A medically accurate, but not very realistic diagram of the heart:

Because my infographic leaflet would be used for the NHS, there would obviously be a budget which means that colour might be too expensive if printing in bulk. Because of this, I intend to draw/produce my infographics in black and white 1. because it would be cheaper to print for the hospital and 2. because my style of drawing is also more suited to black and white. Below are some black and white information graphics which I think are successful.

Here are some of my favourite information graphics that I have found. The ones I have chosen are slightly more illustrative style, which I would also like to include in my work.

I found another page on infographics, but this time celebrating the most successful infographics of the year http://www.wired.com/design/2013/10/13-sterling-pieces-of-data-viz-from-the-best-american-infographic-2013/. Here are my favourites/the ones I think are most successful from the list:

I found a fantastic page on Pinterest called 'Bad Infographics'. http://www.pinterest.com/binfographics/bad-infographics/ It is simply a page full of infographics that haven't quite worked, and hopefully this web page will help me to avoid some of the more obvious info-graphic mistakes. Below are some of (in my opinion) the worst offenders:

As well as illustrating the stages of Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery, I would also like to illustrate the reasons you may need the surgery in the first place. I researched Coronary Artery Disease and how it could lead to heart surgery.

Coronary Artery Disease -----> Angina/Chest pain

Angina is usually felt in the chest, but can be felt in the left shoulder, arms, neck, back and jaw.

It is described as a heaviness, pressure, aching, burning, numbness, fullness, squeezing or painful feeling.

Other symptoms that can occur with Coronary Artery Disease include:

- Shortness or breath

- Palpitations

- A faster heartbeat

- Weakness or dizziness

- Nausea

- Sweating

This is the heart i dissected widthways:

This is the heart I dissected lengthways:

I went to my local butchers and bought a pack of sheep's hearts to dissect in order to get a better understanding of how it functions and what it really looks like. I decided to slice one lengthways, and the other widthways in order to see the full inner workings of the heart.

Charles Keeping is an artist who tries to get as much textural quality into his work as possible. I would like to experiment more with adding texture to my drawings to add a new, more exciting dimension.

Here are some images of the 'Stabilising Devices' I found to help give me a better idea of what they look like and how they work:

I have finished my skull drawing and have been experimenting with colour:

 

I have realised that to draw the surgery process as accurately as possible, I will first need to understand some of the medical terms/processes used in my 8 stages. The terms I have researched are:

'Median Sternotomy':

A vertical inline incision is made along the sternum, after which the sternum is dived or 'cracked'.

'Bypass Graft':

Moving tissue from one site to another on the body. Vascular grafting: the use of transplanted/prosthetic blood vessels in surgical procedures.

'Stabilising devices':

Consists of a heart positioned and a tissue stabiliser. Medtronics Starfish2 and Urchin - position and hold the heart. Medtronics Octopus - tissue stabiliser: limits the motion of a small area of the heart while the rest of the heart continues to beat regularly.

'Mediastinal Space':

The mass of tissues and organs separating the two pleural sacs. Contains the heart, trachea, oesophagus, thymus, lymph nodes etc.

'Pleural Spaces':

The potential space between the two pleurae of the lungs. Outer pleurae: attached to the chest wall. Inner pleurae: covers the lungs.

I have been researching the stages of heart surgery for my project, but soon realised I needed to choose a specific type of heart surgery before I could continue. I chose Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery (Off Pump) because it gave me the biggest range of things to draw, whilst remaining a fairly straightforward surgery to explain through the use of illustration. I also decided to focus only on the surgery itself, and not on the prep or post surgery care as this will make my booklet more concise.

The 8 main stages I have identified are:

1. The chest is opened via a median sternotomy and the heart is examined by the surgeon.

2. The bypass grafts are harvested and the patient is given Heparin to prevent the blood from clotting.

3. The surgeon places devices to stabilise the heart.

4. One end of each graft id sewn on to the coronary arteries beyond the blockages, and the other end is attached to the aorta.

5. The stabilising devices are removed.

6. Protamine is given to reverse the effects of Heparin.

7. Chest tubes are placed in the mediastinal and pleural space to drain blood from around the heart and lungs.

8. The sternum is wired together and the incisions are sutured and closed.

Another artist who uses dots in order to create an image is Vanya Zouravliov. Although the subject is very different to that of my project, the 'dotting' technique is very similar.

I bought two books from Amazon today on Information Graphics. The first one is 'Fritz Kahn' by Uta von Debschitz and Thilo von Debschitz, who's artwork I looked at a couple of posts ago. I really enjoy his work, and wanted my own book to dip in and out of for inspiration, rather than having to go to the library every time.

The second book is 'Information Graphics' by Sarah Rendgen, which is an introductory book on the subject of info-graphics, and should give me a greater understanding of how/where they can be used.