Designer Statement, Anissa & NING
Our infographic aims to visualize data from the “China Africa Research Initiative” about Chinese investment on the African continent. The dataset provides essential information about FDI flows and stocks, from 2003 to 2017. As China’s role and impact in Africa seem to be increasing, we wanted to analyze objective data to check Chinese involvement.
Using an infographic to display such data enables us to offer a quick overview of the key findings. On one page, we manage to compare Chinese and US FDI flows to Africa over the years, the levels of Chinese FDI on the continent in 2017 and the top five industries receiving the foreign investment, while still assessing the quality and relevance of the database.
To make it, we first searched for inspiration online, to see what an infographic could actually show (graphics? maps? texts?). Then, we decided to use the website Visme. Neither of us has a graphic design background. This tool was very accessible and easy to use. We also decided to make our visual eye-pleasing by using a very subtle color scheme and clear short textual messages to avoid making it too distractive or politically-oriented.