Infographics
What is an infographic? It’s essentially an information graphic, or data visualization. It’s a visually appealing way to cite information. Click here to see how infographics are effective. Click here for the top 90 infographics. Click here for a layout cheat sheet. And click here for more super awesome free templates!
- Choose a topic
- Research (find statistics, time frames, images, differences/similarities) Think of timeframe
- Draw a rough draft (think of color pallet, layout, text vs image, etc)
- Create reference icons
- Cite your resources on the bottom of the infographic
Things to think about when creating your infographic
- It’s not only about the information, but how you plan to use it
- When you are collecting data, make sure it is from the same year (keep consistency)
- Stay away from the typical graphs
- Think about how you want to display your data
- Does the visual theme make sense for the topic?
- Black is really hard on the eyes. A dark black background might look cool, but it strains the eyes
- What words can you turn into icons? Need icons? CLICK HERE FOR ICON IDEAS
- Do you want to have a central image?
- Your title needs to stand out. You don’t want to have the viewer struggling to figure out what the infographic is about.
- Think about how you want to divide/section the infographic
- Don’t overcomplicate things, keep it simple!
- Focus on the important information (make it large, bold, vibrant, etc)
- The largest element should be your main topic
- All sources should be cited at the bottom (this can be small)
- Click here for examples of different graphs
Starting your infographic
- Decide the orientation of your design. Most infographics are vertical
- Create a color palette in Illustrator
- Start with your title. Try to make it catchy. The title should be large and place it at the top. Play around with different fonts and colors!
- Write a sentence or two about the topic and place it near the title.
- Focus on the important information first. Where will it be placed? What size will it be (if it’s text, what font?)
Student Work
Great flow charts
Awesome examples of effective ways to use graphs and icons
When to use a graph/chart
A pie chart is best used when you are comparing parts to a whole
- Creative Pie Charts:
A bar graph/ column chart is best used when you want to display changes in data over a period of time or comparisons between categories.
An area is best used when you want to compare data from multiple categories
