Rationale

I chose to design an infographic about topic of Dog Care, to educate viewers on the process of introducing a puppy into their lives as well as the upkeep required. As I am documenting a series of stages, I chose a page based format. This allows users to systematically navigate and interact through the info-graphic, revealing more information and detail when desired. 

The target audience are new dog owners followed by current, future and others contemplating whether or not to purchase a dog. This challenged me to create my infographic for wide audience range; allowing children, adults and families to learn the fundamentals of dog care.  The layout I chose fits this theme through its simplicity; soft palette and user friendly navigation. The dogs are illustrated in a standard vector style and inspired anime, which can be seen through their large eyes, small mouths and other varied proportions.

Functionally, I kept the infographic clear and simple. I broke up my information into six different sections, each one identified by a different icon. This allows different types of user interaction for the different categories, and more freedom for the user to navigate.  

I chose to focus more on user interactivity then animation for my info-graphic, as I felt it suited the brief better and detracted attention away from the content given. I included subtle animation to give a little bit of life to my otherwise static infographic.

Final Infographic

Here are some screenshots of my final infographic of Dog Care. It consists of approximately 26 pages. It is built ideally for 1024x768 screens.

 Splash page

Common Breeds page

Common Breeds page

Common Breeds page

Common Breeds page

Common Breeds page

Feeding your dog page

A Helathy dog page

Supplies needed page

Grooming your dog page

Training page

Training page

Training page

Training page

Development

My infographic is almost complete. I now need to fix up a couple of links, then it will be finished. The major changes I have made to the initial plans are the training pages layout, the grooming pages extra interactive hover element and the food pages content.

 The training page originally had the dog icons sitting at the top of the picture plane, but I decided to move them underneath the text as it was more visually pleasing and made more sense hierarchy wise.

 The grooming pages only had the name of the brush beside its image in my plans, but after consulting with Karen and Tim I decided it would be better to include the fur type suited in a hover state.

 The food pages original content was a line graph, supported with images and a description which I changed after multiple suggestions from people to not repeat the same information. I edited it instead to display a more visual bar graph, and daily food requirements of protein, fats and carbs.

Development

Training

Grooming

Food

Animation

I have chosen to go with very subtle animation for my infographic, so not to detract from the graphics and text. It also suits my overall aesthetic of simplicity and delicacy. I sketched some storyboards as reference for my animations-

Research

Squash and Stretch
This is the most important principle, the purpose of the squash and stretch is to give a sense of weight and flexibility to characters/ or drawn objects.

Anticipation
The anticipation was introduced to prepare the audience for an action displaying a more realistic build up to an event. This way the audience would never miss the gag.

Staging
Similar to theatre, staging’s purpose is to direct the audiences attention and make clear what is of greatest importance to the scene.

Straight Ahead Action and Pose to Pose’
These describe the different approaches to the drawing process. “Straight Ahead Action” is drawing a scene out frame by frame from beginning to end, and ‘Pose to Pose’ involves starting with drawing a few key frames, then filling the intervals later.

Follow through and Overlapping action
This action describes two closely related techniques, which help render the movement more realistically. This helps give a more realistic impression. ‘Follow through’ means the separate parts of the body will continue moving after the character has stopped.

‘Overlapping action’ is where parts of the body move at different rates.

Slow in and Slow out
The movement of the character, and the timings to create a realistic movement particularly through acceleration and deceleration.

Arcs
Natural actions tend to follow more arched/ smooth paths rather then rigid ones. Therefore Adding arc movements to a character tends to add greater realism.

Secondary Action
Secondary actions often give support to a main action performed, therefore adding more life. They often are used to emphasize, rather then take attention away from the main action.

Timing
This refers to the number of drawings used for any given action. Timing is crucial for establishing a characters mood, emotion and reaction.

Exaggeration
This is essential for cartoons and animation, as it helps give a sense of realism and believeability to the given scene. There should be a balance in how the elements are exaggerated in relation to each other.

Solid Drawing
Solid drawing means keeping in mind the forms of three dimensional space/ form, giving a character volume and weight.This requires a basic understanding of three dimensional shapes, anatomy, weight, balance, light, etc.

Appeal
This relates to what the audience wants to see, in terms of charisma in a character. The important thing is that they feel the character is real and interesting.

Development

Here are a couple of screenshots of my development so far. I have created each page and their elements, now all that remains is scripting the keyframes to get my desired transition, sounds, animation and interactive elements.

Breeds Survey

For each breed, I have decided to design an Illustrated image of the breed, supported with a general description and a graph of their behaivour. I decided to conduct a survey for this graph on facebook, to get an idea of what people would like to know about a specific dog breed before buying them. The most popular were as follows:

• Size
• Loyalty
• Grooming
• Exercise
• Playfulness
• Drool
• Obedience

I then researched these particular aspects of each breed, colour coded them and turned them into pie charts-

Bichon Frise

German Shepherd

English Springer Spaniel

Initial Content Research

I have done research into dogs and dog care for the content of my infographic. Here is some I have conducted so far-

FOOD

Description
Like people, dogs require a varied diet, one that contains carbohydrates, protein, minerals, fat and vitamins. Your dog should also have fresh water at all times. Your dog will need their own bowls. If they have long ears, try to find a ceramic or stainless steel bowl.

Daily Food Requirements

BODY WEIGHT (kg)	CALORIES/DAY
2	250
5	420
9	700
18	1200
36	2000
46	2400

SUPPLIES

General Description
Before your new pup arrives, think about their basic needs. Where will they sleep? How will you take them out for exercise? What will they play with?

Bedding
The first thing your new dog needs is a comfortable bed in a place of their own. For a puppy, a box turned on its side and lined with soft, washable bedding, or chew-proof pad is perfect. For an adult dog, a durable dog bed or soft blanket would be greatly appreciated. Find a quiet, warm area away from drafts but close to the family.

Collar and Leash
Flat collars are best for a puppy because they can be adjusted as he grows. Choose one made of nylon or leather, which he can wear at all times. As puppies tend to chew, nylon leashes are best. Leather or nylon collars and leashes are also ideal for mature dogs. When you fit your dog’s collar, it should be able to slip out of it. You should be able to fit two fingers under a collar that’s the right size. An extendable leash is another good accessory.

Chew Toy
Your dog can’t tell the difference between a children’s toy and those you provide for them to chew, so it’s best to keep doors to bedrooms closed.  When puppies are between three and six months of age, their new teeth begin to emerge, causing them pain. Chewing on a chew toy may relieve some of this discomfort, exercise their jaws and clean their teeth.

Travel Box
If you feel your vacation would not be complete without your dog, by all means take them along! A special travelling case is ideal for carrying a small dog safely, whether you are making the journey by car, bus, train or airplane.

Identity Tag
Your dog should have a microchip and an identity tag attached to their collar. This should be inscribed with your name, address and phone number and worn at all times.

GROOMING

Brushes
Hound Glove, Wide-toothed comb, Slicker brush, Soft bristle brush, Pin brush, Mat splitter

Different types of Coats
To make grooming easier, buy the tools that are recommended for your dog’s coat type.

Smooth coats=Bristle brush, hound glove
First brush against the direction the hair lies. This will help remove any excess hair from underneath. Then brush in the direction the coat lies to pick up loose hairs on the surface.

Double coats=slicker brush
Start by taking sections of your dog’s coat and separating it with your hand so there is a parting where the skin is visible. Then use the brush to comb out the undercoat.

Wiry coats=pin brush, slicker brush
This requires a different type of handling from the more traditional smooth double coats. Run the brush lightly along the back of the dog, thinning the overgrown wiry coat. After thinning out, brush your dog’s wiry coat in layers.

Silky coats=mat splitter, slicker brush
To remove mats, use a mat splitter, then brush the entire coat with a slicker brush, working in the direction the hair lies.

Curly coats=slicker brush
These coats need regular brushing to keep the neat, curly look/ To make the coat fluff up away from the body, brush it against the way it grows with a slicker brush.

HEALTH

Use regular grooming sessions to give your dog “home health examinations”. Early detection of any physical health problems will help your veterinarian treat them more successfully. Start the examination by giving your dog a whole body massage. Begin with the head and neck area and gently progress down to the tail and feet. You will soon become familiar with what is “normal” for your dog and learn to pick up physical changes before they become problems.

Here are some things to watch for:

Nose- Usually cold and wet but not running.
Mouth- Gums should be firm, either pink or pigmented. Breath should smell clean.
Movement- Puppy should move freely, favouring no individual paw or leg.
Skin- When the hair is parted; skin is smooth, free of parasites, lumps and sores. The colour will range from pink to black, depending on the breed.
Coat- Glossy and clean, with no fleas dandruff or excess oil. It will feel shorter and thinner than an adult’s.
Ears- Clean, free of odor, discharge or excess wax.
Eyes- Clear, bright and shiny, not bloodshot; free of discharge or watering. Eyelashes should not touch the eyeball.

TRAINING

For dogs that love food, a great way to teach new tasks is to use food as the reinforcer, coupled with praise. Other dogs may respond better to a toy, playtime or praise alone. It is very important that food rewards are used randomly once the behaviour is learned, although they should not be eliminated altogether. The goal is to make these food rewards unpredictable. On the other hand, give verbal praise with or without a food reward every time your pet performs correctly.

Teach your dog Sit
1. Show the dog a treat in your hand, move your hand up and over his head.
2. As the dog follows your hand with their eyes, their rear will naturally drift toward the ground and they will automatically sit. Say “sit” as they complete the sit, praise them lavishly and give them the reward.

Teaching your dog Stay
1. With your dog sitting or lying down, show them the flat of your palm, with your fingertips pointed up. Say “stay” and smile as you move back one step. Return immediately, praise your dog, and give them a reward.
2. Repeat, but this time move two steps back. Slowly increase your distance from your dog, and the length of time they must stay.

Teaching your dog Fetch
1. Toss a toy or ball a short distance. When the puppy looks to the toy, say “fetch”.
2. As the puppy picks it up, say “good dog” and “come”.
3. To get your puppy to drop the toy on command, hold up another toy and say “drop it”.
4. When your puppy drops the toy, praise them and quickly throw the new toy.

Teaching your dog Lie Down
1. Put your dog in a sitting position. Hold a treat in front of his face. Move your hand down to the ground and back toward you a few inches.

2. As your dog follows your hand with his eyes, their head will be lowered and they will lie down. When they do, reward them with the treat and lots of praise.