Infographic Process up the Wazoo

After reviewing my classmate Adam’s comment, I have considered turning my infographic into a 3-d rendering of pure beauty and.. info. My initial plan was to use some of the shapes that are used in a music video by Autechre called Gantz Graf. (that is if I could even pick out any of the shapes before they exploded by). I did a series of drawings based on the idea of these 3d shapes based on a clock exploding from a y axis shown in z dimension. As you can see in the illustrations below, I tried drawing forms and taking shapes out of them to create my graphics. I used the measure that one bar= one hour (each segment = one bar). I also tried leaving the time durations connected and also segmenting them to make it more apparent of quantity rather than a continued line. I started a new set encompassing a full circle as well as a straight bar graph. By using different shapes I was hoping to have it stand for one icon, but to my luck, they didn’t seem to be working for me.
After drawing out some ideas with paper, I tried numerous ideas on the computer to see which would work best for me. The first idea shown is quite a bit more abstract as the segments float in space. each corner indicates a segment which indicates one hour. A huge problem I notice right of the bat is how to incorporate the icons and text into the image. The second image I tried making a traditional line graph based on the earlier influence I posted on the last infographic post. The third and fourth tries were experiments to wrap the bands around a twelve-sided shape. The bands start and end where they do in my flat infographic, only now around a dimensional shape. Yet still, I have yet to find the solution to integrating text and icon with the bands fully.

I felt like the progess I made did me no justice. Back to the drawing boards. I remembered a poster for music that Josef Muller Brockman created for Beethoven. How dinamic the circles were arranged made the composition swirl. By keeping this in mind, I drew another quick sketch, hopefully with better luck. By stacking the circles all vertically, I thought I could slide the times and information in the tab spaces. The middle drawing is a direct representation of Brockman’s drawing for the concert. Again trouble placing the information. The first digital rendering may look nice, but a few students said it would be important to see the whole ring to help with comparison. Finally looking more closely at my hand rendered sketch, I created the second one with the stair step method I was looking for. I also combined my earlier idea of putting text at the bottom to see the elegance of the shape the steps made. There is a white bar at the bottom because I made the same graphic decision in the magazine spread I am creating in unison with this graphic. This digital render also referenced my flat design of referencing a turntable and a clock.
I wanted to do a little more as well with the 3d render because I wanted to see if I really could make a successful 3d graphic. The bottom image is more true to what I am looking for, with scale and position, I was able to create a space for the bands to sit. I also used my rule set that one segment equals one hour. Although the textual information isn’t perfect, it’s getting a lot closer to what I’m looking for.

After completing all of these ideas, I feel left behind because, in reality, I haven’t created the solution to combining informational text, icon, and image.