#stopstatisticalsilence

the problem presented:
This was one of the infographic design assignments presented during my Interactive Design class at NKU in 2015, focusing on using any chosen media to express our best efforts in displaying information of our choice. For my project, I gathered the current numbers of sexual assault cases at the time on college campuses from the United States Department of Education (ED) to compare to the numbers provided by the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN).

When comparing these statistics, I quickly realized how much they differed in their information. The ED’s statistics were drastically smaller than what was reported by RAINN in 2015. This research was around the rise of the #MeToo movement, so I saw this as an opportunity to showcase my support and spread awareness through this project.

my solutions:
Even though the nature of the topic is heavy-handed, I knew this needed to be displayed with honesty, empathy, and careful consideration not to sensationalize. To do this, I utilized contrasting color palettes that let each color speak towards their generally understood interpretations in the U.S., with muted purples to display the depressive weight of the topic and red to draw attention to portions that needed to be seen. The imagery created aims to communicate the mental displacement and internalized trauma that victims of assault experience.

An important image included is of a graduation crowd of people celebrating and smiling because even in life’s good moments the weight of the events will carry on and I felt it very important to bring it to the forefront.