Infographics are a great tool for conveying information in a clear and visual way. While we might have moved past the heady days of their huge popularity in the noughties, a good infographic remains really useful for use in brand and internal communications.
The digiio team considers: what makes a good infographic?
The success of your infographic depends on two factors: the right information paired with great design. Let’s take a look at each factor in turn.
Great infographic design
When it comes to designing and producing infographics, there are several principles that fall under the banner of great design.
Optimised for the right format
First off, it’s important to get the basics right. Where are you going to use the infographic? If it’s to be used in a printed magazine, for example, the size, resolution and colour settings are going to be very different for an infographic you plan to use on Facebook.
It may be that you need to produce a several different versions of the infographic if you are planning to use it on multiple platforms, media or purposes. By planning ahead, you can keep costs down and avoid creating unnecessary rework for your designers.
On brand
You want your infographics to be recognisably yours. This means keeping to your brand’s existing style guide. Always share this with your designers before they start work!
Hierarchy of information
One of the key principles of good infographic design relates to the hierarchy of information.
To convey information clearly, your designers will want to use a variety of font styles, sizes and effects. To do this effectively, your designers need to be clear about what the most important facts are. This means they will need to work closely with your insights experts.
If you’re going to be producing a number or series of infographics, it’s a good idea to formalise the style of each presentation or hierarchical layer, so it’s easy for your designers to create the same look and feel throughout.
Clear presentation of important information
Think about how information can be best presented graphically. This might mean using graphs or icons within the design. Try to avoid using too much text, if possible. Look for creative, visual ways to present the information instead.
Eye-popping graphics
Integrating additional design elements is important if your infographic is going to stand out. These design elements need to be coherent in terms of colour and style. Close partnership between your designers and insights experts is also helpful here – a good brief always helps your designers to be more creative.
Clear call to action
It’s surprising how often this is overlooked! What do you want your audience to do after they’ve read your infographic? Your CTA should make it as easy as possible for them to do this.
The right information
While design is, of course, important, having the right information is absolutely vital if your infographic is going to succeed.
Be clear who your audience is
To do this effectively, it can help to define a target persona (or personas) before you begin. This way, you clearly understand who your intended audience is – and what matters to them. Share these personas with your insights experts and your designers before they start work!
Trusted
When you are researching facts and snippets of information for your infographic, use only trusted sources that can be referenced. You don’t want to damage your brand by including unrealistic statistics or citing untrustworthy or biased sources.
Ideally, list all your sources at the bottom of your infographic, so readers can see clearly from where the information has been sourced. If you’re not happy including your sources in this way, perhaps that snippet shouldn’t be included in your infographic?
Timely
The other important factor to consider when considering which sources to include in your infographic is the date of publication. Don’t include results from surveys that are out of date.
The disruption of the pandemic makes this more important than ever (read more about this in our blog). A lot has changed over the last three years – make sure that you aren’t using statistics that are skewed because of this.
Insightful
Before you include a piece of information in your infographic, ask yourself how it adds value for your intended audience. If it’s not relevant or it doesn’t add value, it doesn’t belong on your infographic. You only have limited space on any infographic – so don’t waste it.
Novel
Does the information you include on your infographic tell your target audience something new? You don’t need to apply this rule to every element of information; some information may not be novel, but important to set the scene. However, bear in mind that the more novel the information, the more sharable your infographic.
The best way to ensure you include novel information is to commission your own survey or research. If you’d like help with this, reach out to our team. Our insights experts can assist with qualitative and quantitative research.
Concise
You don’t want your infographic to be heavy with too much text. Be clear about what information you are including and why. Spend time editing and editing again so that you reduce the word count to a minimum. Remember, as you edit, to be precise with your wording.
Get in touch with the digiio team!
As we’ve seen, the success of your infographic depends on two factors: the right information plus great design.
Thanks to our expertise in both market insights and digital design, digiio is your perfect partner for producing dazzling infographics.
If you’d like to find out more about how we can help you, please reach out. Contact us: hello@digiio.com