Color and Interaction in Journalistic Infographics: The Case of Online Portuguese Media

Abstract

Infographics are an effective way to transmit messages, both as an information design artifact and as a journalistic piece. Its fundamental components are information, composition, typography and color. In this study, the main focus is the usage of color in infographics in online Portuguese media, particularly in generalist newspapers. We intend to discover if the color usage is different in interactive and static infographics or if color is applied to infographics unrelated to its interactive nature. The main method of research was a comparative case studies, based on the aggregation, organization and analysis of color samples of graphics, backgrounds and typography of static and interactive infographics in six newspapers. In this process, conversion of RGB samples to Natural Color System (NCS) was pivotal for the their effectual mapping in the color spectrum, according to luminance, saturation and tone. The study led to conclude that online infographics tend to have light and saturated colors in graphics, light colors or white in backgrounds, and saturated colors and black in typography. There were no significant differences between static and interactive infographics, neither in terms of number of colors applied or in aspects of luminance, saturation and tone. In both cases, there was a prominence of the tones of yellow, red and blue in the graphics and neutrals in backgrounds. In what concerns typography, the samples of colors where distributed in the spectrum, with no clear prominence of any tone.