Mozillians are a hard-working lot, and we should be proud of the many things we accomplished together this year. 2013 was one of the most intense years I’ve spent working on the project, and now that we’re saying farewell to 2013, it’s rewarding to look back and tally up our successes.
It’s become tradition for the Creative team to design Mozilla’s year-end infographic – a visual roundup of our achievements, presented to you in a single, pretty picture. Having had the pleasure of designing Mozilla’s 2011 year-end graphic, I was happy to summate 2013 with some visual flair.
To be clear, this image is an infographic – not a data visualization. Data visualizations usually contain one narrative which displays information relative to itself within a single through line. Because our narrative spans multiple initiatives over a year’s time, the design goal was about finding a fresh way to display statistics and accomplishments that work well independently of each other, but still tie into a greater whole.
In most cases, the year-end graphic will be posted to blogs, so a static image seemed to be the most efficient form to design around. In the future, I can see the potential for a more robust experience – something interactive could be really fun.
Leaning on amorphous circular forms gave me the flexibility to expand the content areas where needed. Because we’re so wonderfully geo-dispersed, it gets tricky designing these graphics so each section can comfortably accommodate numerous languages and character-counts. By using our primary palette, I kept the graphic looking classically “Mozillian” in color, while keeping it fresh in form. By employing project/product motifs and icons, I gave context to the information which helps make the piece easier to read by theme.
Thank you, Mozilla PR. The remaining weeks of the year can be quite hectic trying to wrap up work before the Holiday break, but your tidy and timely content made this year’s year-end graphic a pleasure to close out the year to. Happy holidays.
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