Guide to Star Hopping
Star Hopping is a common technique in the astronomy community that is used to locate celestial objects of interest. Because the night sky can disorient novice astronomers, this technique describes how familiar and known celestial objects, such as the Big Dipper, can be used as landmarks to help locate other objects of interest. As a novice astronomy hobbyist, the star hopping technique is one of the most useful to know.
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This concept is well-suited for an infographic because it utilizes the physical method of using your hand to measure distances, which would be difficult to describe and conceptualize using text alone.
Development Process
The development process consisted primarily of researching the topic and gathering information. I started by sketching a rough outline on paper of the key points I wanted to
cover and what layouts I thought might work.
I used my personal copy of Terence Dickinson’s “Nightwatch: A Practical Guide to Viewing the Universe” for most of the educational content of the infographic. I then gathered several inspirational images from sites like Google to see how others depicted the Star Hopping technique.
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Finally, I created the infographic, including all vectors and illustrations, from scratch in Adobe Illustrator.
Design Principles
I used the contrast principle to establish a sense of hierarchy within the infographic. I achieved this mainly by using larger bolded font for the main title and headings. This established the different sections of the content. I also bolded key terms and definitions to emphasize them to the reader. I also used the proximity principle by placing the text close to their corresponding images, so users could intuit that they are related. I also left white space between the sections to help chunk the content.
I used my personal copy of Terence Dickinson’s Nightwatch: A Practical Guide to Viewing the Universe to develop the educational infographic.
I utilized Gestalt principles to create a sense of harmony with a unified theme. For example, I used a consistent color scheme that evoked the night sky. I referenced a photograph of actual human hands for the reference images under "Handy Sky Ruler." I converted them to vector format within Illustrator because I wanted a cohesive look and feel for all the elements in the infographic. I felt that including photos of real hands may be jarring or distracting.
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I used typography, specifically my choice of fonts, to establish the tone of my infographic. When selecting what fonts to use, I referenced NASA’s typography brand guidelines to convey a more serious tone and sense of scientific authority with my infographic. Astronomy and constellation maps can often be conflated with astrology, the practice of pseudoscience using celestial objects to divine information, and I wanted to avoid that connection.
Heading: Inter
Body: Public Sans
Establishing Tone
I referenced NASA’s typography brand guidelines to convey
a more serious tone and sense of scientific authority with my infographic.
Finally, I used the figure/ground principle to help learners focus on the most salient information. I did this by utilizing a constrained color palette that did not distract from the visuals or information. I limited the use of unnecessary decorative elements, clashing colors, and loud background visuals so learners could focus directly on the instructional content.
Demonstrated Competencies
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Communicate effectively in written, oral, and visual formats.
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Produce clear, concise and grammatically correct messages.
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Produce visuals that adhere to the principles of message design.