the end, rather than sharing an obvious and forgettable image, I had used an image to convey a concept, engage with other librarians, and think creatively.
Thing 3, Steps 3 and 4 – Evaluation and Analysis
I began this task by exploring Flickr for potentially useful images. Something I discovered was the way in which image banks can provide us with more than individual images. When searching the name of my library, I found lots of photos uploaded by tourists, and realised that image sharing sites could be a useful tool for exploring the experiences and reactions of our visitors. When I searched ‘librarian’, the assortment of images that were returned offered an insight into how librarians are perhaps perceived. A secondary use for image banks could therefore be a way of researching perceptions of topics.
While I have prior experience of using images, I was surprised when I paid closer attention during this task at how thoroughly many users reference the images they upload to website like Flikr. This made it possible to share the images, as they could be fully credited, and again to use them for research purposes – for example, I found a fully referenced and dated historical image of my library that I hadn’t come across before. When images were not referenced, I used tools such as Google Image Search to find an original copy and gain information on its source and licensing.
I very nearly made a mistake in this task. I found an image related to libraries that I liked a lot, and almost settled on sharing it. However, after further consideration, I decided that the image wasn’t actually useful or relevant for me. My interests lie in information literacy, innovation, and the use of space; while the image was uplifting and to do with libraries, it didn’t engage with any of these ideas, and would have cluttered up my blog. This moment of the task made me consider the importance of evaluating images in terms of relevance, usefulness and impact.
Eventually I chose to share an image previously shared by another librarian I follow on social media. The image is of a graphic novel collection with the shelves covered in pages from graphic novels, creating a striking effect. The instance of innovation displayed here interested me and sparked my own thinking and creativity; rather than just sharing the image, I was able to add my own ideas to it, considering how the same effect could be applied to academic libraries. In this way, I was able to engage with current discussion and innovation, as well as developing and sharing my own ideas.
Thing 3, Steps 5 and 6 – Conclusion and Action Plan
The key skills I have developed in this task that I would apply in the future are:
Using image banks for research or to enhance an understanding of general public perceptions.
Carefully evaluating and selecting images that convey the values and ideas that are important to me.
Using images to engage with others in my field and to develop my own creative thoughts.
As I am responsible for the social media accounts at my library, these skills will be useful on a daily basis. Having learned how impactful and relevant images can be when carefully chosen, I also plan to use them when creating persuasive materials such as applications, reports, and marketing materials.
Thing 7, Step 1 – Description
Thing 7, Online Exhibitions, asked us to recreate a physical collection as an online exhibition. I have recently put together an exhibition on the history of my library, so I used this opportunity to put together a digital version that would be useful for us. My online exhibition can be found here.
Thing 7, Step 2 – Feelings
At the start of this task I was slightly nervous. While I am used to writing blog posts on our collections, these generally highlight only 4 or 5 items. By contrast, my exhibition contains around 20 items of different shapes and sizes. Applying the questions presented by the task to the process of transferring the exhibition to a digital format allowed me to find a structure that works well for the reader, the library and the items. I feel much more confident in my final work than I felt at the beginning of the task.
Thing 7, Steps 3 and 4 – Evaluation and Analysis
As my library uses Wordpress for our blog, I was limited to using Wordpress for this task. My initial steps were very impractical and didn’t take the resources I was using into account. I typed up my introduction and inserted all of my photos, with captions copied straight from the exhibition, into the post. Unsurprisingly it looked awful.
I took a step back and considered how the Rudai 23 guidance could help me out of this mess. A particularly helpful evaluative tool was the ‘Your Story’ questions:
What is the narrative?
How is it arranged?
What are the different ways in which to display the material?
By thinking in terms of narrative and arrangement I was able to break away from the physicality of the exhibition, which had been dictated by sizes of items and display cases, and consider more abstract arrangements. As this is a historical exhibition, I chose a generally chronological narrative. I experimented with different types of display, discovering limitations – for example, a slideshow did not work well with long captions – and chose a mosaic layout. This is visually striking and created a sense of the relationships between the items; by clicking on individual items, readers can expand the images and view the extended captions.
I was also able to stray from the physical limitations of my exhibition in terms of selected items and captions. I eventually included only half of my images, so that the visual display was not overwhelming. Some items that worked for the physical exhibition lost their impact when presented digitally – I found this particularly with long pieces of text. As the captions displayed as a block of text, I shortened some captions and integrated titles into the body of the text, making them more readable.
Thing 7, Steps 5 and 6 – Conclusion and Action Plan
The key skills I have developed in this task that I would apply in the future are:
Using digital platforms to communicate collections in ways that physical exhibitions do not allow.
Selecting elements carefully in order to display them in an effective and useful way, rather than including everything.
Considering items in terms of narratives and relationships, rather than as isolated and individual.
Something I would consider in the future is how to tie the digital exhibition into the branding of the physical exhibition – for example, a key image used on my posters does not appear on my blog post. Despite this, the digital exhibition will be very useful for raising awareness of the exhibition online, particularly as it offers a taster of what is included.
Thing 8, Step 1 – Description
Thing 8, Infographics, asked us to create an infographic to convey some simple information. This is something very new to me, so I used this opportunity to learn about a new skill and consider how it might be useful for me. My infographic can be found here.
Thing 8, Step 2 – Feelings
I initially felt a sense of creative block, as I couldn’t think of an infographic to make that would be functional rather than just a list of statistics. I was also worried that what I would make would look untidy and unclear. By the end of the task, I felt much more confident in my skills and had a clearer idea of how infographics might be used.
Thing 8, Steps 3 and 4 – Evaluation and Analysis
The initial challenge I faced was a topic. I felt uncomfortable creating anything to do with my own library as I was unsure about issues of permissions, privacy, and usefulness. Instead I chose a report that had interested me on changes in library spaces.
The next step was to select key points to be presented visually. I found that choosing a particular topic rather than attempting to communicate the whole report made the final result much more impactful. I then chose a structure for these points, in this case setting out a problem and its potential solutions: this gave my infographic a sense of narrative and purpose. While I had expected to rely on statistics and the traditional ways of representing them, I found it more effective and rewarding to find potentially visual moments in the report and realise this potential. In particular, the claim that libraries have on average one study space for every ten students offered wonderful visual opportunities.
I found using Piktochart very enjoyable and accessible. While it was tempting to fill the page with images, I used images only when necessary for communication, increasing the clarity of my final result.
Thing 8, Steps 5 and 6 – Conclusion and Action Plan
The key skills I have developed in this task that I would apply in the future are:
Using images sparingly and clearly to convey information.
Identifying information that could be expressed visually in an interesting and useful way.
Considering what forms of communication work well for different messages and audiences.
While I had previously associated infographics with lists of statistics, through this task I have discovered the ways in which they can be used in different structures, such as question/answer or problem/solution. This opens up the potential for using infographics in practical or persuasive materials, such as proposals. Moreover, by leading me to look at details and structure them simply, creating an infographic allowed me to shift my perspective and understand a topic in a more focused way.
Thank you to Rudai 23 for their thought-provoking course. I have learned much more than I expected, and am sure to use it in a practical, useful way. I am looking forward to engaging with the next sections of the course.
