infographics

Run Notes 2

This is my next attempt at recreating a running story. I’m not going to waste time talking this one out, so some brevity will have to do. Soz.

In my day job I work as a learning designer (a lengthy blog post has been been written telling the story - will link it here when I publish it imminently) - I am currently preparing to produce a set of course materials that utilise an animated historical timeline. I am mainly using Run Notes as an excuse to flex my muscles and learn effective ways of making this kind of thing quickly (and cheaply).

I wrote in a previous post about my earlier experiments. This one is a stage on. Some bullets:

  • I used a GoPro Hero 10 and ‘Shorty’ in my Salomon 8L backpack - very compact and light to use. It worked way better than the Insta360 set up and was much more convenient than taking my bag off and taking my phone out - it was also very quick to get to the footage which was such a barrier with the Insta360 system. In this instance I think I might have used it too much. I was just finding my way after all - on the actual Three Forts Challenge in a week or so I shall work out the points I want to record in advance and stick to that. It is possible to have too much of a good thing.

  • The initial screencapture process was way too exhausting - I had about 60 pngs saved and strung together - Motion couldn’t actually cope with them. In the end I had to use one simpler map - the one you see. One huge learning point is to try and find a sweet spot - how minimal can I get without losing impact?

  • On the GoPro front - it is worth saying that it is a remarkably smooth and reliable system with very pleasing results. I did some timeworn recording on my bike yesterday and it is just easy. I am still finding my way on the use of Wide/Narrow shooting modes. Will need to practice that a little more before the big day I think.

  • Having small images appear on the screen is okay… I think I want to try a slightly different mode next time. I like that there is a unified map and that everything links back to it.

  • The more conventional non-satellite map is impossible to stitch in Affinity Photo as a panorama - satellite works way better - more details to find and link up.

So in terms of developing an effective visual language this one is making forward steps. Will post more as I go.

Career Journey Map

Back in mid 2021 (I know, I was busy!) Culham St Gabriel’s Trust approached me to produce a teacher’s career map. They wanted something which would help specialists to reflect on where they were heading and how to get help going from within the Religion and Worldviews community.

This is what we arrived at:

There are four profiles to follow across the map.

They should probably make this into a board game or something.

Each of the profiles links to a more detailed grid which is updated with useful information.

I spent many years working as a teacher in this area and it was so satisfying to make this map because I know how important this information would have been for me at different points. Professional development and a sense of direction are often crucial for surviving different (and unfortunately, occasionally toxic) work environments. I love that Culham St Gabriel’s works so hard at joining up the supportive dots in so many ways. More info here.

Thankyou to Dr Kathryn Wright for involving me in a valuable project.