Information Design Course Singapore

I will understand:

I will be able to:

This course does not:

How we read and process a novel or poem differs intensely from how we process information in a form, social media posts, search results, timetables, parking signs, and e-commerce webpages. Simply put, information design is about making data desirable by adapting content to appropriate reading methods. The networked world is a rich marketplace, where a single cellphone contains more information than entire libraries, museums, and exhibitions put together. This course responds to the demand for making complex content easy to understand and beautiful to look at.

As information designers, we are tasked with creating meaning through graphical elements that include words, images, and sounds. In this course, we will discover why simplicity is both essential and difficult to achieve, owing to (i) data volumes; (ii) graphical limitations; (iii) user attention spans; (iv) information anxiety and over-compensation.

Form and function fuse together to create familiar forms of physical and digital communication (social media posts, white papers, data tables, wayfinding signs, parking coupons, sign-up forms, medical leaflets) in uniquely pleasing combinations of words, images, and sounds which add to the integrity of your content.

Information Design involves economics and ergonomics. The next time you’re assembling a new piece of furniture think about how well the instruction manual represents reality. We tend to think of information design in terms of colourful infographics, sparse cartoons, and snazzy slideshows, but the history and realities of the field are rooted in solving serious problems: military maps, ship navigation, runway lighting systems, highway signage, poison markers, election polls, medical claim forms, and the layout of examination papers are just a few areas that rely on designing information to keep societies safe and running.

Why do we stop at red lights? How does the uppercase Q stand-in for ‘queue’? IRAS and Google both require us to fill in forms — the former once a year, the latter every few minutes; so why do most people still dread filling in forms? Visual diction — i.e. the clarity of letterforms and graphics to communicate an idea — is a learned language that often supersedes oral exchanges and socio-cultural norms. Visual diction is the backbone of information design and is our starting point in Introduction to Information Design.

Learning to visualise information is an essential skill that goes beyond artistic talents. You will be able to think systematically about design processes and translate your findings into appealing solutions. You will also be able to develop and package your content in a simple, clear graphical language alongside mainstream semantic and linguistic representations.

Arjun Khara is a PhD researcher, front-end web programmer, an Adobe Certified Expert, and co-creator of Singapore’s Silent Heroes Awards. His work, speeches, and ideas have been televised and featured in newspapers and radio interviews in Singapore, Southeast Asia, and Greater China and India. Arjun is currently completing his PhD, investigating fairness for user experiences in government digital platforms. More on your convenor →

2018 – 2022: PhD in Typography and Graphic Communication, University of Reading, United Kingdom

2017 – 2018: Masters (Valedictorian Orator) in Computer Games Art and Design, Goldsmiths College, University of London, United Kingdom

2002 – 2005: Bachelors (Golden Key Hons.) Communication, Media and Culture, University of South Australia, Australia