If you have valuable information that you want to share with your audience, infographics are a great way to get the basics of your point across without boring your audience with any extra details.
Infographics are visual representations of data used to quickly and succinctly inform a viewer of a certain topic. They are convenient tools that can communicate and condense information into a form that can be easily consumed. They can also help to make data more interesting and impactful when created with effective design principles. Plus, they can break up long-form content into a more digestible format.
Now you’re probably wondering, “What makes a good infographic?” Well, these tips will help you to structure one that is not only visually appealing but is also useful to your audience. Let’s get started!
1. Determine the Target Audience
First things first, know that every piece of content you put out there should be specifically made with a target audience in mind. Infographics are no different.
Without having a clear picture of your ideal audience, it will be very difficult to create an infographic that resonates with them, or with anyone for that matter. Your ideal buyer persona will determine the topic you choose, the tone you set, the dimensions of your infographic, and the visual techniques you use to convey your message.
If you are creating graphics for your company or business, then you have probably already done the work to pinpoint your target audience. However, if you are designing for another purpose, always think about who your information is intended for.
2. Define the Purpose of your Infographic
Now that you’ve determined your target audience, you can now define the ultimate purpose of your infographic. Do you want to give a quick overview of a complex topic? Outline the flow of a certain process or provide data in the form of stats? When coming up with the purpose of your infographic, ask yourself what you want your audience to take away by looking at it and how it may solve one of their problems.
Once you pinpoint the overall goal of your infographic, it will be easier for you to come up with a design that supports this goal. Here is a guide on the different types of infographic layouts that can help you format your information effectively. Formatting your infographic in a way that aligns with your data serves the reader by improving legibility.
3. Write an Interesting Title
An interesting title is essentially the bait that will attract and compel people to take a look at your infographic. You want to come up with a catchy title that can give readers a sense of what your infographic is about.
Try your best to sum up all of the data that you will be communicating in a succinct and interesting title that prompts your audience to read and share. If you can include a keyword in your title as well, do so! It will improve the search relevance of your infographic to a certain extent. Just make sure to include the title of your infographic in the alt text of the image.
4. Use Statistics
Statistics can help to back up your claims, and they help to give your infographic a sense of credibility. Make sure to do an adequate amount of research on your topic so that you can present accurate data to your audience.
When you present this data, remember that you need to do so visually. Show statistics and percentages in a way that engages the viewer because this is more valuable than just listing out random facts and figures. Of course, make sure to fact-check the claims that you make and provide sources when necessary.
5. Make Your Design Cohesive
Even if you have no design experience, you must ensure that the design of your infographic is cohesive. No one wants to look at an infographic that is cluttered and all over the place as far as the design is concerned. You want to make your infographic enjoyable for your viewers to look at, without putting their eyes under any stress.
To accomplish this, choose 1-2 fonts and colors that aid in creating the tone you want to use to reach your audience. Fonts make a huge impact on the readability of your infographic. You want to choose fonts that are easy to read, and, if you choose more than one to use, make sure that they complement one another when used as headings or body text.
Color will also impact the readability of your infographic, so make sure to do a bit of research to help you choose the right shades. The colors you choose should be visually cohesive and they help to achieve the overall purpose of your infographic. For example, if your infographic is “A Quick Guide on Acceptable Recycling Materials,” maybe use colors associated with recycling like green or blue. Or if your infographic is about “10 Dental Marketing Tips,” use light and approachable colors to create a trustworthy feel.
6. Leave Some Negative Space
Like I stated earlier, no one wants to look at an infographic that is cluttered and all over the place. When your design is too busy or too flashy, it becomes hard for viewers to pick out the information that you are trying to convey. That defeats the whole purpose of creating the graphic in the first place!
To keep this from happening, make sure to leave some negative space (also known as white space) in your infographic design. Negative space is simply empty space that gives your viewers’ eyes a chance to rest in between pieces of information. It also gives your design a bit of contrast which also improves the readability of your design.
Don’t feel the need to overload your infographic with random designs or graphics just to take up space. Remember that negative space does not mean wasted space, and it helps to give order and flow to your infographic. Overall, be mindful with your design, and only include things that help to convey your message.
7. Keep it Simple
Remember that infographics are used to condense information into an easily digestible format. Their entire purpose is to *simplify* potentially complex topics so that they are easy to understand.
Therefore, it is okay to keep your designs simple and to the point. It might feel like you have to stuff all the information that you possibly can into your piece, but you don’t have to do that.
Pretend that your audience knows absolutely nothing about your topic, and then try to explain yourself visually with your infographic.
8. Include a Call-to-Action
What do you want your audience to do after they see your infographic? Do you want them to share your piece on social media? Or maybe you hope they’ll check out your website and contact your business. Whatever it is that you hope to have your audience do, make sure to let them know with a call to action at the end of your infographic. Include your logo near your call to action to let your audience know who is providing them with value and to wrap up your infographic cleanly.
Free Resources to Make Your Own Infographics
We know that not everyone looking to create an infographic has technical graphic design skills or even an eye for design at all. Luckily, there are plenty of free resources out there to get you started.
Canva
Canva is a wonderful resource that offers users 100s of different infographic templates to choose from! They have plenty of different fonts, graphics, and photos to help you enhance your design as well. Canva is a fan favorite resource to use when
making infographics because of how easy it makes the process.
Canva is free with limited access, $9.99/month for a Pro subscription, and $30/month for Enterprise.
Venngage
Similar to Canva, Venngage also has a wide range of templates that users can work with and make their own. They have a more technical approach to infographic design than Canva does, providing users with customizable charts, graphs, and tables. Not only does Venngage allow users to create effective infographics, but it also has a very informative blog filled with tons of infographic design advice.
Venngage is free with limited access, with additional packages starting at $19/month.
Visme
Finally, Visme is another online design resource that has a bunch of infographic templates to choose from. They have several design features to help make your job easier such as generated font pairings and premade calls to action. Like both of the options above, users can upload their own photos and assets to Visme to personalize their infographics even more.
Visme is also free with limited access, with packages starting at $15/month.
Now, hopefully, you see that you definitely don’t have to be a graphic designer to create a good infographic. Infographics have become a notable tool for digital marketing, and they don’t have to be complicated to create. Keep these 8 rules in mind when creating effective infographics, and you’ll be on your way to creating effective data visualizations.
