"This to That" Final Idea Mock Up

"This to That" Task Continued

After my initial research on what a water rocket actually was, I decided to find out some figures about the topic which would make interesting data for my information graphic:

- Typical Maximum Launch Speed: 60mph
- Typical Maximum Altitude (Height): 30 metres
- Typical Maximum Distance (If launched at an angle): 30/40 metres
(Although 100 metres has previously been achieved)

When researching the data, I realised that this topic isn't exactly data heavy so I then looked at other forms of information design, such as airplane signage, instructions and sequence information design.





I did some sketches regarding the layout of my sequence information graphic:

"This to That" Information Diagram Task

"From water to powered flight: the process of a water rocket take off and landing"

Initially, I did some research on water rockets:

- A water rocket is basically a rocket that's main source of power is water and pressurised gas.

- The water is pushed out of the rocket by pressurised gas which is usually in the form of compressed air.

- It operates on the principles of Newton's Third Law of Motion.

- It is basically a litre drinks bottle which is upside down and has some added extras such as fins, a release mechanism and a "nose cone".

The Take Off- Step by Step Guide

- Between a quarter and a third of water is added to the bottle and the release mechanism is put on ( the release mechanism is something that keeps the water in until it is released). The release mechanism has to be clever enough to allow the air into the rocket but not to let the water leave the rocket until the trigger has been activated.

- The air being pumped into the rocket would give it the energy that it needs to be launched.

- The air bubbles up the water so that it goes through the space that we left above the water and pressurises it.

- When the trigger is pressed, the release mechanism releases which means that the air that was pressurised above the water forces the water to come out through the nozzle and therefore shooting the rocket up into the air.

The Landing:

- A large proportion of water rockets land with some damages to the rocket.

- Fins are added either side of the rocket in order to stabilise it which means that when it is in the sky, it would fly nose first which would increase the speed and then fall to the ground faster and therefore damaging the rocket.

- The only way to make sure that the rocket has a safe landing would be to install a parachute so that it gently glided back down to the ground instead of plummeting at a speed.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_rocket

http://www.aircommandrockets.com/labs/search.htm

http://www.npl.co.uk/upload/pdf/wr_booklet_print.pdf

http://orbi.ulg.ac.be/handle/2268/36471/?locale=en

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=water+rocket&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwidrLOD1ffKAhXDIQ8KHWJcCy8Q_AUICCgC#tbm=isch&q=how+to+make+a+water+rocket&imgrc=WY3JDQGJGDqIMM%3A

(Image 1)

Discovering Information Graphics- Session Task

The task was to find examples of information graphics around the university. 

Here are a few examples of what I found:

This information graphic shows what to do in the event of
a fire, although it isn't the most attractive of posters, it
presents the information that is needed in a way that it could
be understood quickly.

This is the international symbol for No Smoking.

These icons aren't usually seen every where as they have
very specific uses.  The danger symbol is well known with
it's striking yellow background. As for the icon on the right,
although it is pretty obvious to see what it is instructing, it
has the caption underneath with an explanation.

The University map is an infographic which is very detailed. It hosts 3D images
of the university building which in my opinion helps to locate them as the user
is able to have more of an idea to what they look like.

This example is quite stylised and modern looking as although they are well
known icons for the cafe and eating places, they have been adapted to look
differently depending on the location. They were interesting as well because
they were found on a wall.

This information graphic is different because it shows the
image so that it is able to be easily understood in the event
of a fire but it also has text so they users could learn to
understand the icon before the fire.

This example was found on a toilet door and is
the internationally known icon for a toilet.

Road Signage Systems

It became mandatory for the local authorities to provide road warning signs in 1903 when the Motor Car Act came into practice. Despite it being compulsory, the waymarkings, warning signs and destination signs were created by many different parties including the Ministry of Transport, local councils and motoring and cycling organisations. This resulted in the signs all being completely different and featuring different sizes, shapes and typefaces which meant that it was extremely difficult to understand the signs when stationary let alone when driving past them. Below are two examples of the complexity of road signage before it was redesigned in the 1960's.

It came to light that especially on the motorway, the busy cluttered road signage wasn't suitable and it needed to be legible at much higher speeds. Jock Kinnier was commissioned to design the signage for motorways and then along with Margaret Calvert was then asked to apply the same signage to the whole road network.

The new road signage which is known as the standard for today features pictograms which most were adapted or at least inspired from pictograms on signs in Europe. The typeface is loosely based on a German font from the 20th century called Aksidenz Grotesk, it is modern and easy to read, hence why it was used and is still being used to this day. There was experimentation with having the whole destination name in capitals but it was harder to read at a glance or when going fast hence why the final outcome was a mixture of upper and lower case. Below are some examples of modern road signage systems.

                                              

                             

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/news/10353447/The-history-of-British-road-signs.html

http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/shortcuts/2015/sep/18/way-to-go-the-woman-who-invented-britains-road-signs