What Type of Information Is Best Suited for Infographics?
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“A picture is worth a thousand words” is a cliche that has been around for a while and proves its substance. Just imagine a single image to process all the information you need, without the requirement to read large quantities of boring words. Wouldn’t you want it?
A single picture that can efficiently convey complex topics most simply was and is always the preferred medium of sharing information.
How did this come about?
It has been there since prehistoric times. People drew on the walls to etch their experiences in the early days. With the discovery of paper, people illustrated their stories of life, struggles, and wars on it.
Not to forget, maps that were a significant part of the world. Without a proper layout of those, we would not have known how to traverse the globe or which path to follow.
There are many ways to project information in a visual format.
Plus, a visual layout is always easier to overview, process, and remember.
This is especially true today with the massive growth of the digital world. Everyone is trying to create content to convey messages that are easily understood. By catching onto this trend, the graphic design industry boomed and today has encapsulated the whole world.
In the last few years, we have gone from long-form content and reports that took a few days to reach to short, 60-word news and descriptive pictures with instantly shared captions.
In this path, the most successful and valuable tool is an infographic.
This blog post aims not just to tell you what type of information is best suited for infographics. But also give an example of the available templates and how to create one.
We’ve also added tips to help you understand the difference between the types of infographics and how to choose the right one for you.
Keep scrolling.
What is an Infographic?
An infographic is best termed a visual representation of any form of information in a designed template. Infographics use elements like charts, graphics, pictures, timelines, statistics, maps, etc., that give life to information while also providing a clear overview with engaging visuals.
Why should you use infographics?
People today have a shorter attention span and require one to attract them within the first 3 seconds. And if you can’t do so, you won’t be able to get them back after that.
An infographics makes complex problems seem more approachable and solvable than a plain document filled with texts and graphs.
With infographics, you can visually represent your information by creating a story. And if you can sell your story, then that infographic template automatically becomes one of the best infographic templates on the market.
Plus, visual representation attracts the audiences better; for example, if you create a visual story representing a timeline will attract more attention than a document filled with words.
A story that follows the trends and is illustrated with graphics, icons, illustrations, and other creative visual add-ons will be straightforward for you to explain and get your viewers to understand.
For businesses, mainly, this is a great medium. Why? Because nobody today likes to read a dry and dull document filled with texts and line graphs. Also, no one has the time or the patience to sit, read and compare. Everyone wants everything to be expressed, said, and done fast.
With infographics, you can create the perfect data most extraordinarily. The best part about infographics is that different types of infographic templates can be either created or downloaded from the internet, stating that they are the best infographics.
Thus, infographics are handy visual representations that can save time and present data without any hassle.
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How to create an Infographic template?
Creating an infographic template is easy.
Collect your data, put it up in a layout that your viewers best understand, and add many images, charts, icons through which the context is easily explained.
Well, that sounds simple.
But, we all know that it isn’t as simple as it sounds?
And that is what this blog post aim in doing. We have streamlined the process and made it so that you can create an infographic without any fret.
So going back to our question, what type of information is best suited for infographics?
Every kind of information is. But, you cannot just put the information down just like that.
So, start with the basics,
- Firstly, define your audience. Who is it that you are going to present your information to? What age group do they fit in? The region they come from? Their professional background?
- Second, define your goal. What is the outcome you wish out of Your Information? Are you giving a solution to an existing problem, or are you explaining the backstory of an event, company, or product? Or are you doing a comparative analysis?
- Third, start collecting information. Not just collecting information, you need to make sure to segregate and streamline your data point in an orderly timeline. Also, keep your sources ready to be listed and shared anytime.
- Fourth, prepare to write your content. Though it is an infographic, you cannot just dump the collected data. It would be best to have a headline, as it is the crucial point for engagement. Then in chronological order, start arranging your data as you want it to be illustrated.
- Fifth, decide on the type of infographic template you want to use as per your information. This is the hardest part; make sure to consider all the factors of your data, your audience, and the outcome you want, and then decide on the best type of infographic for you.
And once you have decided on all of these, you can start creating your infographic template.
You might wonder how and where you build your infographic and what information you should include in your templates? More specifically, how would you distinguish an infographic template best suited for your information?
This sounds like the impossible task that a content marketing manager would give to an intern without any tips on doing it.
Don’t worry; we have jotted down all the possible types of information that you would need to include in your infographic templates so that you don’t have to keep switching tabs to find out.
What are the types of infographics?
Some of the regularly used infographic templates are,
- Informational infographics
- Timeline infographics
- Interactive infographics
- Comparison infographics
- Statistical infographics
- Resume infographics
- Statistical infographics
- Geographic infographics
- Process infographics
- Chart-based infographics
Depending on the infographic template you choose for your data visualizations, the information you add in will differ.
We have already given you an outline on how to create an infographic?
But, there are still many more that you need to consider and have your infographics contain and become the best infographics.
What type of information goes into infographics?
Textual Content
For an informational infographic, heavy importance is put up on the text. For a process infographic, list infographic, and resume infographic.
Since they are text-heavy, the infographics are enhanced with attractive color schemes, pictures, and icons, to help an attractive visual representation of the data. Check out 15 easy design tricks to make a perfect infographic.
Graphs and Charts
A graph or chart represents the relation between two or more variables and the measurement of their performance as per the required parameters.
A majority of the infographics use graphs and charts to explain their data’s comparison and performance explicitly.
In a geographic infographic, you can use a graph to state the performance of a city, state, country, or continent between specific periods. You can also use a chart to compare different metrics of a single region.
In a statistic infographic, you can state the performance of a business, product, team, or person in their particular order of performance. Even economic comparisons are made easy with a graph, as it lets anyone understand even without much knowledge of the subject.
A comparison infographic also uses graphs to show the comparative analysis of the two data visualizing. This makes the infographic interactive and helps account for the key statistics to be conveyed quickly. Check out the guide about do’s and don’t while designing an infographic.
Pictures
Pictures play a unique role in the sharing of information. It is easier to convey information through a picture without explaining your multiple sources.
A picture can be used to share the visual cue for Informational infographic, comparison infographic, interactive infographic, and geographic infographic.
Graphic Elements
Your infographic page will look cluttered and disarrayed if you add too many pictures, charts, maps, or icons.
For example, an interactive infographic template with too many images that are not separate from one another and are layered closely will not give any visual attraction.
The whole aim of your infographic is to be interactive and yet convey information. Thus, you need to add visual cues to attract and keep your viewers hooked to your infographic.
So you must use a few graphic elements to the existing charts, maps, timelines, etc.
Take our tips and choose graphic elements that complement your data.
How?
Keep an eye on the current trends, follow the examples of previously used elements, take tips from your peers, or compare with your competitors on the same front.
Fonts
An essential player in any infographic apart from the information is the font. Depending upon the type of information and audience you are presenting to, you need to use appropriate fonts.
Before selecting, make sure to check the font’s legibility in both large and small text, especially when using numbers. Always make sure to have at least two fonts.
Try to differ the size of headlines while breaking up your data. Illustrate your data visually so that it guides the readers from beginning to end.
A good font will make your data stand out, complementing the type of infographic that you use. As it is the visuals that your readers care about.
For example, you can differentiate a specific set of content that you want your viewers to pay more attention to by displaying them in a different size, type, and layout. If you want to create a trendy infographic, check out the perfect guide.
Colors
Your infographic illustration will look plain and unattractive without the use of colors. For the story you have built to have a meaning to the viewers, you need to add a bit of color to create a visual effect.
But that doesn’t mean that you can add whatever color you wish. Choose a color to complement the data and highlight the critical points of the display information.
Colors can be handy while creating a timeline infographic, geographic infographic, pie charts, map layout, etc.
For example, information in a pie chart can be differentiated through the different colors, or even the regions on a map can be distinguished based on the colors. Explore the ultimate infographic design cheat sheet.
Numbers
Numbers are best for any infographic template used for businesses, marketing strategies, government reports, etc.
By using numbers, you give concrete proof for the data you have collected. The data visualization is much better and is easier for the viewers to understand.
For example, in a geographic infographic, you can represent data of the number of people migrating from one place to another much more straightforwardly. Or in an informational infographic measuring the percentage of the presented data’s performance.
Numbers are the best used in a timeline infographic, resume infographic, roadmap infographic, hierarchical infographic, etc. Find out some infographic tips and get inspired.
Icons
Infographics contain several icons. Irrespective of whether they are small, simple, gaudy or flashy, icons can make or break your infographic.
Thus, you must be careful while choosing icons to represent your data.
For example, when displaying graphic data about the increase in job seekers for a year, icons help to segregate it by the number of men and women. Or, when displaying data about any business page, simple icons get used regularly.
Icons are best used in geographic infographics, timeline infographics, list infographics, etc.
These are just the essential tips and examples of the elements you need to take care of while creating an infographic.
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To tell your story, keep a balance of visuals, charts, designs and other types of visual elements. Don’t just dump your infographic with everything. Here, you can learn how to create an infographic.
Wrapping Up
Infographics are a great way to share complex information in an easy-to-digest format. Not only do they make your content visually appealing, but they can also help you increase website traffic and improve brand awareness. If you’re looking for help creating infographic designs, be sure to reach out to the team at All Time Design. We’d be happy to work with you to create stunning visual templates that will help you communicate your message effectively. Have you tried using infographics in your marketing strategy? What results did you see?
