What is an Infographic?

An infographic is a visual display that combines data with descriptive text. Infographics can be static or interactive. Merriam Webster specifies that infographics should contain “graphic elements” that are “visually striking.”

Overview of Tools

Custom infographics can be created with a variety of data visualization tools. Even novice users can quickly design and distribute infographics with a growing number of design-specific web applications. Some of the most commonly used programs are described below.

• Infographic-specific tools. Dozens of these tools exist. Some are specifically geared to infographic creation while others support a wider range of visualizations. A free option with limited access is generally available, with a wider range of templates and functions accessible for a monthly fee. For infographics, Piktochart, Visme, Genial.ly, and Easel.ly offer the broadest selection of images and templates, although users may want to browse the images available in a wide number of tools before selecting an option that suits their requirements.
• Static illustration tools. Microsoft PowerPoint has the graphic design functionality to support infographic creation from scratch, or users can take advantage of a series of infographic templates designed for PowerPoint by both Microsoft and external vendors. More customized image processing requires a vector graphics editor such as Adobe Illustrator. Part of Adobe’s Creative Cloud application, Illustrator is the industry standard and my program of choice for creating static infographics.
• Interactive visualization tools. Tableau allows users to create dynamic and interactive visualizations without users needing to learn a programming language. Tableau story points, in particular, are designed to present information in sequential order, like many infographics.

Best Practices and Pitfalls

A strong infographic should have four elements:

• the right data,
• a compelling narrative,
• visuals that enhance without being distracting, and
• an accessible and shareable format.

These best practices are simple to articulate, but can be very difficult to achieve in practice. We have all seen our share of terrible infographics. Daniel Zeevi of Dashburst does a nice job of visualizing what can go wrong with infographics.

Most experts agree that solid data is by far the most important of the four elements. Even though the circles above are the same size, Zeevi’s graphic illustrates this too. Note that the most unpleasant outcomes occur when an infographic does not contain the right data.

Nathan Yao emphasizes the importance of good data for effective design in a 2012 critique of some newly minted infographics tools:

Maybe I’m just stuck in my ways, but I’m having trouble getting on board with these tools…you start with a complete visual and then work your way backwards to the data…It’s rare that good graphics are produced when you go this direction. Instead, start with the data (or information) first and then build around that — don’t try to fit the data (or information) into a space it wasn’t meant for.

While not all data can be visualized to tell a story, the data that can tell a story take many forms. Infographic data can be numeric, categorical, geographic, text, or simply a collection of facts. In their final, visualized form, these data can be used to compare and contrast, show networks, plot timelines, create flowcharts, map geographic relationships, or relate anecdotes (Penn Libraries n.d.).

Works Cited

Friendly, M. 2008. A Brief History of Data Visualization. In: Chen C, Härdle W, Unwin A, editors. Handbook of Data Visualization. Berlin: Springer-Verlag. p. 15-56.

Google Trends. 2019. Search term: infographic. [Internet] [cited 2019 September 25]. Available from: https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&geo=US&q=infographic.

Penn Libraries Weigle Information Commons. n.d. Research Guides: Infographics. [Internet] [cited 2019 September 25]. Available from: https://guides.library.upenn.edu/infographics/overview.

Yao, Nathan. May 13, 2012. Automated Infographics With Easel.ly. FlowingData [Internet] [cited 2019 September 25]. Available from: https://flowingdata.com/2012/05/13/automated-infographics-with-easel-ly/.

Zeevi, Daniel. February 5, 2013. What Makes a Good Infographic? visual.ly [Internet] [cited 2019 September 25]. Available from: https://visual.ly/community/infographic/how/what-makes-good-infographic.