Final Design

Final designs for my Krebs factory poster, experimenting with how best present the key

Plus a reminder of what the whole process is about – getting energy (ATP) from food

Krebs Factory colour test

Factory Posters

On top of a main poster showing the factory floor during the Krebs cycle, I also wanted a smaller poster simplifying it for students again – reminding them that the Krebs cycle with all its complicated terms is really just respiration, the old familiar equation still applies.

These are in the style of promotional energy flyers. They use the same artwork is the large factory poster, making a mental association with that image and helping with memory.

Krebs Energy Factory logo designs

Possible logo designs for my Krebs energy factory. I liked messing around with possible factory names, using the role of the Krebs cycle in cellular respiration to figure out a possible factory division. The Krebs cycle identified in 1937 by Hans Adolf Krebs while at the University of Sheffield.

Isometric assets

Isometric Elements

Some early designs for elements in my isometric illustration of The Krebs cycle. I created a grid in illustrator and tried several shapes to see which looked best for each item on the conveyor line. I used simple block colours for now, to better see the colour scheme and basic shapes.

grid template

The Energy Factory – second draft

An attempt to finalise my design for the Krebs cycle isometric infographic. I tried to add corrections from the class critique like adding people as enzymes and changing the shape of CO2, though I may have confused myself further

Measuring the image in portrait

‘The Energy Factory’ – First Draft

First Draft

First complete draft of the entire Krebs cycle, with Glycolysis at the beginning. I attempted to find shapes and a purpose for all the elements of the cycle, and to arrange it in a way that works. I also made some attempt to arrange the energy output along the bottom of the page and waste products along the top to make sense of the over-complicated process.

As far as I know the sketch is fairly accurate to the scientific diagrams when it comes to input and output, though I still need to work on the details of the icons that represent chemicals and enzymes, and to tighten the final layout.

Generally the idea went down well when I presented the idea for critique, though some feedback was given which could help.

• When I asked about the role of FAD and its similarity to NAD (in the diagram represented by forklifts) I was advised to keep it simple, not getting into those kind of minor differences, which would complicate it further. Instead I will use the same form as the NAD (transport) and change the colour to indicate the difference

• Carbon Dioxide could be represented by a gas canister as a way to emphasize that this is Carbon Dioxide in gas  rather then liquid form. This will prevent unnecessary confusion and help immediate recognition.

• Adding QR codes at key points in the info-graphic, which could be scanned to give more detailed information for people that want to learn more.

• Add people to the factory as enzymes that move the boxes, or chemicals around. As many enzyme names are too long to fit on their backs I could use initials, which are also more memorable. I could even colour code this, with different grades or effects of enzymes like in star trek.

Energy Factory

A collection of ideas I had for creating an info-graphic of the Krebs cycle for students to learn or revise by.

The purpose of the info-graphic would be to help the student understand what exactly is going on with the complicated cycle, using the theme of a factory setting to show visually what is happening at each stage.This could even be expanded so people moving the atoms and objects around are enzymes – basically their role in the cycle anyway.

There were several key points I wanted to keep in mind for the purpose of the graphic;

Understanding over memorization

Keeping it visual

explain how & why

creating context

creating connections

It is my hope that helping students to understand the process and what is happening will stick in their minds for longer than mere memorization, giving them better context to remember the harder stuff – names of enzymes and stages of the cycle for example.

Krebs Cycle research

For the first brief of the semester the group was tasked with re-designing a system of respiration called the Krebs cycle, which is notoriously complicated.  The client hoped that an overhaul of the design and presentation of biological equations could serve several purposes;

– Making the information more understandable and accessible to

– Helping students with understanding and memorization

They are several ways I can do this –

– – Interactively e.g. app – revealing information gradually

– – filll in the blanks

– – an infographic poster e.g a stream or river

ferris wheel

– – Use GESTALT theory to group information

– – Showing where the complex biological words come from – break them down to explain

– – explain the cycle and what i shappening to help with understanding over memorization

Things to consider –

– – portability/ easy access

– – simplify and explain molecular structure

– – linking the different cycles – showing where the glucose comes from and goes to

– – show molecules (glucose, hydrogen, oxygen) and enzymes in a visual way

– –  simple for ease of learning – enough information to spark curiosity

– –  could include different layers of difficulty

I have always been interested in biology, and it was one of my favourite subjects during the Leaving Cert as I found it relatively easy to memorize cycles such as the Krebs. I remember looking at the Krebs cycle in class and the moment when it struck with real understanding – I felt like a vague mystery of life had been answered – why we need oxygen to breathe how that turns into CO2

I dug up my own Leaving Cert notes to see how my teacher managed to arrange the complex diagrams in a way that made perfect sense to me at the time.

Looking at the diagram, I think the thing that made it so simple and clear for me is that it shows very clearly what is happening on a molecular level – nothing comes out of nowhere

For example, the 6 carbons in glucose are split to make 2 pyruvate (each with 3 carbons), and then one carbon leaves as carbon dioxide, leaving the 2 carbons in Acetyl Coenzyme A

I think that the direction I feel would work best (for me anyway) is breaking down the equation – focusing on where the molecules come from and end up, to help students contextualize all this information – linking it with what they know of the they world and other biology theory

http://biology.about.com/od/prefixesandsuffixes/a/aa020106a.htm

http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krebs_cycle

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/dehydrogenase?s=t