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MEMORANDUM
To:
From:
Date:
Subject:

Karen Thompson
Jonathan Simmons
3 March 2015
Data Visualization Infographics

This memorandum details the audience, design choices, the tools used to create the infographic,
and the limitations of those tools. The infographic shows the distribution of how electricity is
generated in the U.S. and gives reasons why coal is the most popular means of generating
electricity. Additionally, sources for the infographic are given at the end of this document.
Audience:
The audience for this infographic is the general public. The statistics shown serve to educate the
reader on the distribution of generated electricity, the trend/history of how electricity has been
generated, and why coal remains the most popular source of generation. The infographic could
be used as an image on a blog, linked to from a social media outlet, or directed to via a
specialized website.
Data Set/Story Arrival:
The two pieces of statistical data in starting with bold red font at the top of the page are taken
from the Energy Information Administrations website. The pie chart near the top left of the page
was created using information from tsp-data-portal.org. From top to bottom, the first line graph
was taken from freedomworks.org, and the second from rosemontcoppergroup.wordpress.com
(which is just representing data found by the World Nuclear Administration). The information
presented in the brown shout-out shape in the middle of the infographic comes from
coaleducation.org. I am an electrical engineering student with an emphasis on power
applications. Science tries to leave politics at the door for the most part, but some of the ways
electricity is generated, such as nuclear, burning oil/fossil fuels/coal, and hydroelectric
generation have raised public and political concerns about how safe these means of generation
are to us and the environment. Others question the need for some renewable means of generation
such as wind, solar, and geothermal, claiming that they have such little stake in the overall
market that they are practically pointless. I wanted to create a simple infographic on the topic
that just presented statistical evidence and an explanation on why coal is the most used means of
generation.
Typography:
The title of the infographic has large bold all capitalized CA BND Web font to grab the attention
of the reader and present a sense of urgency. Below the title, two statistical facts are presented
with numbers in bold, red, underlined font with surrounding smaller font to highlight the
importance of the numbers. In the pie chart below the statistics, the Courier New font is used for
the percentages on the pie chart, and is used only once on the infographic to draw attention to the
data the pie chart is presenting. The same bold CA BND Web font is used to title the pie chart
and the adjacent line graph to show association. The centered shout-out shape in the middle of

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the page is titled with bold white CA BND Web font to show association to importance, as CA
BND Web font is consistently used for titling in this infographic. Any text that provides
information that is not emphasized by another font is shown in Verdana for consistency. The
SOURCES section uses the same CA BND Web font for titling, but is written in all capital
letters to serve as a compliment to the title and signify the end of the infographic.
Color:
According to the color theory link, yellow can give an energized look and feel. I felt that
encasing the title in the yellow banner would be appropriate, since people often use electricity
and energy interchangeably. I chose to use white for the text in the title banner because it seemed
to be the most readable and the least strenuous on the eyes. Red was chosen for the numbers
below the banner, because red is supposed to emphasize an area if used properly. I chose a lighter
red for the text to make reading the numbers easier. The chart and line graph titles below the
statistics are in black because the color helps establish familiarity as most books, websites, and
other resources use black for chart and figure titling. The shout-out shape in the center of the
infographic is the same color as the Coal portion of the pie chart to show association. The
color of the background is beige, which according to the color theory link can work well with
either warm or cool colors. The background also has a textile/rough texture to emphasize the
industrial nature of electrical generation. I used black to try and subtly indicate progression and
imply some sense of a grid. SOURCES is encased in a red banner to provide a compliment to
the titles yellow banner and signify the end of the infographic. The text for SOURCES and the
text underneath the banner are white for readability, additionally SOURCES is white to
compliment the title of the infographic.
Layout:
The intent of the layout of the infographic is to suggest a flow of information, as well as making
the infographic interesting to look at. As mentioned previously, the title is encased in a yellow
banner to give a sense of energy, and the capitalized text of the title gives a sense of urgency that
is eye-catching. Clip art lightbulbs in the titles banner help the reader establish a connection to
electricity before even reading the title. The black lines below the banner encapsulating the
statistical information about energy in households, combined with the emphasized numbers and
small surrounding text lets the reader know that this information can be quickly skimmed to be
understood. The black arrows connecting various pieces of information subtly helps the reader
read through the infographics information the intended way. Some elements of the infographic
are made slightly transparent to help the texture of the background show, making the infographic
more visually interesting.

Gestalt Design:
I.

Similarity/Anomaly
From the infographic, the title and SOURCES text and banner designs were
intentionally made similar to give a sense of closure, the SOURCES banner is
intentionally a different color (red) from the title banner (yellow) to draw attention. The

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color of the pie charts Coal section and the color of the shout-out are the same to
imply similarity/association.
II.

Proximity and Alignment

The statistical facts at the top of the infographic have the same formatting as one another
to suggest grouping as well as being aligned in a banner in a similar manner at the top
and bottom of the infographic. The pie chart and adjacent line graph have the same title
format, similar size, and are close in proximity to suggest association. The legend for the
pie chart appears in close proximity and has the same colors as the pie chart to imply an
association.

III.

Visual Hierarchy
The shout-out shape and the graphs are about the same size, because they convey about
the same amount of information and are very important to what the infographic is trying
to accomplish. The statistics for energy use are smaller than the graphs because they are
less important. The sources are the smallest of all because they are the least important for
conveying information, but are still necessary.

IV.

Continuation
The black arrows on the infographic suggest continuation by directing the flow of
information. Information flow needs to be directed to help the reader make sense of the
infographic.

Tools:
I chose to use easel.ly for the creation of my infographic because it had the best preset themes
and backgrounds in my opinion. I liked the rough textile-like background that I chose for the
infographic and the ability to control opacity of everything, even images that are uploaded. The
ability to create shapes was somewhat confusing at first, but I eventually learned it.
Limitations:
I found the number of fonts to be very limited, as theres only 20 or so to choose from. Also, I
kept encountering a few errors with easel.ly. One was that the pie chart would occasionally crash
while I was editing it. The second was that if I tried to copy and paste a graph, it would show up
in ridiculous scale on the background of the website instead of the canvas and I wouldnt be able
to move it. Lastly, if I tried to resize the canvas after uploading an image or attaching the browser
window to the side of my desktop the resize option simply wouldnt work and I would need to
close the project and open it back up again.
Sources:
1. http://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.cfm?id=97&t=3
2. http://www.eia.gov/electricity/sales_revenue_price/pdf/table5_a.pdf
3. http://www.tsp-data-portal.org/Breakdown-of-Electricity-Generation-by-EnergySource#tspQvChart
4. http://www.coaleducation.org/q&a/10_reasons_why_coal.htm

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5. https://rosemontcoppergroup.wordpress.com/2014/04/20/nuclear-power-please-support/
6. http://www.freedomworks.org/content/wind-power-surviving-subsidies