Team Member: Matt SmelcerPosition: Information Design SpecialistAlma Mater: East Tennessee State University, Industrial Design majorHometown: Kingsport, TNFamily: Wife, Leslie, and 2 dogs, Daisy and ReesieFavorite Quote: The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.Quirky Fact: I collect and customize vintage action figures. (Note: photo of Matt as Flash at JoeCon 2007, the International G.I. Joe Collectors Convention.) When I’m not working I like to: Tinker with and fi... Read Full Story

Not your average design studio, we like to refer to the Infographics' team members as information engineers. Our team is comprised of a unique blend of right brain creative talent and left brain technical aptitude. Add to this our personal experience as consumers, product developers, and communications professionals, and you get a team that understands technical product communications can be inadequate and confusing. Combined, all this makes us a strong partner for any business with technical... Read Full Story

Today’s example was developed for our friends at Bodypoint to show their Leg Harness wheelchair accessory in action in a way that demonstrated the proper fit around the patient’s leg. According to our client, past images made this device look like a groin strap, similar to the pelvic portion of a skydiving harness. By using ghosting techniques, Infographics was able to demonstrate how the Leg Harness holds each leg at the inner thigh, to provide resistance to pelvic rotation and obliquity, wi... Read Full Story

Wiring and electrical sequences can be some of the most challenging and complex to communicate – especially since there are so many variables involved. Today’s step is from an appliance installation guide developed for our friends at Viking Range Corporation. In this case several wiring options were shown and one key challenge was clearly identifying wire colors when working with a black and white format. The primary objective was to focus on safety and be as clear as possible to avoid confu... Read Full Story

OK – be honest… how many of you have an office chair and you don’t know how all of those levers and adjustments work? Honestly? Today’s steps were developed for our friends at United Chair to help address that problem. In this case, we suggested that instead of showing the chair from the side – as is customary – we show it from above to better communicate the controls the way the user will access them. This approach communicated function and interface so well that it was incorporated into poi... Read Full Story

Hello folks! We’re back after a brief end-of-summer hiatus. Today some fun – it appears that the intent here was to avoid falls, but some things are easy to lose in translation. This serves as a reminder that it’s very important to validate your work and be sure to check translations for accuracy! Read Full Story

Today’s theme – HANDS. As we’ve mentioned in previous entries, it’s often important to show users how to interact with parts and components when assembling or using a product. Using hands (rather than just arrows) to show details about how to handle products can make it much easier for users to understand important sequences. In this case, we use hands specifically to show how to grasp and squeeze parts to engage or release components. This sequence was developed for our friends at OXO who ar... Read Full Story

Continuing on our plumbing theme...Today’s step demonstrates how a toilet functions by comparing new plumbing technology to conventional technology, specifically showing how the lever actuates the flush valve and flapper. This step was later turned into an animation embedded in PowerPoint presentation and used in training plumbers. By showing the conventional toilet functioning on the left hand side it’s much easier to understand how the new technology from our friends at Geberit works. Caref... Read Full Story

Infographics has done quite a large number of plumbing instructions over the years and we’ve found that plumbing can often present some unique challenges from an instructional perspective.Today we address how illustrated instructions can help provide a clearer picture of steps in the installation process. A very common approach is to rely on photos to represent and communicate installation steps, but there are considerable limitations when using photos. For example, you can only see how the p... Read Full Story

After a brief summer hiatus we’re back with more step-of-the-day samples. Today’s topic is PEOPLE. Often those developing assembly and usage instructions are content to show products, parts and components, but frequently they leave out the most important part of all – the user… One thing we strive to keep in front of us at all times is the user - as in today’s sample. Showing users how adjust a product to fit them properly can be a challenge. Often an illustrated example is the best solution ... Read Full Story