Abstract

MACHADO BRIGAGAO, Jacqueline Isaac; MALINVERNI, Claudia  and  DE GEA GERVASIO, Mariana. Design in Health Data Communication: Infographics About COVID-19 in Rio Claro Municipality. Comunicação e Sociedade [online]. 2023, vol.43, e023004.  Epub May 31, 2023. ISSN 1645-2089.  https://doi.org/10.17231/comsoc.43(2023).4338.

COVID-19 brought to the public agenda the need for disseminating reliable information on the epidemiological scenario of the disease in various regions of the world. In Brazil, several managers took on the task of informing the local population about the progression of the pandemic in their municipalities. This study aimed to reflect on the construction/design of COVID-19 bulletins/infographics and the central importance of design in disseminating health information. To this end, we analysed 133 infographics on the disease numbers published on Instagram of the Municipal Health Foundation of Rio Claro, in the interior of São Paulo state in Brazil, between March 30 and July 31, 2020. The qualitative analysis from the multimodal perspective made it possible to identify that these were built in an iterative process, with changes over time to exclude or include information as the pandemic spread in the municipality. The infographics were analysed in three dimensions: format, colour and content. We concluded that their elaboration was based on basic design concepts concerning shape and colours. In the first five months, three versions were produced to refine the design and information until attaining a more consistent format for communicating the data of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords : information design; digital and visual communication; health communication; infographics; COVID-19.

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