A re-design for an "infographic" that is doing the rounds

In May 2015 Niraj Naik (better known as the the Renegade Pharmacist (a name that sounds as cool as calling yourself a "cultural vandal")) posted on his blog this "infographic" showing what happens physiologically when someone drinks a can of coke. I only come across it a few weeks ago because it was generating a lot of buzz on the internet that this point, featuring in many online newspapers, such as the Huffington Post and IFLScience!.

This "infographic" has come about in a time when fat has (nearly) ceased been blamed for causing the plague of obesity and heart disease and sugar has become "the new tobacco." In this big turn-around of health science dogma, the main culprit is high fructose corn syrup, a sugar substitute made from corn that has been replacing real sugar in soft drinks in a number of places since the 1970s. Because of this the increasing consumption of soft drinks over the years has been considered by many as a big contributor towards the plight of the westernised person. This is the main point of this "infographic." We are drinking too much soda and we should cut down.

And if you are considering doing so by switching to "diet" sodas, guess what..... Just recently (due to recent command from readers due to the "infographic's" recent popularity) Niraj made a squeal about what happens when you drink a can of diet coke. To sum up, not only it has similar effects as regular coke, the artificial sweeteners also do something very alarming.... they'll make you eat more! I have known about this for years (which is why (if I had the choice) I prefer the regular kind over the diet or low-calorie versions of soft drinks).
The brain isn't that fooled by the sweeteners. When it receives the taste signals from to tongue it notices the lack of sugar in your system, due to the ancient program of "sweet taste = energy."

When confronted with this situation the brain subconsciously programs you to seek out food to compensate the supposed "missing fuel."

As a result of this, people who drink diet sodas tend to eat more than people who drink regular sodas, which kind of defeats the point of them in the first place.

And this isn't me just speculating. This observation has been noted for years now. 

With this in mind dear readers I advise that if you are on a diet avoid artificial sweeteners, 

especially in the form of diet sodas. 

(Please not that I am not a qualified professional in the field of medicine, health or nutrition. 
I am an artist with an interest in everything, including the cult of improving one's health.)

On that final note, the real reason for this post. Been a trained graphics designer, looking at this "infographic" I have to admit.... it is dull! It isn't exactly eye-grabbing. It's just a picture of a can of coke with a column of text on each side. To someone like me, it doesn't deserve to be called an "infographic." But it is understandable why. Niraj was a pharmacist. He couldn't have had the  ability to design a better graphic worthy of been called an infographic. Have you seen behind the counter in a pharmacy? It isn't a graphically-stimulating environment.... and that kind of shows in this "infographic."
The diet coke one has some improvement, with a quote in a highlighted box and the can been given a large backside. Apart from that, its still the same boring "infographic."

So (for his sake) I decided to give it this re-design....

This infographic should be more eye-catching than the original. Why did I choose to do this, you ask? It felt like something worth doing, that's why. I'm not a health freak who wants to voice the dangers of soft drinks. I'm just a graphic design who thought "I can do better than this."

Technically, this shouldn't be seen as part of my series of "informative strips" because I didn't research it personally and write the text. I just copy and pasted the text from the original graphic. I only drew the illustrations and positioned the text (nothing else). If you have any complaints about the content of the text tell them to Niraj, NOT ME!

And Niraj, if you are reading this and want to use it, feel free to do so.

Invented Word 3 (which was not invented by me, but was so good I had to mention it) - Dramedy

Dramedy (noun) - A combination of the words drama and comedy, used to describe comedic dramas.

Example - 9:28 into this video....

Introducing Your Friends To Anime 

(Anime Vice, 2015)

My List of Objects and Flash Card Obsession Phase

Recently (looking through a bag of old note pads) I found an interesting artefact from my drawing past.... But it'll take some explanation.

Been involved in a speech therapy class (like I was as a child) 

you'll seen a lot of flash cards that are photographs of everyday things. 

Like this pack. 

In fact this is exactly one of a few decks I was exposed to as a child.

Colour Cards - Everyday Objects (2000 reissue)

I still remember them. Many objects isolated on coloured backgrounds, like items in an auction catalogue. I still remember a wall display back in primary school where the flash cards of photos of parts of a person (the same man) were put together in a sort of unfinished photo-collage.

Been exposed to so many, you'll soon (if you are someone who admires the aesthetics of things (i.e. into art)) develop a sort of obsession with them. And for me it developed into a desire to make my own set of photo flash cards. Except without the "photo" bit. I was just going to draw about a hundred odd pictures of random things. Well, when I say "random" I meant from a check-list I have written up. And when I said "written" I meant typed up using a typewriter (Yes, I did once used a typewriter to write up lists of things.).

I did a couple of them before 2000. It was before I discovered that book. Hey, you had to have a hobby to pass the time. I have high doubts any of them have survived somewhere in my parents place.

Now, you would think, after reading this, my list of objects obsession ended there. Right? Wrong. It was reignited by an unexpected source...

In 2000 (I think) the game-show Friends Like These gave two contestants a mental challenge - remember a sequence of 50 objects in precise order. The two contestants had coaching from Dominic O'Brien and recited the list facing the audience while a screen behind them projected pictures of the objects on green backgrounds - like the flash cards from primary school.

Soon after that, I began to write up (by hand, this time, on lined paper) lists of random objects. then I soon thought of drawing the things I have listed. I used up a few sketch pads doing this....

Which brings me back to the reason for this post. 

I had just found a complete set of drawings of one of these lists. I know its complete because...

1. Each drawing was numbered (a rare thing for me to do back then).
2. With the drawings I had the original lists I wrote before I began drawing them.

What a lucky find!

So here it is - a list of 75 object I made back in June 2001.

(judging from the dates I used for the newspaper and magazine.)

Original list

  

Why did I upload this? Its evidence of my 10,000 hours practise.

If I do find other surviving lists I'll load them up in later posts.