For project 1, my visual explanation aims to clarify the misconceptions regarding the oil palm tree. The oil palm tree is a crop, grown mainly in Malaysia and Indonesia. There are many misconceptions that they are a sustainable plant because they give higher oil yield per plant than most other plants. They make up about 30% of vegetable oil in the market annually. They are also used to produce biofuels using their biomass (waste after the oil production process essentially). However, in reality, they are far less sustainable for various reasons such as being associated with deforestation or negatively affecting biodiversity. The two papers I found had contradictory information, so I decided to make a compare-contrast type of poster.
I think I misunderstood the project, so my first draft was very simple. Beside the title, it had two main levels of information. The “Myth” and “Truth” sections being the first; the second level are the texts and graphics under them. I made the poster very simple– Myth: what some people are projecting as the benefits of oil palm trees and Truth: what oil palm trees are actually like. I present the information I am trying to transfer in a straightforward manner.
The title of the poster is “The Oil Palm and Sustainability: Myth vs Truth”. I’m not sure if it is advisable, but I incorporated the section names (level 2 information) with the title. I used red for Myth and green for Truth because I think red associates with a “bad feeling” vibe and green is the opposite. To distinguish the title and sections from the actual information, I placed a line under the title to separate them.
The texts and images under each section are also simple. I didn’t want to use photographs because they would be too small to be seen. I looked up free logos that fit with each text description instead. I tried to condense the text so they wouldn’t be too complicated or take up much space. I organized them using grids and aligned them as well. I’m not sure what grid I used because Illustrator divided the poster up for me, but it was fairly small. To separate Myth from Truth, I also placed another line down the middle of the poster. I think my text may be too simple, so I may try to change them up in the next draft.
Right now, my poster is definitely incomplete. I left out a lot of information from my two papers because they are redundant so I’m trying to find more information to make my poster more complex. I also struggle with finding graphics for certain text descriptions. In addition, I feel like my poster seems a little “naked” as in it doesn’t introduce the oil palm tree– I assumed that my readers were already somewhat familiar with the plant. I really like the compare/contrast set-up I have right now; however, I realize that it may be necessary to change my layout completely to add more information in.
I thought draft 1 was meant to be a rough draft, so my draft here is exactly that.
Design For Understanding 
Tan made good use of white background in his first draft to emphasise simplicity and understanding. The overall structure of the draft is simple, but almost too simple. I feel his margins clearly define the myth vs reality. However the whole concept is quite confusing. I ask, “what is the main point you are trying to get across from this design?”. This is only because some of the graphics are also missing from this draft and I feel like as a reader I have been misled.
I can see clear use of a grid design which is helpful for understanding and helping elements breathe. The structure needs more words in order to help indicate sections and make the design more informative than it is at the minute. I see the clear entry point of the title “The Oil Palm and Sustainability” however I am unsure how that relates to the ‘myth’ and ‘reality’ of Palm oil which I think this design is trying to explain. Furthermore, the use of ‘myth’ and ‘reality’ of second levels have me thinking about the myth and reality of what? I guess this could be more specific.
I feel this design could have more information on it. Especially with drawings too considering the reality side is mostly the word ‘graphic’. In terms of content I feel you should be asking yourself the question ‘why is this important for the reader to know?’ as of right now I am unsure if I am being informed about the reality of why palm oil has only been used to produce biofuel rather than the myth that it is being used effectively. More interesting graphics here on emphasis on how this could be affecting our planet or putting us in danger could maybe be emphasised?
Overall, colour was complementary and easy to read in this design. The use of brown colour font gives a natural feel which I liked. The visuals could also be more relevant to the text as I feel like sometimes a palm tree and palm oil could be connected more effectively. Overall, for highschool students I think there could be a more dynamic element added to this design, with better effort to engage and know what you are informing the reader.
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I like the overall structure of this visual; I think it perfectly allows the information to be conveyed at a brief glance. I think that an introduction to the oil palm plant could be given at the top before the T-chart. The Myth vs. Reality part could then be moved to a lower information level or kept as part of the title but in brown. There is a good amount of white space in the visual, so it looks very clean. The grid was used well in your visual, as all elements seem properly aligned.
I think adding the myth vs. reality to the title makes it more engaging. I think the information on the reality side could be written into a more concise sentence or just brief separate sentences. I would make the text between the myth and the reality section look more balanced in length.
For the each point in the T-chart, I would have a consistent image style. By this, I mean all images should have a black outline or they shouldn’t. The images should be in the same style. I understand it is hard to find free images of a consistent style, as I also ran into this problem. If it would make it easier, you could have separate consistent styles for the myth and reality columns. You could also play with the graphic style in the row, and have each row have a consistent style. I think you do have three levels here because the images seem to have their own level within your design. I like the use of the color green in your images since it matches the sustainability topic. I think it’s worth considering whether the images should have more weight than the text. Currently, they are a lot bigger than the text, which draws the eye away from the actual text. Good start!
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