Information Design Journal - Volume 30, Issue 2, 2025

Abstract

The clear structuring of text is important for assisting readers with understanding, searching and navigating a document. Headings are a key indicator of the structure of a text, but best practice to create visual hierarchy for headings needs to be better understood. This study compared seven typographic methods for emphasizing headings in both print and screen presentations using a paired comparison study to test which methods of typographic differentiation creates headings which are easiest to identify in text. This research found that headings with the greatest typographic weight are considered easiest to identify in both print and screen-based texts.

Abstract

Diagrams are widely used in educational, instructional, and communication contexts, however affective responses to diagrams with the potential to influence motivation, learning, and behavior, have been overlooked. This paper presents a mixed-methods study, employing focus groups (N = 17) and a survey experiment (N = 194) to examine how visual context (a contextual background scene) in biological life cycle diagrams impacts affective responses. Results showed that the inclusion of visual context led to a modest increase in associative/affective empathy (T(191) = 1.943, p = .027, d = 0.281). These findings demonstrate that visual design choices during the development of instructional graphics can have an impact on affective responses, in this case associative/affective empathy, with potentially important implications for education and communication settings.

Abstract

Interactive maps play a key role in generating and mediating research knowledge in human-centered urban planning, yet their design principles remain underexplored. This paper draws on feminist geography, cultural studies, and information visualization to inform the design of interactive maps. It argues that interactive maps can reveal the interplay between social and built spaces by enabling comparisons across different time periods and infrastructural conditions. Using visualizations from MIT’s Senseable City Lab, it shows how interactive exploration enables users to engage in visual argumentation, while emphasizing multiple perspectives and uses to allow for more inclusive representations of urban life and its social complexities.

Abstract

In Indonesia, dogs often face social and religious resistance, which increases their vulnerability after abandonment. This study investigates how different storytelling formats — visual vs. textual and AI-generated vs. human-created — affect emotional responses to dog-related narratives. Using a quantitative experimental design with 135 participants and the Self-Assessment Manikin (SAM), results show that human-written texts significantly influence both valence and arousal, while AI-generated text affect valence only. ANOVA and post-hoc tests reveal that human-created illustrations elicit higher pleasure and lower arousal, whereas AI-generated images score higher in dominance. These findings offer insights into designing culturally sensitive, emotionally resonant communication strategies for promoting animal welfare.

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