For my Sociology of Inequality class, I created an infographic highlighting the inequality in gender and minority representation in the Canadian House of Commons and Senate.
The design elements of this project came easily for me as they allowed me to engage with subject matter I was passionate about in a creative, organized, eye-catching way that built on my existing design skills. The project ultimately evolved into much more than merely doing an analysis of representation in politics. Instead, I gathered, analyzed and chose the most compelling pieces of information and sought to convey them as visually as possible, rather than using prose to describe them. I enjoyed the challenge of being required to meet a clear educational purpose, and to persuade my audience of the importance of this issue in an accessible yet appealing way.
This project served as an excellent learning opportunity for me, as I created, edited, and reformatted my infographic using my classmates, friends, and family as a kind of focus group, to ensure that my final product would be an easily accessible and understandable graphic that, while visually pleasing, did not sacrifice the important elements of content and readability to the requirements of design. This workshopping of my ideas and design allowed me to become more receipted to constructive criticism, an important skill to have as I enter the workforce.
Moreover, the more time I spent with the data, the more committed I became to visually representing the disparity among different groups in the House of Commons and the Senate so that my goal for this project was to show, not tell, readers the story of representation. As a result, I needed to create graphics and images that showed how many men, women, and minorities were currently represented in Canadian politics in a way that was both compelling and clear, drawing readers in and education them on representation and diversity.
I also wanted readers to be left with an understanding of the importance of this topic. For our democracy to be successful and valid, political institutions must be representative of the broader population, fostering inclusion and encouraging participation. I hope to see diversity increase in politics in Canada and internationally in the coming years and to play a role in creating policy that advocates for and facilitates diversity.
I have attached a higher quality version of this infographic available at this link: Representation in Canadian Politics
Carrying out this project gave me the opportunity to learn how to receive constructive feedback, and adapt and improve my work to create the best possible final product. I became more skilled in graphic design and made important strides in my ability to distinguish important information from secondary, less vital information and, ultimately, to present the most compelling story.