Information Graphics

Meteorology Project

Group Members: Emilee Hunt, Gail, Monica, and Heather Stallman

Topic: the tornado that struck Pittsburgh on June 2^nd, 1998

Finished Infographics:

1. Comparison between the tornadoes on July 4^th, 1878; January 9^th, 1889; and June 2^nd, 1998

2. Comparison between Fujita Scale and Enhanced Fujita Scale

Structure and Format of the Infographic:

Color:

For the first infographic, the color of choice was a neutral yellow and the neutral orange for the second infographic. I chose these colors because they were two of the colors of the sky that Gail saw before the tornado struck Pittsburgh. Gail actually witnessed the tornado in Pittsburgh on June 2^nd, 1998. I also chose these colors so there weren’t be too much chaos between the background and the data. A white, orange, and black gradient was added to the Fujita Scale and Enhanced Fujita Scale columns of the second infographic to indicate that as the scale gets higher, the faster and more destructive the tornado gets. The texts was colored black so the data stands out, is readable, clear, and doesn’t blend with the background

Font:

1. Infographic 1

a. For the first infographic (Comparison between the tornadoes on July 4^th, 1878; January 9^th, 1889; and June 2^nd, 1998), the three tornado dates were centered and put in Wide Latin font, size 14pt with 18pt leading. Under the dates was the description of each tornado. The row titles (Location, Time, Sky, Temperature, Precipitation, Damage Cost, and Other Effects) were put in Uppercase 67 Bold Condensed Universal font, size 12pt with 24pt leading. The data was put in 47 Light Condensed Universal font, size 10pt. Under the description, there were pie graphs indicating the number of people killed and injured after the tornado struck. This was for a hierarchy; so the most important information would be seen first.

2. Infographic 2

a. No title was included for both infographics because they are comparison infographics and a title would corrupt the purpose of the infographics. For the second infographic (Fujita Scale vs. Enhanced Fujita Scale), the column titles (Fujita Scale, Enhanced Fujita Scale, Wind Speed, and Type of Damage) were centered in Rockwell Extra Bold font, size 12pt with 16pt leading. In the column title box, created by Professor Fujita in 1971 (Fujita Scale), introduced in 2007 (Enhanced Fujita Scale), and mile per hour (Wind Speed) were put in 47 Light Condensed Universal font, size 11pt with 16pt leading. The data for the four columns were centered and put in Minion Pro Bold font, size 18pt with 21.6pt leading. The resources label was placed on the bottom of the four columns. The resources label was put in Rockwell Extra Bold font, size 12pt with 14.4pt leading; while the websites were put in minion Pro Regular font, size 10pt with 12pt leading. This was for a hierarchy; so the most important information would be seen first.

Software Used:

For the infographic layout, adding images and text I used Adobe InDesign CS5. To make the graphs of the number injured and killed, I was Microsoft Excel. The drawings of the tornados for infographic 1, I drew by hand with black marker and then scanned. The lines of the tornado were smoothed using Adobe Illustrator CS5.

Layout:

The layout for both infographics was landscape and size was 8.5 x 11 inches.

References:

1. Infographic 1:

a. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998_Eastern_tornado_outbreak

b. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tornadoes_striking_downtown_areas_of_large_cities

c. http://www.erh.noaa.gov/lwx/Storms/Frostburg.htm

d. http://www.spc.noaa.gov/publications/mccarthy/torn1998.htm

e. http://pittsburgh.about.com/library/bltornado.htm

f. http://www.angelfire.com/pa/pawx/060298/060298.html

2. Infographic 2:

a. http://gdadeblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/remembering-dr-fujita.html.