If you’ve read any recent articles about website content that your visitors will find link-worthy, then you’d seen infographics listed. But just what is an infographic? It’s another word for data visualization and as the name suggests, these images display information about a certain subject in a visual manner. You can more easily grab the visitor’s attention with an infographic than plain text, and because people so readily share infographics on social networks, they’re great for backlinks and SEO purposes. If you want to create your own, consider these helpful tips.
Data Research and Visualization
You probably have an idea of the subject you want to make your infographic about. Perhaps there’s some interesting stats about the housing market in your area, if you’re a realtor. Maybe you’re not sure about the stats, so research comes before anything else. You may be in an industry that provides you plenty of data. If not, consider Google’s Public Data Explorer and Insights tools to find information. Once you’ve started researching, you might feel overwhelmed. If that’s the case, think about your demographic and which information is most important to them.
Once you have data, it’s time to organize it. Many infographics are advanced flowcharts, so if you can arrange data in this manner, you’re well on your way. Tools like Many Eyes and SpacialKey can help you to arrange data to get a feel for how your infographic will look.
Be sure to attribute your information to resources. Some designers add a bibliography of sorts to the bottom of the infographic itself, while others include links on the Web page where they display the link. Whichever method you choose, it helps to lend authority to your data and let your visitors find more information, if they want it, and properly crediting your sources is always the polite thing to do.
Color Scheming and Graphics
Color is an important element to infographics. Some use only two or three shades, while others use up to ten. Chances are, certain information will use the same color. This helps your viewers to better understand your design. No matter how many or which colors you choose, make sure to choose them.
Many infographics rely on icons, and they’re also helpful if you provide a legend to your design. Consider downloading a pre-made set to save yourself some effort when creating an infographic. Although the information is contained within the text, your graphics should pop and catch the eye to attract the reader in the first place. They should also be high-quality, because infographics can be quite large.
The Internet offers a few tools to create your infographics, if you’re not a designer yourself. Visual.ly and Creately are cost-effective data visualization solutions for the inexperienced. These services often cost less than hiring a graphic designer; however, if you have the resources, an experienced designer can give your infographic an appearance that helps it stand out from the rest.
One of the reasons that infographics work so well is because they use statistics. Numbers and short sentences keep your design easy to digest and prevent your viewers from clicking away. Save your words for a blog post. Keep your statistics relevant and to the point. Break up text with your graphics. Because spacial usage is so important when it comes to infographics, don’t fear starting over or manipulating where text and graphics appear. In fact, if you use a wire framework for your infographic, you may be able to move content as if it were modular to save yourself some stress.