Information Design: Final Project

 5/3/2023 

ALTAIFI, LEEN MAAN A (0367698)

Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media, Taylor's University

Information Design

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Table of Content

1. Instructions & Tasks

        - Research

        - Storyboard

        - Illustration

        - Final Project 

2. Reflections

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1. Instructions & Tasks

Final Project: Animated Infographics

Research the given topic in your group and break down the information into parts - narrative and visualization to educate the viewers about the issue. Use questions ‘What, why, where, when, who, and how’ into the building of your narrative before transferring the information onto your storyboard. Use relevant visuals to create associations of information to the infographics. Refer to the chart here to decide how to visualize.

Expected outcomes:
An animated infographic informing the audience about a given topic (min 1.5 - max 3 min video)
Must include some form of data/statistics. 
Must use the questioning technique and provide answers.

Fig. 1.0: Assigned roles to group members

Topic: The Journey of a Product (Chocolate) from Factory to Consumer.

The aim of this project is to educate the viewers about the journey of chocolate from raw materials to a manufactured product while simultaneously touching on the social and environmental issues in the cocoa industry through an engaging 1:50 - 3 minute animated infographic video.

Research:

We mapped out the supply chain of a product, from raw materials and manufacturing to distribution, retail, and consumer use, emphasizing sustainability and ethical practices.

1. What is the Chocolate supply chain?

The supply chain of chocolate refers to the process involved in producing chocolate products, from sourcing raw materials like cocoa beans to manufacturing, distribution, retail, and eventual consumption by customers.

2. Why is the Chocolate supply chain important?

The supply chain of chocolate is crucial because it ensures the efficient and effective production, distribution, and sale of chocolate products to meet consumer demand. Additionally, it allows for the consideration of sustainability and ethical practices to minimize negative impacts on the environment, ensure fair treatment of workers, and support local communities.

3. Where does the Chocolate supply chain operate?

The supply chain of chocolate operates globally, with cocoa beans primarily sourced from equatorial regions such as West Africa, South America, and Southeast Asia. Manufacturing facilities can be found in various countries, and chocolate products are distributed and sold worldwide through retail outlets, supermarkets, specialty stores, and online platforms.

4. When does the Chocolate supply chain operate?

The supply chain of chocolate operates continuously throughout the year, as cocoa beans are harvested and processed based on seasonal cycles in cocoa-growing regions. Manufacturing, distribution, and retail activities occur year-round to meet consumer demand, with peak periods around holidays like Valentine's Day, Easter, Halloween, and Christmas.

5. Who is involved in the Chocolate supply chain operation?

Various stakeholders are involved in the supply chain of chocolate, including farmers and agricultural workers who cultivate and harvest cocoa beans. Manufacturers and processors who transform cocoa beans into chocolate products. Distributors, wholesalers, and retailers who handle the distribution and sale of chocolate products. Consumers who purchase and consume chocolate products. Certification bodies, advocacy groups, and governmental organizations that promote sustainability and ethical practices within the chocolate industry.

How the supply chain operates:

1. Sourcing Raw Materials (Cocoa Beans)

Cocoa beans are primarily grown in equatorial regions within countries such as Ivory Coast, Ghana, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Ecuador. Emphasis is placed on sourcing beans from farms that follow sustainable agricultural practices, including fair labor conditions, environmental protection, and community development.

2. Harvesting and Fermentation

Farmers harvest cocoa pods from cocoa trees, extract the beans, and ferment them in wooden boxes or heaps covered with banana leaves. Ethical practices involve fair payment to farmers, ensuring child labor is not used, and promoting sustainable farming techniques.

3. Drying and Exporting

After fermentation, beans are dried under the sun or artificially, reducing moisture content to prevent spoilage. Ethical considerations include fair trade practices, ensuring farmers receive a fair price for their beans, and promoting transparency in transactions.

4. Manufacturing (Processing Cocoa Beans)

Cocoa beans are cleaned, roasted, and cracked to remove the outer shell, leaving cocoa nibs. Nibs are ground into a liquid called chocolate liquor, which is then separated into cocoa solids and cocoa butter. Other ingredients like sugar, milk powder (for milk chocolate), and flavorings are added to create various chocolate formulations. Sustainable practices involve using energy-efficient manufacturing processes, minimizing waste, and sourcing additional ingredients responsibly (e.g., fair trade sugar, organic milk).

5. Packaging

Chocolate products are packaged into various forms such as bars, blocks, or confections. Sustainable packaging options include recyclable or biodegradable materials, minimizing single-use plastics, and using eco-friendly printing techniques.

6. Distribution and Retail

Finished chocolate products are distributed to wholesalers, retailers, and supermarkets through various channels, including direct sales and partnerships with distributors. Ethical considerations include supporting fair trade certified products, promoting transparency in the supply chain, and ensuring fair treatment of workers throughout distribution channels.

7. Consumer Use

Consumers purchase chocolate products for personal consumption or as gifts. Educating consumers about ethical sourcing practices, supporting brands with transparent and sustainable supply chains, and encouraging responsible consumption are essential for promoting ethical practices in chocolate consumption.

We created a Miro board to compile our text and images research together, and to brainstorm even further. Reference images of the mood board and the animation style are attached.

 

Script:

The script was written alongside the storyboard to plan each scene with its narration.

Fig. 1.2: Script for Animated Infographic

Storyboard: 

In this storyboard, we briefly planned out the infographic video in a few summarized scenes; we focused more on the flow of the scenes rather than the details (which was later on filled in the animatic) along with some captions that later developed to be part of the narration script. 

Story Board Animatic:

An animatic is defined as series of images played in sequence, often with a soundtrack. In essence, it's an animated story board. The animatic helped us plan the final animation's scene sequence and the timing of everything, so the process all goes smoothly. The initial storyboard did not have elaborate scenes and script, therefore with making the animatic, we added in more in-between-scenes, and a more detailed script. 

Asset Illustration:

After finishing up the storyboard and animatic, we had a clear direction and flow of how the final result would look like, therefore the finalizing process was relatively easy, despite being technical. I personally worked on illustrating the assets on Adobe Illustrator that were later animated by group mates; that includes backgrounds, statistics, and movable assets. 

Fig. 1.3: Illustration Progress 1

Fig. 1.4: Illustration Progress 2

Animation:

After finishing up the illustrations, they are uploaded to After Effects and animated using transitions and the puppet tool. 

Fig. 1.5: Animation Progress 2

Final Project:

Youtube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vac08ztEVnE

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2. Reflections

Working on this project together with my groupmates was a very nice learning experience. All the group members had their own skillset to add to the project, and that made the experience even more productive and informative.

As the leader of this group, I had the responsibility of holding meetings and delegating tasks, but my group members lessened the burden on me by actively cooperating with me and equally sharing their ideas and inputs as well. 

Throughout making this almost-2-minute animation, I learned the importance of the step-by-step process of storyboarding, scriptwriting, and the making of animatics before moving on to the final draft. It allowed us to have a clear direction to how we want the final draft to be, with the flexibility of editing things making it easier to change whilst making sure everyone is on the same page. 

In the final draft, I was responsible for drawing the illustrations and the movable assets for the animation. I learned to illustrate in a simple yet consistent art style to stay in one theme. I used Illustrator for majority of the work, so it made me more comfortable with the software, and I learned to be quicker with keyboard shortcuts after working with it for a while.