THE FUTURE OF MAKING: Compose Infographic Maps Materials based on Structure and Composition

I was the project manager for Autodesk's THE FUTURE OF MAKING book. THE FUTURE OF MAKING tells remarkable stories of how emerging technologies are changing how we make things, who makes things, and the very nature of the what we make. The book expands on Autodesk's vision of how the building, manufacturing, and digital story-telling industries are converging. Filled with beautiful images, infographics, and provocative ideas, it shows how leading designers, architects, manufacturers, and makers are creating better things.

In addition to the words, there were infographics that needed to be created to complement the text. Allati El Henson is a senior designer in our Business Strategy & Marketing team who created some graphics specifically for the book.

Found in the chapter entitled Compose, Allati's infographic succinctly conveys several ideas:

• There are 12 levels of materials used to make things.
• Advancements in materials science has helped us understand natural compounds as well as enable us to make new materials with complex properties.
• Materials range from pure elements to complex life that composes living organisms.
• Physical properties such as strength, flexibility, and softness are the result of the materials used to make things.

THE FUTURE OF MAKING is designed to be consumed in 3 ways:

• Look at the pictures.
• Look at the pictures and read the pull quotes.
• Look at the pictures and read all of the text.

In all 3 ways, the pictures, such as the infographics, are essential. The book is available for order from Amazon.com.

Graphics are alive in the lab.