Information design GCD60504/Final Project
Information design
GCD60504/Final Project
LIU CHENG RUI (0370930)
GCD60504/Information design/ Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media / Taylor's University
INSTRUCTION
Final Project
1.Storyboard and Timeline
My team member An Hong Zheng and I began to prepare the final video. We
needed to choose one of our two posters for animation production, and
finally chose An Hong Zheng's poster. He created a poster for pasta.
Firstly, we create the corresponding storyboard and animation timeline
based on the content of his poster. This will give us a basic framework
and idea, allowing us to have more preparations for the subsequent
production process.
In the storyboard production, we divided the tasks. I was responsible for drawing the A section, which covers the process from the beginning to the completion of making the tomato sauce.
Fig1.1 Storyboard
Fig1.2 Timeline
2.Animatic
After completing these tasks, we began to create the animatic. The animatic does not require detailed animations or colors; it is merely used to test the rhythm and the basic animations. We decided to divide the work based on our storyboard. My responsibility was for the animatic of part B, which was the part from the spread flour to the final conclusion.
Firstly, I converted the previously drawn storyboard into a vector graphic and inserted it into the ADOBE illustration. Here, I will make some adjustments. This will facilitate the subsequent process of creating the animatic in AE.
Fig2.1 Arrange storyboard materials in Adobe Illustration
After that, I imported the Adobe illustration file into AE to start the production process. For the background, I used the original storyboard frame. First, for the first step, I decided to add a transition effect for the text and distinguish it from the previous part. The text dropped from the top and disappeared from the left side.
Fig2.2 Transitional text for Part B
The second step is to pour in the flour. I decided to depict this step by using a method of scaling from the center point. Therefore, I set up different keyframes and adjusted the values to achieve this effect.
Fig2.3 Animatic: Pour the flour.
The third step is to sprinkle salt and beat the eggs. I choose to move from left to right.
Fig2.4 Animatic: Add salt and eggs
The fourth step is to roll out the dough. The method used is still to start from the center point and expand outward, with the addition of changes in transparency.
Fig2.5 Animatic: Roll the dough
Fig2.6 Animatic: Cut the dough
Fig2.7 Animatic: Cook the pasta
Fig2.8 Animatic: Place on the plate
Fig2.9 Animatic: Add seasonings
Fig2.10 Animatic: Finished pasta
Fig2.11 Animatic: End
Final Animatic
3.Final Animation
After completing the animatic, I began to create the final animation. The part I was responsible for was the same as in the animatic - from adding flour to the end. First, I imported the layers from the Adobe illustration poster into AE.
The first step is to refer to the content of the animatic and create a text transition animation. However, there are some issues with the first version of the text and the background. Mr. Kannan believes that the text can choose a style that is in line with the theme. The color should not be purely black. Also, the background color of part B should be differentiated from that of part A.
Fig3.1 The transition text of the first version
The second step is to pour out the flour. Unlike the first version, I modified the movement path of the flour. Previously, the flour would first appear in the middle and then move to the upper left corner. After the modification, it now appears directly at the upper left corner. This has been revised based on the suggestion made by Mr. Kannan. Mr. Kannan believes that adding excessive exercise to the flour is unnecessary; presenting it directly is more intuitive.
Fig3.3 The first version of the spread flour
Fig3.4 The modified spread flour
The third step is to sprinkle salt and beat the eggs. Compared to the animatic, I added movement to both the salt and the eggs, and used the adjustment of transparency and zooming to achieve the splashing of the salt particles and the pouring of the egg liquid.
Fig3.5 sprinkle salt and beat the eggs
The fourth step is to knead the dough. I incorporated two main animations: the back-and-forth movement of the rolling pin and the changes in the dough. First, I added multiple keyframes and adjusted the parameters for the rolling pin's movement. The next aspect is the change in the dough. I achieved the transition to the subsequent dough pieces by altering the transparency of the dough.
Fig3.6 knead the dough
Fig3.7 The transition between dough and pastry
The fifth step is to cut the pie. The animation for this step mainly involves the movement of the roller cutter, and it also uses the method of adding keyframes and adjusting parameters.
Fig3.8 Cut the pie
Next is the sixth step - cooking the pasta. In the subsequent revisions, I took Mr. Kannan's advice. I added the pasta and water to the pot, because when Mr. Kannan reviewed my initial version, he thought the description of this step was not clear. The audience might not know what was being cooked in the pot.
This step mainly involves the animations of the pot, the stove, and the pasta. The pot falls from top to bottom. To make it more vivid, I added some keyframes to achieve the bouncing effect of the pot. The stove is depicted using a zooming animation from the middle to the bottom, while the pasta is shown through the adjustment of transparency.
Fig3.9 The first version ofcooking pasta
Fig3.10 Modified cooking pasta
The seventh step is to place the pasta on the plate. The plate first appears from below, then the pasta is moved to the center of the plate using a scaling method.
Fig3.11 place the pasta on the plate
The following steps of the animation are the same as the animatic. The difference is that as the seasonings appear, the corresponding effects of the seasonings will be displayed on the pasta on the right side. For example, after adding tomato sauce, the pasta will change from its original form to one with sauce. Mr. Kannan praised this animation, saying that it was very vivid.
Fig3.12 Seasoning animation (tomato sauce)
Fig3.13 Seasoning animation (basil leaves)
Finally, after the tablecloth appears, the corresponding Italian flag will show up in the upper left corner, symbolizing the origin of this food. This animation was not present in the first version.
Fig3.14 The first version (without the Italian flag)
Fig3.15 Modified version (with Italian flag)
In the final part, I changed the font and color to make them the same as the other fonts. The color will not appear too harsh.
Fig3.16 End
After we finish all these tasks, I will be responsible for finding the corresponding audio, while AN HONG ZHENG will be in charge of editing them together.
Fig3.17 Audio (for making tomato sauce part)
Fig3.18 Audio (for the pasta-making part)
Below is the video after editing is completed.
Final Animation-----Pasta with pachino tomato sauce
Feedback
week7
After Mr. Kannan watched our video, he made several suggestions. Among
them, the modification suggestion for me was that there were too many
explanatory texts for each step, and the audience might not be able to read
them carefully. Therefore, the texts need to be simplified. The second point
was about the choice of words and colors, which should be distinct from the
first part. Finally, some minor movements could be adjusted and
changed.
Reflection
Experience
In this final project, my greatest achievement was a significant improvement in my ability to control the entire animation production process. Starting from the idea exploration, to the creation of the animatic, and then to the integration and modification in After Effects later on, I gradually learned how to transform an abstract theme into a visually narrative with rhythm and structure.
Especially during the animatic stage, I not only participated in the organization of the storyboard but also was responsible for integrating everyone's sketches into After Effects. This made me more clearly understand the importance of the timeline, rhythm control, and shot transitions. The process of making revisions based on the teacher's feedback later on also made me realize that design is not a one-time completion but an ongoing optimization process.
Additionally, in terms of technical aspects, I also improved my ability to handle animation details in After Effects, such as rhythm adjustment, filling in missing frames, and unifying the overall style. These are very practical experiences that can be carried over to future projects.
Observation
During this project, I gradually observed that the quality of an animation project largely depends on the preparatory work in the early stage rather than the post-production. At the beginning, we focused on the division of labor, such as who would handle vector graphics and who would handle animation. However, when we actually started the production, we realized that if there was no unified style and material standards in the early stage, the integration in the later stage would become very difficult. During the animatic stage, I began to more clearly see the structural issues of the entire project, such as whether the rhythm was coherent, whether the information was excessive, and whether the transitions between scenes were natural. This stage actually made me realize that animatic is not just a "draft", but an important tool for testing the narrative logic and clarity of information. Additionally, during the continuous revisions, I also observed changes in my working methods. At first, I tended to follow the original plan, but later I began to take a more proactive approach to adjusting the rhythm, adding more visuals, and correcting unreasonable parts. This transformation from "execution" to "active optimization" was a very obvious process change for me in this project.
Findings
Through the progress of the entire project, my biggest discovery was that good information design is actually a process of continuous "simplification" and "filtering", rather than constantly adding more content.
In the initial conception, we attempted to incorporate more animations and plots, hoping to make the content more diverse. However, during the actual production, it ended up making the information more scattered. Later, after adjusting to a single character, I clearly felt that the narrative became more concentrated, and the audience could more easily understand the key points. This made me realize that sometimes reducing information is more important than adding information. Additionally, during the repeated adjustments of the animation rhythm, I also discovered that whether information can be understood largely depends on timing. Even if the design of some content is correct, if it appears too fast or too slow, it will affect the understanding effect. This made me start to pay more attention to "time" as a part of information design, rather than just visual presentation.
Combining the entire production process, I gradually established a clearer understanding:
Information design is not a single skill, but a comprehensive ability that integrates content selection, visual expression, and timing control. This final project allowed me to truly experience that every stage, from the initial conception to the final output, has an impact on the overall effectiveness of the information transmission. This holistic understanding is one of my biggest gains from this project.
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