Illustrating an Increase: Need Your Creative Ideas

[fuss]

I am stuck creatively on a project... I want to create a graphic of some kind that illustrates a percentage increase (in this case--time). Pie and bar charts seem so mundane and uninteresting. I was kind of thinking something along of the lines of a glass of water becoming more full, but get stuck figuring out how to make the analogy in practical application so that the message is clear. I want to convey the idea of how the time is a gain/profit.

Any of your creative ideas would be most welcome and appreciated!!!

[steve.ledger]

The only thing I can think of where time = gain, is my girth! But that's hardly profitable.
Perhaps you could use a chart displaying from a seed to fruiting plant, like a climbing (runner) bean for example?

[InfoCentral]

I would go to the library and see if they have a book on USA Today graphics. They were the king of using various images in their statistics graphs.

I want to create a graphic of some kind that illustrates a percentage increase (in this case--time).

I would use a hourglass.

[Odat]

First thing that came to mind for this was a clock with the numbers exploding outwards off of the dial, perhaps morphing into dollar signs the farther away that they get from the dial. Also the hands on the clock would look like they were blurry, to indicate they're spinning fast.

Of course I'm just a computer nerd and not an artist.

[hrhpaul]

I would create a glass egg timer, containing money... It should be quite simple to draw, depending upon how complex you'd like it to be. The money would probably be best as small coins, just simple discs with perhaps a '$' symbol on the face....

Paul

[jclements]

Could be better executed with more pazzaz but I think you get the idea.


I suppost their could be a rising profit graph in the background.

[InfoCentral]

I was thinking about an hourglass but instead of sand falling it would be coins; filling the bottom as time went on.

[jclements]

I think I have an hours glass somewhere in my archives that I did Xara. When I get to work I will try and locate it.

[hrhpaul]

What a great idea.... where I come from they are also known as egg timers... and like I said, coins would be good....

[fuss]

Thanks everyone! Keep those ideas coming as we'll eventually hit on something that works.

I had thought of the egg timer with coins/money/time going down (there's lots of stock images like that), but to me that conveys money/time being expended, not reaped. So that one isn't quite right for what I'm trying to accomplish.

That's an interesting idea, JClements! More along the lines of what I'm thinking of, definitely. I do want to stay away from charts and graphs if possible as those are so boring and humdrum and common. I'm trying to illustrate this idea in a completely new way.