infography 2
On this page, arranged chronologically, a fairly complete collection of instructions, maps, (ground)plans and information design I have produced since 1978. See Infography 1 for technical illustrations, diagrams and research projects.
instructions
When instructions are visualised clearly we can understand how to carry out a particular procedure. Clear and recognisable images, attention to detail, careful selection of which steps to show, an intelligent combination of text with image and a logical sequence are all important considerations in this specialised field.
1981 artichoke preparation
One of a series of steps explaining how to prepare artichokes. It was important to keep the drawings clear and simple. We enjoyed a great meal that weekend!
Unieboek Publishers, Baarn 1981 Line drawings in ink using technical pens
1981 rack of lamb
From the same book, this time explaining how to prepare a rack of lamb. In both cases I used Polaroid photos as reference material.
Unieboek Publishers, Baarn 1981 Line drawings in ink using technical pens
1981 aircraft for firemen
For these instructions I was asked to explain visually how to open the main doors and hatches of the major types of aircraft flying over The Netherlands.
Dutch State Printing Office for the Home Office, 1981 Line drawings in ink using technical pens
1986 developing films
Unfortunately a rather poor scan from a photo taken at the time of this panel in the museum showing how to develop film before the advent of the digital camera!
Museon, The Hague 1986 Line drawings with colour added using airbrush
1990 early cranial surgery
This set of illustrations shows early cranial surgery methods and the (then) advanced instruments which were used.
Museum Boerhaave, Leiden 1990 Pencil drawing with coloured tissue paper overlay
1990 pre-historic drilling
This illustration shows how it is thought that primitive man (laboriously) drilled holes in stone axe heads. I discussed the details with the archeologist experts!
Drents Museum, Assen 1990 Line drawings in ink using brushes and pens
1997/8 metro signs
A detail from instructions for local contractors who would be fitting the signs in the Hong Kong metro.
Total Design, Amsterdam 1998 Digital image produced using FreeHand
1998 paddle technique
Keeping your canoe on course and under control is not as easy as it might seem. In these instructions I opted for a combination of views so that one can better understand the relationship between position, action and effect.
Op Pad Magazine in 1998 Digital image produced using FreeHand
1999 make your own book 1
Detail step from a large series of illustrations explaining how to bind your own book. Working with Linda we used drawn line images that were then scanned in and finished using the computer for the colour tints.
Toine Post for KVGO, Amstelveen 1999 Hand drawn and digital image produced using FreeHand
1999 make your own book 2
A number of the separate steps brought together to explain a particular phase of binding your book. The two colour tints, arrows, etc were added using the computer.
Toine Post for KVGO, Amstelveen 1999 Hand drawn and digital image produced using FreeHand
maps & plans
Maps are sophisticated visual charts which allow us to understand the spatial relationship between things. Maps do not distort 'reality' in order to clarify, but simply reduce it in scale so that we can 'see' areas which would otherwise be unobservable. By selecting the information we want to focus on and coding it distinctively we can give maps specific functions such as wayfinding or showing areas of particular interest.With plans of buildings or public spaces where we need to find our way it is often useful to distort reality. By including recognisable links with the situation as we experience it on the ground we can understand how a space fits together and where we are in it.
1979 eastern scheldt estuary
One of a series of maps for the book Linda and I produced about the exotic underwater life of the 'Oosterschelde' prior to it being damned by the Delta Works flood barrier.
AW Sijthoff, Alphen a/d Rijn 1979 Line drawing with tints specified on overlay for the printer
1985 rijksmuseum 1
Wayfinding plan of the museum conceived by Studio Dumbar. In various rooms small recognisable details were added to help wayfinding in this complex building.
Studio Dumbar, The Hague 1985 Line drawing with tints specified on overlay for the printer.
1986 german wines
One of a series of two-colour maps showing the vineyards of the Rhine and Mosel rivers. I worked together with a connoisseur who gave me the precise vineyard locations.
ADM International, Amsterdam 1986 Line drawing with tints specified on overlay for the printer
1987 spiritual in art
Axonometric groundplan produced for the exhibition 'The Spiritual in Art' featuring the work of famous 20th century artists at the Municipal Museum in The Hague.
Ontwerperskollektief 2D3D, The Hague 1987 Line drawing with tints specified on an overlay for the printer.
1988 apple in monaco
For their annual European conference in 1988 Apple decided to visit Monaco. This map of the venues had to be made overnight in order to meet the deadline!
Studio Dumbar, The Hague 1988 Cut and torn coloured tissuepaper
1988 french wines
The author of the German wine book asked if I would like to produce a similar set for French neighbours but this time in colour.
Inmerc BV, Wormer 1988 Airbrush, pen and ink, overlay for text to be added by printer
1990 delta expo
Groundplan of the Delta Expo which describes Holland's system of barrages that protects it from storm surges.
Delta Expo, Haamstede for Ko Sliggers. Pieter Roozen 1990 Line drawing with tints specified on an overlay for the printer.
1993 the netherlands
Map of the Netherlands for none-Dutch to show its position in Europe, its boundaries, provinces, major rivers, important cities and areas are under sea level.
Studio Dumbar, The Hague 1993 Digital image produced using FreeHand
1994 cattle breeds atlas
For this tome I was asked to produce maps in full colour showing the dispersion of cattle breeds for every continent and many countries of the world.
Misset Publishing, Doetinchem 1994 Digital image produced using FreeHand
1994 cattle breeds atlas 2
The underlying maps are pale tints to show the basic landmasses. This allowed the various cattle breeds to be charted 'on top of' the geographical information.
Misset Publishing, Doetinchem 1994 Digital image produced using FreeHand
1996 gak 1
The first version of the routemap for GAK which unfortunately didn't transmit via various makes of fax machine in the way it was expected to...
Studio Dumbar, The Hague 1996 Digital image produced using FreeHand
1996 rijksmuseum 2
A simplified, digital version of the ground plan for the Rijksmuseum in only two colours. This time only the most important information was included.
Studio Dumbar, The Hague 1996 Digital image produced using FreeHand
1997 kpn annual report
A simple yet dramatic map of the Dutch KPN's Euronet network. By careful use of colour attention is focused on only the essential information.
Studio Anton Beeke, Amsterdam 1997 Digital image produced using FreeHand
1997 kvgo routemap
This routemap in two colours uses a general and a detailed map to guide delegates to an annual conference in Renkum near Arnhem.
Toine Post, Ankeveen 1997 Digital image produced using FreeHand
1997 gak 2
The final version of the GAK maps which employed specially developed lines, tints, patterns and typography so that they would transmit via any fax machine!
Studio Dumbar, The Hague 1997 Digital image produced using FreeHand
1998 amsterdam history museum
One of the several pictorial maps placed at each access point to the museum making them more recognisable and thus easier to find in the busyness of the city.
Amsterdams Historisch Museum for Pieter Roozen, Amsterdam 1998 Digital image produced using FreeHand
1999 van gogh museum
The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam was extended in 1999 when a new wing was added. This map shows visitors how to find their way more easily in this new environment.
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam for Pieter Roozen, Amsterdam 1999 Digital image produced using FreeHand
1999 studio dumbar
One of several faxable routemaps I produced for Studio Dumbar explaining how visitors could find their offices in a number of European locations.
Studio Dumbar, The Hague 1999 Digital image produced using FreeHand
1999 valkhof museum 1
A map of the Roman Empire showing its extent, important trading routes and products. It uses simple colour coding and pictograms to reperesent the various commodities.
Musem Valkhof, Nijmegen 1999 Digital image in two colours for screen printing produced using FreeHand
1999 valkhof museum 2
A simpler map for the museum, this time in three colours showing the locations of important Roman sites in towns and villages around Nijmegen.
Musem Valkhof, Nijmegen 1999 Digital image in three colours for screen printing produced using FreeHand
information design
When diverse types of image and text are integrated into a whole such that it explains and clarifies things for us, then we can speak of information design. The aim is to break down complicated subjects into understandable 'chunks' which allows us to grasp the whole. Unlike individual diagrams, charts or illustrations it is the particular combination of images, text and media which defines this field. This brings with it a distinct editorial aspect since one has to decide not only what the whole story should be but also how to break it down into various components which can be visualised in order to explain it. As with most projects of this nature it requires close collaboration between illustrator and expert in order to ensure both accuracy and clarity.
1982 energy wallcharts
Even back in the early 80's there was a lively debate going on about the relative merits of nuclear and renewable energy. I was asked to come up with a concept for two wallcharts to explain all the pro's and cons to a wide audience in an understandable way.
Energie bv, The Hague Line drawing in pencil with colours sprayed on an overlay using airbrush 120 x 84 cm
1982 energy wallcharts 2
I decided upon a comicstrip-like approach that enabled me to use a popular visual idiom to express (often) quite complicated matters. As ever it involved working closely with experts from many fields and checking that the way I wanted to visualise the information was correct.
Energie bv, The Hague Line drawing in pencil with colours sprayed on an overlay using airbrush 120 x 84 cm
1984 energy wallcharts 3
This is the companion chart to the nuclear one explaining how we can extract more energy from renewable sources. Back then technology was not so far advanced and the yields from alternative sources were limited. The chart showed what was possible at the time.
Energie bv, The Hague Line drawing in pencil with colours sprayed on an overlay using airbrush 120 x 84 cm
1986 electricity wallcharts
I was asked by the Dutch Electricity Generating Board to produce a series of illustrations for their magazine explaining the generation and distribution of electricity. It proved to be so popular that I was asked to expand the them into four wallcharts for educational purposes.
Dutch Electricity Generating Board, Arnhem 1986 Soft pencil line drawing with airbrushed colour on overlay.
1986 electricity wallcharts 2
The main images were drawn on drafting film in pencil and the colour was added by airbrush on a second overlay - a tricky technique which required great care to get right. This chart is about the domestic system and shows how power is routed from the meter unit to the rest of the home.
Dutch Electricity Generating Board, Arnhem 1986 Soft pencil line drawing with airbrushed colour on overlay.
1990 books wallchart
Working together with a good friend and colleague Toine Post we produced this large wallchart explaining how a book is created from beginning to end. The idea was to try to explain even the more technical aspects in a clear and simple way, primarily for children.
Toine Post for KVGO, Amstelveen 1990 Line drawings in soft pencil with colour airbrushed on overlay.
1995 how it works | galvanometer
One of a series of illustrated pages for a Museum Boerhaave publication called 'How it Works'. Each page covers one of the museum's more noteworthy exhibits. Some twenty items of historical interest are described in this instance an early galvanometer.
Museum Boerhaave, Leiden 1995 Digital image for full colour reproduction produced using FreeHand
1995 how it works | octant
I chose to use a dark blue ground in order to emphasise the colours of the materials used for the various devices. Each page uses a combination of images to explain important aspects of the equipment. Here an octant is shown using various images to explain its operation.
Museum Boerhaave, Leiden 1995 Digital image for full colour reproduction produced using FreeHand
1998 internships database
Whilst teaching at the Royal Academy of Arts in Den Bosch I was asked to develop an interface design for a database of interneship information for students. Subsequent development of the internet has since rendered this idea obsolete but then it was cutting edge!
Royal Academy of Art & Design, 's-Hertogenbosch 1998 Digital design using FreeHand, PhotoShop and SuperCard
research
Research opportunities in the field of infography are regretfully few and far between. However, I was fortunate enough to be asked to participate in two projects which did go through where ways of utilising infography in digital media were investigated.
sign language for the deaf
In 1990 I was asked by Jelle van der Toorn, then of Total Design, if I would be interested in working with him on a research project into the digitalisation of the sign language of the Netherlands. The project was financed by the European Institute for Research and Development of Graphic Communication in Rotterdam. At that time material for teaching deaf children how to sign was limited to videos and handmade diagrams. We wanted to establish if it would be possible to use digital media to not only capture and render the signs but also to make them available to all from a central database. After researching the subject,
we proposed that signs could be digitised by a signer wearing so-called data-gloves. By inputting this data into the computer each sign could be recorded as a simple line animation and a series of separate images. These images would form the heart of a visual sign database which could be accessed remotely by teachers thereby allowing them to generate their own high quality animations and teaching material from their place of work. Interface design has come a long way in the meanwhile but at the time this was an innovative concept for a problem faced by an oft-neglected usergroup.
patient information system
In 1994 I worked on another project for the EIRDGC. This time it involved researching the feasibility of providing an interactive information system for patients facing surgery in hospital. Jelle van der Toorn and I collaborated again for this project and we were particularly interested in how complex information could be made available to patients in a clear and accessible way. We chose to use a heart bypass operation as the subject of our study as this is frequently causes concern for prospective patients. This is the basic interface I designed showing key features such as a virtual personal guide, a subwaymap-like navigation system and clear, simple graphics.The idea is that there should be a central visual database of information about operations which patients can access when they visit the hospital. An important consideration is that patients can study the information in their own time and at their own pace.
Material about each operation includes basic physical information - in this case where the heart is and how it works under normal circumstances. By showing what happens when the heart dysfunctions and what the causes are, patients can better understand what is wrong with them. Finally the treatment is described in a clear yet informative way with the option to go into more detail if required.I discovered by visiting hospitals and talking with staff at reception desks that many patients at that time were still unfamiliar with interactive computer systems (the world wide web was nothing like as developed then as it is now...!) In order to lower the threshold for patients I felt that either a tv-like remote controller or even a games-like controller would help. This is one design I produced which could be used for operating a tv-like set from the comfort of an armchair in a specially equipped viewing room at the hospital.