What is an Infographic?

What is an Infographic?

An infographic is a visual tool that combines images, charts, and data to convey information clearly and effectively.

Organizations such as retail brands, schools, and government agencies use infographics to achieve specific goals, like selling products, educating audiences, or presenting complex information in a simple, easy-to-digest format.

By visually summarizing key points, infographics make it easier for audiences to understand and retain information without needing to read lengthy text.

What Are Different Types of Infographics?

There are various types of infographics, each suited to different purposes:

1. Statistical Infographics – Focused on data, these infographics use visuals to explain stories behind numbers, often with percentages and more text to highlight key statistics.
2. Informational Infographics – Divided into sections, these infographics communicate new concepts or give overviews on topics, often including numbers to guide the flow.
3. Timeline Infographics – Designed as timelines, either left-to-right or top-to-bottom, they use visuals like lines, dates, and labels to depict events or progressions over time.
4. Process Infographics – These provide step-by-step breakdowns of a process, with each step labeled and briefly explained, sometimes using images for clarity.
5. Geographic Infographics – Based on maps, these infographics use geography to convey information, such as using heat maps or highlighting borders based on specific data.
6. Comparison Infographics – Designed to compare and contrast, these infographics use side-by-side layouts, like columns or rows, to highlight differences between subjects.
7. List Infographics – Structured as numbered lists, these infographics present tips or steps with headers and brief descriptions, making them easy to follow.

Choosing the right type enhances the clarity and impact of the message for the audience.

What Makes an Infographic Design Effective?

As you can see, there are tons of different infographics you can leverage for a presentation, advertisement, or educational content piece like a blog.

But you can’t just whip up a few quick icons, add some bullet points like a list, and assume your infographic will be successful.

Indeed, an infographic design is competitive if its creator uses effective design techniques.

Not to worry; you don’t have to be a master at graphic design to create compelling infographics! Instead, ensure each infographic you create has the below four elements.

Focus

A good infographic has to have a strong focus.

The focus should be present in your item titles, the infographic’s layout, colors and theme, and more.

Not sure whether your infographic is focused enough?

Put yourself in the shoes of a viewer and ask:

• Do you know what the infographic is about?
• Can you clearly see what the infographic means to say by the time you reach the end?
  Or are you unsure what the “point” is supposed to be?
• Does the infographic “flow” easily?
  Determine whether your eyes naturally move from point to point or graphic to graphic on the chart.

Powerful Title

A great infographic should also have a powerful and engaging title.

A good title catches the eyes of audience members and convinces them to read through the rest of the content.

That said, make sure that an infographic’s title isn’t overly long or complex.

The best titles are short, sweet, and to the point, even if the infographic in question distills a complicated topic into a handful of bullet points or pictures.

Compelling Data

Naturally, the best infographics feature compelling data points.

That’s doubly true if you want to make a statistical infographic.

Compelling data includes properly sourced statistics that clearly demonstrate a point one way or the other.

For example, the total number of shark attacks yearly isn’t very interesting.

But the total number of shark attacks per month – and data showing that more shark attacks occurred during summer – is much more compelling.

If you have a lot of data and want to present a point to your audience, consider how to organize the data in a new infographic.

If your infographic is chock-full of confusing numbers, you’ll lose your audience before they begin reading.

For sources, make sure to include them listed at the bottom of your infographic.

Not only does this build audience trust, but it also allows infographic readers to review your sources and verify their legitimacy after the fact.

Easy to Understand

Lastly, every top-tier infographic is easy to understand.

So, if you want your infographics to persuade readers, you should also ensure your graphics are:

• Streamlined
• Informative without being too cluttered
• Designed with a visible, clear font

Ease of understanding is important because readers easily dismiss hard-to-understand infographics.

How Do You Create an Infographic?

You know why infographics are so important and how to ensure your infographics convert visitors into customers or persuade readers to see your perspective.

Now it’s time to dive into the details of infographic creation.

Start with a Brief

First, you need a brief or overall goal for a new infographic. The brief should include:

• The point of the infographic in question
• The information it should contain
• The target audience for the infographic

These points help you determine what type of infographic you should make (as detailed above), plus how you should outline the infographic.

Brainstorm Ideas

Next, sit down with your marketing or design team and brainstorm infographic ideas.

Say that you want to break down your online company’s average traffic worldwide to present the data to a shareholders’ meeting.

The data says that most of your visitors come from the US, while a sizable minority come from China.

You could do an infographic based on geography, for instance.

Or you could do a chart-based infographic highlighting the percentages of each visitor category.

The sky’s the limit, so get creative during this phase!

Creative infographics can be very compelling and persuasive (provided they are still streamlined and focused properly).

Collect Content and Data

You’ll then need to collect the content and data for your infographic.

If you’re lucky, you already have this data ready to go and can simply include references at the bottom as you create the graphics and chart outlines.

If you don’t already have the data, gather it and be sure to verify its legitimacy.

Incorrect data can quickly get you in hot water with your target audience, particularly if your industry is full of experts.

Choose a Type

Now it’s time to choose the type of infographic you want to create.

This should be an easy step, as your infographic brief, ideas and focus, and data type will limit your options and force you to pick between a few.

Use a Program to Put it Together

Once all the above pieces are in place, use an infographic creator program to make the full chart in a matter of minutes.

Some popular infographic creation software options include:

• Canva
• Crello
• Visme
• Genially
• Venngage
• Infogram
• Piktochart
• Easelly

How To Nail Your Infographic Research

To nail your infographic research, follow these essential steps for accuracy and credibility:

1. Check for Relevance – Ensure the data is up-to-date and relevant to the topic. Data published recently is usually more valuable than older information.
2. Check Intent – Understand the intent behind the data. Consider why the data was published and if it could be biased or manipulated. Determine if it’s from a credible source, like a scientific journal or government institution.
3. Check Opinion vs. Fact – Distinguish between opinions and facts, as opinions are less reliable for infographics.
4. Check Source Links – Verify data sources, prioritizing authoritative sites ending in .edu, .gov, or .org, which signal trustworthiness.
5. Check for Accuracy – When possible, double-check each data point, especially if your field is full of experts who may scrutinize your information.

Selecting the right colors also plays a critical role in infographic appeal:

1. Match Colors to the Mood – Use colors that fit the topic’s mood (e.g., bright colors for a fun topic like ice cream flavors).
2. Use Brand Colors – Consider incorporating your brand’s colors for a professional, cohesive look.
3. Limit Colors to Two or Three – Stick to two or three colors to keep the infographic visually clear and easy to read.

How To Write Compelling Content for Your Infographics

The key to effective infographic content is simplicity. Use punchy, straightforward language that avoids unnecessary complexity. Bullet points are especially helpful, particularly when dealing with charts or graphs. They make the information easier to digest and allow the visuals to flow seamlessly alongside the text.

How to Improve Your Infographic

Once you’ve finalized your infographic draft, it’s essential to get feedback from a few people. Ask them:

• What key points stood out to them
• Whether they found any part of the infographic confusing
• What changes they would recommend to make the graphic more engaging

Take these insights into account and make adjustments where appropriate, depending on the feedback's relevance and source.

How to Promote Your Infographic

With a great infographic in hand, it’s time to share it with the world. There are several ways to quickly promote it:

• Write a blog post featuring the infographic or add it to an existing post
• Share it on social media to highlight your new visual
• Create physical posters of the infographic and display them in your office or public spaces
• Capture photos of the infographic and share them within your network

Remember, infographics are powerful tools for promoting your brand. Use them frequently and strategically across multiple platforms.

Examples of Great Infographics

Below are some of my favorite infographics that you can use as a reference to design your own.

1. Ways to Improve Back Posture

This is a good example of a great infographic because of its readability and design.

The words can easily be read and its thoughts are well laid out.

In other words, anyone can understand what the infographic is all about.

The way this infographic about improving posture is organized also makes it more enticing for viewers to keep on reading.

It follows a dynamic layout where viewers are compelled to read from top to bottom.

2. The Growth of Artificial Intelligence in eCommerce

Single-color themes are also a great way to create a stunning infographic.

See how this effectively utilized the different shades of blue in its background and font.

The robots also reflect what the infographic is all about — artificial intelligence.

It also follows proper spacing as the words and images aren’t clustered in one single spot.

3. How Steve Jobs Started

Create a well laid-out timeline of an influential person such as Apple founder Steve Jobs and you’ll have hundreds if not thousands of people sharing your infographic.

As big as a legend he is, there’s no doubt that everyone will take a peek at your infographic.

Apart from that, you can also see how simplicity and proper designing are implemented.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is another word for an infographic?

You might hear infographics referred to by words like chart, storyboard, canvas, and more.

Can I turn a PowerPoint presentation into an infographic?

You can often turn the most important charts or graphs in a PowerPoint presentation into infographics.

But it depends on the content of your PowerPoint presentation and whether you can summarize its information into bullet points on a new chart.

Are infographics only one page?

Usually, yes.

That’s because a one-page limit prevents infographics from becoming too complex.

However, some very dense or technical infographics may call for more than one material page.

Use your best judgment!

Wrapping Up

Infographics are highly valuable tools your brand can’t afford to ignore.

They break down complex information into image or chart-based posters and graphics.

Luckily, now you know how to create high-quality, compelling infographics with a basic set of tools and a few guiding principles.

Share your infographic tips in a comment below, or reach out for further advice!