In a world with so much competing content, clear communication can be your most powerful tool. The lack of it can lead to misunderstanding, lack of interest, or even active hatred.
If you want to share information in an easy-to-understand and visually appealing way, you should consider creating an infographic. We’ll give you a summary of what makes a good infographic.
What is an infographic?
Charts are an attractive and affordable way to understand hard-to-understand data, stats, and numbers.
It is the visual representation of information and data that aims to provide an easy-to-understand overview, and is often a complex subject. It consists of graphic elements such as illustrations, graphs, and graphs.
You can use charts in almost every industry. For example, it is a powerful communication tool for businesses, educational institutions, non-profit organizations, and governments.
What makes an effective infographic can be subjective, but there are a few traits found in most good infographics. They tell a story, are easy to understand, and are well designed.
Let’s discuss the common elements of a good infographic.
1. Find your target audience
The most successful infographics are those aimed at a specific audience. If you’re not sure who your target audience is, check out our guide to creating a buyer persona; It will help you shape your target audience. You should also consider the level of experience and cultural background of your target audience.
A common mistake people make when creating infographics is designing them around a viral topic. This comes at the cost of neglecting the target audience. Part of designing an infographic is knowing who’s for it and who’s not, and not everyone will respond to trends.
Determining who your target audience is will affect the tone and graphics you use to get your message across.
2. Focus on one central message
Many infographics attempt to compress many different topics into a single representation. However, this only makes it confusing, and it will be difficult for viewers to understand.
Keep it simple and stick to one topic while still making it appealing to your audience. Ideally, your infographic should contain one main message with a few additional points branching out from it.
3. Offer practical benefits
The infographic should be useful to your audience. Think of it this way, viewers have a problem, and your job is to provide a solution. Before you start creating your infographic, ask yourself, “How will my audience benefit from this?”
Any shared content, especially infographics, should provide tangible benefits to the reader. Whether you’re introducing important new research or simplifying a difficult concept, the reader should be able to take something away from it.
4. Make it visually appealing
One of the most important parts of an infographic is the selection and design of graphics. For starters, viewers should be able to read the graph without being distracted by unnecessary text. The more visually attractive the graph, the more effective it is.
The aesthetically pleasing graph will make the reader excited and make the content memorable.
Some of the best techniques for attractive graphs include the use of flowcharts and non-standard graphs. Venn diagrams, maps, and even pictures of human faces are a great way to engage your audience and direct your point of view.
Although the information you intend to convey may work with multiple types of graphics, always try to use the most efficient and simple method. For example, you may want to use image-based flowcharts or line graphs to display changes over a certain period of time.
The goal is to use design elements that will take the reader to the bottom of the infographic.
Try to create a hierarchy of lines. One of the fonts can be used for the headline, the other for section headers, and the last for the body text. Don’t forget to make sure the fonts are easy to read!
Also, leave some (negative) white space. White space indicates areas without any text and images; This will help avoid chaos.
While you can convey information without any color, it is an effective tool for communicating key concepts. Color will help group related elements and highlight important data. Check out our list of apps that will help you find the best color schemes and color palettes.
5. Tell a story
Good infographics tell meaningful and memorable stories that take the reader out of your hand and guide them through.
It is always a good idea to break the information into sections, this will create an easy flow. Like a good story, the best infographics convey a message by taking you from one stage to the next.
To control the flow of your infographic, use headers, numbers, images, color, whitespace, and charts. Also include elements such as strategically placed text and icons throughout the infographic to help the viewer’s eyes navigate naturally.
These graphic elements will guide the reader from start to finish. For example, adding symbols to bookmark headers can help move the reader from one section to another easily. On the other hand, illustrations can help make your story fun and easy to remember.
6. Use a short version
The short version or short content makes it easier for readers to understand the information. While your infographic should contain text, keep it to a minimum.
The most effective infographics have a balance between visual and text elements. This is why facts and statistics are great elements to include in your infographic. They are usually one or two sentences long and grab the reader’s attention quickly.
Use short descriptive titles and subheadings and make them catchy. This will make the viewer curious to know more.
7. Do your research
Accurate information is one of the most important elements of an infographic. Infographics often include statistics, studies, and surveys. Therefore, finding reliable sources to back up your claims is essential.
Like academic work, your sources must be accurate and properly cited. Inaccurate and incomplete information will damage your credibility.
You can cite your sources by listing the relevant URLs at the end of the infographic or within its body provided it doesn’t distract from the flow.
Get into the game with a good infographic
Here you are! Including the above items in your infographic will increase your chance of capturing an audience and keeping them with you for a long time.
There is a learning curve to making a good infographic, and you may find yourself changing a lot of things at first, but sticking with these tips will help you solidify your idea and goal over time.
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