There’s no business like show business
The other day I was talking to my advisor about what to write for my senior thesis. I am a public relations student with a passion for film, what does one do with that? He pointed out to me that this is an extremely unique time in the entertainment industry, saying that Hollywood has begun to look internally, especially in regards to representation.
Just look at #MeToo or TimesUp.
After this discussion I was inspired to look into just how underrepresented women are in Hollywood.
I started by simply searching “Women in entertainment.” Every link that I looked through had the same general consensus: men grossly outnumber women in the entertainment industry. The Hollywood Reporter had an issue dedicated to detailing women’s roles in the industry. I also found endless facts based on female representation. I thought it was important to show in numbers the significant difference between men and women in the industry.
I really enjoyed this assignment because design is one of the things I’ve always loved about PR.
Here are my key takeaways:
-Less is more
I picked an extremely large issue that has so much that could be said about it, so it was hard to find a compact way to represent all the things I wanted to say. Because people typically scan through things they see online, it is important to draw in the reader with visuals and differentiating text. But most importantly, I learned that it can’t be too text-heavy or it looks messy and people won’t read it.
-It’s important to let the numbers drive the design
If you let the design take the wheel over the numbers, and not the other way around, it is more likely that it won’t be an accurate depiction of what you want to represent. The numbers are what you are trying to demonstrate, so it’s important they are accurate. I had trouble figuring out how to visually represent some things and sometimes I found graphics that I wanted to include, but didn’t have any fact to pair it with. It was hard to chose one over the other.
-Represent your client
It is easy to want to put the facts that feel the most interesting, but if they don’t go with the message you’re supposed to be sending, then it’s best to not include them. I found a lot of things that I wanted to say, but they just weren’t congruent with my key message, so I had to make the executive decision to not include them.
-Be yourself
Sure it sounds cliché, but there are endless ways that you can make an infographic. I kept trying to base mine off of examples I’d see online or in class. It didn’t work. Sometimes you just need to do your own thing.
-Trust the process
I can’t tell you how many times I arranged and rearranged the information on my infographic. I changed each font probably seven times, I even changed the facts I used. It is all necessary in order for you to be happy with the final product.
Now that's entertainment 