Thread by @iamscicomm

Here's a second poster from @AcheleKelpfish for review!

Part of this project: mass.gov/orgs/massachus…

🧵1/10

One of the most powerful ways that we make sense of complex documents like this is by PLACEMENT of elements.

We treat things close together as RELATED.

⭕⭕

⭕

We think the first two circles are related because they are close left to right. 2/10

But now...

⭕ ⭕
⭕

We think the two left circles are related because they are close up and down. 3/10

The effect of placing two text blocks close together is VERY strong. 💪 It influences how we think about the order to read things.

In this poster, I'm not sure the cues the poster is sending about reading order are super clear. 4/10

The poster's center has six "blocks" of text and images: three across, two down.

The text in the top CENTER block ⬆ is closest to the text in the top RIGHT block. ↗ Top right block is closest to bottom right. ↘
5/10

But that order leaves out the bottom left ↙ and bottom center ⬇!

The heading ties bottom left ↙ and bottom center ⬇ go together, so maybe I am supposed to zig zag? 6/10

But when I go in and try to make sense of the text, I think I am supposed to read across in ROWS.

We also expect consistency! The rightmost section of the poster, "Why it matters" is a column, which also adds to the "Which way to go" ambiguity. 7/10

When you're in the thick of creating a bog document like this, it's easy to think the logical order of the words will dictate reading order.

But we see the larger context - the "blocks" of text and images - LONG before we ever get to sentences or words. 8/10

Like the poster in an earlier thread (

https://twitter.com/iamscicomm/status/1403424661866795017

), there are elements that don't align.

Does everything HAVE to be aligned? No. It often looks cleaner, more organized, more purposeful, though. Those are good things 🤗 to be! 9/10

I want to thank @AcheleKelpfish for her willingness to share this work! Hope it helps! 10/