Critic #1: Xiaowen Feng
Emulation feedback: She noticed that it might be unnecessary to have the pokeballs at the ends of each line in the first version since even though it looked good, it might not be following my visual language model. Also, it may be unnecessary to highlight the silhouette of the creator in light blue, since I am mainly focusing on the changes in the newer games. The body text might also use a rectangular background like in the map in the visual language model.
The gradient effect in the second version was distracting for her, and she suggested that it might be a good idea to experiment with the cards in the visual language model instead of the bubbles.
I decided to revise the second version, which has no blue pokeballs at the ends of each line. Also, I decided to leave the creator highlighted for now, as the display is very dull without many colors if only the last Pokemon are highlighted. It gives a sense of "start" and "finish" for the viewer. I did not opt to use a rectangular background, but I did use much larger, concise text for the label.
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Instead of the gradient effect, I used grey for the games I wasn't focusing on. I didn't use the cards, as they had detailed shields accompanying them, and such detail would be distracting if every Pokemon had a detailed render.
revisions:
Critic #2: Bichen Xu
Emulation feedback: He liked the second version better than the first version since the color changing in the second version. He suggested to use the same style of color changing for the text.There is no line used for separation in the visual language model, so probably it's a good idea to remove the lines. The line should also start from the middle of the circle. In addition, the text size should be the same since the information should be in the same visual hierarchy.
In the first version, he noticed that I only placed the color on the last image, which may cause some confusions. The lines all have a small poke ball at the end, which looks very cool, but it does not exist in the visual language model.
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Since I opted to use grey Pokemon, I decided against color changing text, since it would also be hard to read with the grey text. I did decide to have the lines connect to the middle of the circles, though. I also made the games' texts the same size.
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Since I'm using the second version, it does not have the pokeballs at the ends of lines. The use of lines is limited in my visual language model in the first place, so I should stray from using different line ends.
revisions:
Critic #3: Brooks Lobe
Emulation feedback: He suggested that I could have the lines be perpendicular to the content rather than next to them. It would reduce the "box-effect", but it might make it more clear what each date points to. Changing the heights of the lines to reach the center of mass rather than the full height of the groups of Pokemon could also be a good idea.
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It may be best to not use the gradient effect, since the dull blue does not contrast well against the dark grey background.
Similar to Bichen, the lines connect to the middle of the circles, which effectively makes them perpendicular to the content. This also makes them reach the center of mass rather than "overtaking" the heights of the circles.
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Also, the gradient effect has been removed, similar to Xiaowen's advice. This will better suit my visual language and color model's lack of gradient effects used to show progression.
revisions:
Critic #1: Henry Zhang
Emulation feedback: He noticed that the large circles felt overwhelming in comparison to the very thin lines, making it somewhat "unbalanced" even though the visual language model used very thin lines. Because there is no timeline representation there, I might experiment more with these lines. Also, the sole blue line seems somewhat strange, and that I might experiment with making the banner blue with black text to make it fit in more. The abrupt end in the timeline could be smoothed out.
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The open pokeball in the beginning immediately looks more like Pac-Man, so I might make that just a closed pokeball representation. Also, the differing circle sizes is unclear to him (popularity, sales of games, etc.).
I made the lines slightly thicker to make the circles feel less out-of-place. Also, I changed the blue line back to black, making only the Pokemon silhouettes blue. The line has been given a smooth cap at the end, hopefully alleviating the sharp feel. White text on a light blue background did not contrast very well and somewhat affected readability, so I left it alone.
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The open pokeball has been given a button, and the bottom half has changed to white, making it more recognizable as a pokeball rather than Pac-Man. The circles have all been made the same size.
revisions:
Critic #2: Sam
Emulation feedback: The distribution of Pokemon within a circle seemed slightly off; perhaps making them distributed more evenly within their circles would look better. Circle size was brought up again as confusing (do they sell more?), so maybe making them (and their lines' lengths) the same size would help things feel more balanced. Making the circles alternate properly (up-down-up-down or vice-versa) would be good.
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The pokeball could be made half blue and half white/grey so that it would be easier to tell it is a pokeball instead of Pac-Man.
The distribution of Pokemon within the circle has been more evened out. Circle sizes have been made all the same. Alternation has also been fixed, with all circles going down-up-down-up.
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The pokeball advice has been addressed, making the bottom half white.
revisions:
Critic #3: Benny
Emulation feedback: He noticed that black isn't used that much in the color model, so I might experiment with white circles and blue silhouettes. However, he did note that it might not contrast well, being both very bright colors. He also mentioned that the blue line conflicts with the other black lines and may not be necessary.
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He did not immediately notice the usage of flags on the visual language model, so I might experiment using different kinds of labels to label the circles.
The black has remained as-is for now, as I couldn't properly get another shade of grey to contrast well with the silhouettes, and making everything white/light blue would steal focus from the newer games. The visual language model's use of different background colors for the labels makes it difficult to use only the dark grey background of the color model. The blue line has been made back to black, similar to Henry's advice.
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The flag labels have been left as-is, as the cards use more realistic designs on the visual language model, and having detailed designs for every Pokemon on the timeline would also disrupt the visual hierarchy.
revisions:
Time Element & Critiques
This timeline shows the current set of core Pokemon games and when they were released. This aims to give viewers perspective on how far the series has come since the first games.
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How this element exploits the visual potential of time: This timeline uses relative position along a line to give viewers an idea on how far apart game releases are.
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How this element emulates the models: To emulate my color model I used the same background color, as well as light blue to highlight the games that my infographic focuses on (the new ones).
To emulate my visual language model I used the same "flag attached to circle" theme that is used for one of the displays, as well as using silhouettes with no interior detail.
To emulate my typography model I used Pluto Sans for all text, using the appropriate sizes depending on whether it is header, body, or identity text. I also bolded an important figure in the body text to give emphasis.
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Sources/Credit:
