Digital+Literacy

Situational Table Enhancements is confusing, ugly and incomplete. The perceived meaning is that Americans eat too much protein, especially in the form of fast food, chicken and hot dogs, and that this is a bad thing. The disagreeable presentation gives the viewer a negative feeling, which is perhaps intentional because of the topic. The knowledge constructed is that if I am this type of American, I need to change myself, but it does not cite sources for the data, or offer any solutions. It is a poor example of visual communication.

The overall design in terms of the PAT model has a few positive elements, such as the layout and colors of the four boxes, and the surrounding black border with white lettering. The negative aspects include: the unorganized alignment and proximity of the images in relationship to the type, the absence of information on the topic, the meaningless floating blue A and B letters, the confusing headline, and the flat shapes. For example, I am not told the source of the information, how much protein is too much, and what I should eat instead. The statistics have no reference to age, gender, geography,or which years are being counted, therefore the message is of little or no value.

If the message is indeed that Americans eat unhealthy amounts of protein in the form of fast food, chicken and hot dogs, then the effectiveness of convening that idea can be greatly enhanced. First, minimize confusion by creating a visual beginning, middle and end. For example, the beginning should state the source of the data to create legitimacy and provide an eye catching attention grabber. Once the viewer is interested, the statistics can be laid out with accompanying graphic images. Lastly, solutions to the problem can be suggested using words and images, and sources of further information can be provided. Below is an idea of how Situational Table Enhancements could look by Lisa Steiner:

PROTEIN - HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH? MANY AMERICANS ARE OVER-PROTEINED IN A HIGH FAT WAY!
Sponsored by: [|www.everydayhealth.com] ** Consider this statistical data since 2008 for men, women and children of America: ** =** ﻿ **=
 * 600 million Big Macs consumed by Americans at McDonalds each year.
 * 8 billion chickens raised for food each year in the U.S.
 * 127 chickens eaten per second in America.

For more information please ask your doctor, or visit: [|www.medicinenet.com] or [|www.webmd.com]