Strive to tell a story about gender inequality and HIV.

I like your infographic, Anna! I'm not an expert in either public health or design, but here are a couple reactions as a reader--take them with a big pinch of salt! Just my opinions . . . 1. I'm not sure if this was your intention or not, but the difference between Steve and John comes across as being more individual than I expected. That is, the headers make the connection to factors outside of individual character, e.g., cultural expectations, but the narrative could easily be taken to say that Mary wound up with a jerk and Lucy wound up with a nice boy. What causes Steve to be Steve and John to be John? (Maybe you can't get into that in this abbreviated format . . .) 2. What about giving Steve and John some hair? :) 3. Maybe label the income bars in the section on income inequality?

I intentionally made the stories from an individual level in order to make the statistics and structural drivers more personal. You can talk about societal structure and cultural norms/expectations on a higher level, and there is plenty of benefit to framing it like this, but the purpose of the infographic is to show how these structural drivers have an impact on individual lives and behavior. But this is definitely a good thing to keep in mind should I go further with the infographic -- making meaningful connections between this individual storyline and the bigger picture. In regards to lack of hair and lack of detail on the income bars-- I definitely plan to add this sort of detail if I eventually develop a finalized version of the infographic. This image is just to show potential style and layout, although I suppose it may be difficult to decipher which parts of the image are more finalized and which I plan to elaborate on! Thanks a lot for your feedback!

I definitely agree with the designer's approach here! Numbers are just numbers - without context, people are left to decide for themselves why those statistics exist. By telling two very real stories, this infographic forces the reader to make a connection between their personal values/behaviors and the macro-level statistics that summarize the consequences of our collective values/behaviors. Of all the submissions in this contest, I think this one has the most effective approach. Well done Saraceno!

While the storyline and the juxtaposition of women from different situations and walks of life and their interaction with HIV is compelling, I feel that the infographic itself is lacking in crucial information and statistics. Connecting with the emotional aspects of infection is not relevant to what is essentially meant to be a well-designed chart promoting awareness. However, I know that this is an unfinished work, and I'm interested to see what information you'll add to enrich the experience of reading it.

Thanks for your feedback! While I do think my design could and should use more actual data/statistics (which I would definitely add should I win), I respectfully disagree that making an emotional connection isn't relevant in promoting awareness of such an emotional, human issue. I actually think it is essential. Without a more human/personal connection, numbers are often just numbers. Although I do think that numbers alone (especially if they're somewhat shocking) can create an emotional reaction and personal connection, and I think a lot of the other submissions here do a great job of that. I'm just posing that through telling stories of human experience, these statistics can be put in context and be more impactful. Thank you again for raising this topic, as I do think it is important to consider in the development of my infographic.

I'd also like to note that while I would plan to keep the graphics in the same "cut-out" style as they are, there would be more detail and texture to all of the images. This mockup is to demonstrate the style and flow of the infographic.

I think there are some things that could definitely be changed. This would be to lose the drop shadows, stroked text, and clashing colors. There's more, but those are the 3 things that bug me the most. Also, the layout is too repetitive. I think that there is a more interesting way to show the two different lifestyles and how they contrast.

Thanks for your critique, Tyler. The design process gets stronger if it involves honest feedback, so I appreciate your comment. The images above aren't meant to be an exact representation of the infographic. Rather, I intend them to represent a certain style and storytelling method, not the specific color palette or even the specific effects I'd use in Illustrator or Photoshop to get the cut-out feel that I'm going for. I do plan to use bright colors and effects to increase visual interest and add some sort of dimensionality and texture to the infographic. If I do win, I will play with various layouts too, while trying to keep the same side-by-side comparisons. The style and layout above may not appeal to everybody, but that is okay. There are many other fantastic submissions in this contest that could draw both praise and critique, depending on the viewer's preferences, what attracts them, and even graphic design background.

i love the concept of increasing awareness by appealing to the social/emotional aspects of dealing with HIV, and the concept of relating a personal story to make it relevant and meaningful. Great graphics and design!

The design of this infographic is impeccable and it has received my vote post-haste. Good DAY.

Hi all! My name is Anna, and this is my submission. In case the image isn't clear, please check out my infographic plan/sketch at http://mypage.iu.edu/~saraceno/STRIVE.png (you may have to click it to zoom in).