What are Infographics and why should you focus on them? Infographics are a highly-engaging way of capturing the attention of people that you are trying to share information with. They are composed of a combination of high-quality graphics and facts and information that people can take in within a relatively short period of time. Infographics are almost like a graph, but they appeal to people more than a graph due to their dynamic components.
But just how do you make your Infographics dynamic? How do you make them stand out among all of the messages they see on the internet today? What components should be present in the kind of Infographics that capture the attention of people?
The Learning Curve With Infographics
Infographics are a beautiful way to engage your visitors in ways that text alone cannot do. It is a great solution for cutting down on the amount of text that you have to produce to get people engaged with your content. But the down side is they are not easy to create. Without some level of expertise, you may find the learning curve too steep and time-consuming to justify doing it. So what should you do?
The truth is it is not really as difficult as you might think to create stunning graphics for your Infographic messages. Just like many things in media and technology these days, there are easier options available for those who don't have a degree in graphic design or feel they are the online commercial art equivalent of Picasso or Rembrandt! There are online platforms that allow users to create infographics by simple using a free template that walks them through the process.
Steps To Creating A Stunning Infographic That Gets Views
1. Deciding
In this phase you will want to brainstorm and think about the specific message that you wish to convey to others. You should consider your target audience and what they are thinking and feeling when they come to your site. Always keep the focus or objective in mind so that you stay focused on the main goal. The heart of an Infographic (as its name implies) is "information." You want to convey the meat of the information in a viable way, but with stunning imagery that catches their eye. They should be able to take in this information quickly, without having to do a lot of reading. You should provide specific facts and statistics and examples when needed. Getting to the core of the information fast is the main purpose of an Infographic.
2. Visualizing
Once you have a plan on how your Infographic should function, you should also consider what TYPE of Infographic you need to use to best convey your information. Below are the 10 most popular types of Infographics and some of the characteristics of each:
- Statistical: Composed of facts and figures that illustrate the key points of the Infographic in statistical terms
- Timeline: A timeline shows the sequence of events that has occurred from one point to another, relevant to the main point of the Infographic.
- Process-based: Infographics describe or explain a process.
- Informational: Informational Infographics are based more on information as the heart of the graphic design and education is the primary goal.
- Geographical: Geographical Infographics are based on a particular geographical area and hold significance to that region.
- Compare: You can use comparative data in Infographics when the purpose is to give the viewer information on different products or services and aid in their buying decision.
- Hierarchical: The Infographic based on hierarchical design will usually order things from the highest to the lowest, or vise-versa or it may be based on some other criteria in the way it is ordered.
- Research-based: Research-based Infographics are based on case studies and research that can be proven or substantiated. Usually the information to the case studies is included in the graphics.
- Interactive: Interactive Infographics are capable of letting viewers click on specific elements of the graphic for more information. They may also allow users to go to an online form or some other online location for more information.
- Wordcloud: This artistic form of Infographic is composed of a lot of different words that are somehow related to each other. It places the words in random order so that it makes people stop and think about the relationships of the words when they see it. It is all visually appealing, almost like an abstract art form.
3. Choosing Charts and Finding Data
Infographics should look visually appealing. But at the heart of it is the information that drives it. It is important to choose the right forms of charts to illustrate this data. Below are 8 types of charts and graphs and a brief look at what they do:
- Scatter Plot Charts: Scatter plots consider 2 major factors or variables that they are focused on. In this example, the height and weight of 207 individuals is considered. Scatter Plot example.
- Bubble Charts: Bubble charts take the information in a scatter plot (above) and expand on it by using bubbles to illustrate the information rather than dots. Both the x and y axis are used and both are value measurements.
- Bar Charts: Bar charts are like bar graphs illustrated in a dynamic way in an Infographic. Bar charts contain information regarding specific groups of individuals in a study with numerical data to show the degree or amount.
- Line charts: Line charts, like line graphs, contain specific information that can be extrapolated by a connecting line beyond the individual points to show trends. This is valuable when talking about how sales have gone up or down, the amount of traffic someone gets to their website, the number of people who have mobile devices, and so forth.
- Timeline charts: When the time that something happened is significant, timeline charts are a good way to depict this information.
- Pictograms: They say a "picture is worth a thousand words." Pictograms illustrate this by showing more pictures than facts and data to illustrate the message.
- Pie charts: Pie graphs or charts are visually appealing and are best used when talking about the percentages of something. For example, you could consider the percentage of people with iPhones, vs. Android tablets, desktops, or car devices.
- Complex charts: Complex charts include a variety of information and can encompass many different types of data.
Neil Patel Samples
Neil Patel is a digital marketing expert who has made a living improving upon this process and he can be a valuable resource to people wanting to learn more. His website is at: https://neilpatel.com
Stay Visual
Remember that the key to great Infographics is in the great visuals. Keep the information to a minimum, no matter which type of Infographic or graphs and charts you decide to use and make it about user-friendly data.
Making The Infographics Appealing
4 Major Components Of Winning Infographics
According to David McCandless, Infographic and visual artist expert, successful Infographics have all of the following components:
- Form: Great Infographics start with good graphics. McCandless calls these "eye candy," referring to the way that the right graphics catch your eye and make you stop and want to learn more. The graphics aspect of the Infographic is the first thing people see so this should be full of color, style, and form that resonates with people and makes them want to learn more. Beauty, structure, and appearance are prevalent in a good Infographic regarding form.
- Interestingness: The second components of good Infographics is the level of interest it holds for visitors. This can be achieved by knowing your market that you are trying to reach, studying the statistics on your target audience, and using custom-ads to determine what most appeals to them. But basically it should hold something of interest to them that goes beyond the obvious of noticing the attractive look of the ad. It should also contain some elements of newness and relevance, so that people feel they are learning something unique that they did not know before.
- Integrity: This component has to do with being honest and straightforward in the message. Is the information contained in the Infographic trackable? Can you find information and research to back it up? This involves making sure that your information contained in the Infographic contains truth, honesty, and transparency so that people reading it feel they can trust you.
- Function: The final but important component of a good Infographic is Function. The graphic should serve a specific purpose: such as to educate or inform the viewer about some specific information that they need or want to help them make a buying decision, to improve their lives or financial situation, or some other benefit. Function includes ease of use and usability as well as the overall layout of the graphic.
McCandless's Venn Diagram
McCandless creates a Venn Diagram to explain the intersection of these components which can be viewed here: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/556476097677585477/
4 Criterias For Stunning Infographics
Even if you use high-quality predesigned templates, you will want to make sure you include the following criteria which determine the quality of your Infographics:
- Colour: Colours should be bold and eye-catching.
- Font: Large fonts are preferred as they help your message stand out.
- Layout: Layout is part of the design and should be chosen carefully.
- Outline The outline is important because it dictates what information you will include.
Conclusion
As you can see, there is more to creating successful Infographics than you might think. It is not impossible though, even with little or no experience. When using a template, just keep these things in mind to create the most stunning, visually-appealing Infographics that will appeal to your visitors. Remember to have a call to action to your website from the Infographic so that visitors will act on your message after seeing the information. If done correctly, Infographics can be one of the single most important ways to get information to your potential customers and drive traffic and sales, and an integral part of your ad campaigns.
