Final+Concept+Map

= = = = =**__Final Concept Map: Audio Programming__**= toc



=__**Initial Concept Map**__= This was my initial concept that I used while working towards my final. I illustrate that the radio is broken down into three distinct areas: Technology Set, Low-Cost Audio Broadcasting, and Societal Change. However, after analyzing my concept map further I noticed that each of my topics all relate back to another main topic: Audio Programming. From seeing this I decided to have my most emphasized point be on Audio Programming. This can be seen in my final concept map.

=__**Stages To Final**__=

These files illustrates the stages I went through in order to get to my final concept map.Stages to Final

=**__Project Summary__**=

__Reason For Focus__
For this project, I decided to focus on the radio because __i//t is a universal media platform that is so common to society it is often taken for granted.//__ I always use the radio in some way or another, but before before doing this project was not knowledgeable about the radio. Through extensive research and collecting varieties of content such as statistics, texts, images, and having the opportunity to operate a radio first-hand, I was able to get a deeper understanding of what a radio is and how it works.

Also, this project allowed me to get a sense of what information design involves. From completing this project, //I now have a deeper appreciation for information graphics// because although they may appear simple, they actually take a great deal of thought and time to create something innovative and interesting.

**__Understanding Radio__**
I understand that the radio was invented as a __//system of communication employing electromagnetic waves which travel through space.//__ Radio waves are not only used in audio broadcasting but also in telegraphy, telephone transmissions, wireless internet, television, radar, navigational systems, GPS, and space communication. This blind medium is universally operated throughout the world and stimulates people's imagination, informs, educates, reassures, shocks, creates profit and change, presents options, entertains, and preserves the status quo.

__//Radio is about listening to another person's voice which essentially acts as a multiplier of change by informing the public//__ about different types of information. For example, the radio provides information about goods and services, jobs, market developments, weather, news etc. The radio is a public community which invites everyone into its atmosphere because it is quite affordable, and is used everywhere (automobiles, stores, TV, cell phones, etc). It is a medium that consumes society and will continue to be in use forever or until a better and more efficient way to communicate is established, if at all possible?

**__Visual Design__**
In my final concept map, //__I focussed on the radio and its importance to audio programming.__// All of my information conveyed is directly related to audio programming which is the foremost purpose of radio. I have many sections in my concept map which are illustrated by the large light-blue tinted words such as innovation, communication, advertising etc. The placement of these words relate to the black words around that area. I felt my choice to do this worked well because I did not want to use too much color otherwise my design would look very confusing. So instead, I used the color red in the words audio programming and radio only because my other information all relates back to those two things and that is the focus I wanted to convey.

My visual design mimics the overlapping wires inside a radio or could by the use of many words connecting in different ways. //__I tried to produce a design that was technologically advanced and relates to technology.__// This is shown by the use of only having horizontal and vertical lines of text. However, //I also wanted my visual to focus primarily on typography because I wanted the information to stand for itself.// By adding images or illustrations I felt this would take away from my content. The design is meant to appear simple but in actuality, it is a quite complex information graphic.

I also added a diagram of the inside of a radio at the bottom of my page to help clarify to the viewer what makes up a radio because people don't often see what components are inside a radio; they are more concerned with the function and design of the radio itself. I added text as well which speaks about how widespread the radio is used around the world, and how universal it is because of its ability to communicate information quickly.