Creating Attractive Infographics
- Sep 15, 2016
- 4 min read
Using infographics in you blog posts gives your readers a better understanding; allowing for better retention of the information you are providing. Creating appealing infographics can be a powerful helpful visual tool to add to your posts, when created effectively.
Infographics allow you to present useful information in a nice, neat, compact visual. Readers tend to read on average 20% of the content on a page, the other 80% just skimmed over. Find more info on post length in my post titled, "10 Steps To Make Your Blog Posts Sparkle & Shine!" Incorporating infographics, enables you to pack a bigger punch providing a quick overview of useful information in a short amount of time. Most people tend to learn and retain information better through the use of pictures and other visuals.
Entirety vs. Redirection
Creating content that can easily be shared is preferred by most readers. The benefit of being able to easily share content is being able to view the information immediately, rather than having to be redirected through a link.
Device Compatibility
It's crucial to create content that's viewable on any type of device, due to the ever changing viewing platforms (desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones.)
Infographic Basics
The first step in creating your infographic is by deciding on the question you want to ask. Once you have your question, answer the question by using data to explain. Avoid throwing facts at your reader; summarize your facts in a unique, sequential way.
Your infographic should successfully illustrate how a particular subject effects your audience.
Now that you have your topic, the next step is choosing what type of infographic to use that fits your topic. There are approximately ten common types of infographics. It's important that you choose the right type of method to explain your topic in your infographic.
STATISTICAL
An infographic that visually summarizes an overview of data containing one or more graphs, lists, or table charts.
PROCESS
Include flow charts depicting choices in a decision process, explains how a product works (directions), or describes a "How-to".
INFORMATIVE
A visual of a topic with extra details through the use of a poster.
TIMELINE
Displays the progress of information over a chronological period of time.
COMPARE & CONTRAST
Shows similarities and differences in the form of a table or list.
RESEARCH
Similar to statistical infographs, but based solely on research.
GEOGRAPHICAL
Displays data along with the use of a map
HIERARCHIC
Displays different levels of hierarchy through the use of a chart.
WORD CLOUD
Displays a word cluster that associates words and concepts.
INTERACTIVE
A web-based infograph that allows readers to modify the info.
TIP: Download my free infographic above and use as a cheat sheet!
Graphs & Data
There are a few effective ways to display your data.
LINE GRAPHS
trends over time
comparing two sets of data
display patterns
BAR GRAPHS
display percentage similarities and differences
PIE GRAPHS
use to compare multiple data points (similar to bar graphs)
SCATTER PLOT
to show distribution
display relationship patterns or combined data
BUBBLE GRAPH
emphasizes one set of data in comparison to another through size
TIMELINES
Depicts change over a given amount of time
PICTOGRAMS (Icons)
complements percentages
helps put numbers or ratios into perspective
TIP: Download my free infographic above and use as a cheat sheet!
Creating An Appealing Infographic
An appealing infographic consists of five characteristics: an outline, layout, complimentary colors, and fonts.
Outline
The first step in creating your infographic is drawing out a rough draft using pen and paper. Map out how you want your infographic to look. Once you're happy with the outline, you can then convert it digitally.
Layout
Next determine the size of your layout. You can use a grid to keep images, icons, and words in line and straight. It's important to keep the flow of your infographic as consistent as possible for easy viewing.
Color Combinations
Use complimentary colors schemes. There are many sites that allow you to create color combinations to determine complimentary color schemes. Here's a list of free resources you can use:
Font
It's best practice to use a maximum of two fonts. Use large bold fonts and labels to make stand out from other text on your infographic.
Infographic Promoting Methods
You can promote your infographic across social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, & Pinterest. You can also share on content/image sharing platforms such as StumbleUpon, Reddit, Digg, Delicious, & Imgur.
Include your infographic in your blog newsletter.
Find relevant bloggers that would benefit by sharing your infographic.
Important keypoints to remember in order to create a visually appealing and informative infographic:
Ask a question
Answer the question with data
Choose a type of infographic to use
Choose the type of graph to use (if applicable)
Create your outline (pen & paper first, then digitally)
Decide on your layout
Pick out a complimentary color scheme
Pick out two different large, bold fonts
Promote your infographic
Now that you have the knowledge and tools needed, what type of infographics do you plan on making?
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