How to create an Infographic for your business yourself
Upgrade your data visualization reports with infographics. We created a simple guide to get you started!
When it comes to online advertising, infographics are fast becoming a trendy tool. It's informative, easy to understand, and a creative way to digest data. I am pretty sure you have crossed paths with an infographic or two if you spend a lot of your time online.
Learning how to make an infographic is quickly becoming a necessary skill for today's marketer. The truth is, you will need some designing chops to get to a proficient level in making these. But worry not! Because we live in a world where you can use an online graph maker to do this.
Apps such as Venngage can take a device novice and help them make top-notch quality infographics (among other things!) How the app does this is by letting you create your infographic using eye-catching and themed templates. Plus, they have hundreds of icons, photos, design elements, and fonts to choose from. The output? Fantastic-looking designs that look like they came straight out of a professional's studio.
But we are far getting ahead of ourselves here. Let's first answer the following question. What is an infographic?
An infographic is a way to represent data through the use of illustrations and visuals. It also uses image patterns to help readers see how information compares to one another.
In a nutshell, an infographic is just a way to "illustrate data" in a manner that makes it understandable to the viewer. Start by defining your target
geralt/Pixabay
Before you start learning how to design infographics, we need to agree first on who the intended audience will be. It might be tempting to try to cater to the billions of people out there (Don't!) Focus on who you really need to reach and go from there.
Why is this important? Because knowing your audience lets you know what design elements to use, what words or jargon you can get away with, and how much data overload you can put in. Think about it, an infographic catered to the Botany Society can contain more precise data and many scientific words and language.
Can you do the same if you are doing an infographic for, let's say, a teenage Kpop group? Nope, you will need a different design style to communicate with their fans better. What are the topic and purpose?
Think of your infographic's main topic like a good story. The reader's journey should have an exciting beginning, an engaging middle, and a satisfying ending. Having all these will help you understand what elements and words you will need to put in your layout.
The next step is to define the goals of your infographic. Is it to inform? Educational purposes? Shock factor? or are you trying to simplify a very complex idea?
These are essential questions you should answer first. Remember that learning how to design infographics successfully will hinge on how well you can communicate your data—knowing what your end goal will greatly synthesize with how your design will end up. Gather the data
Time to gather the meat of the whole infographic — the data. Now that you know your audience, defined a goal and a purpose, it is now time to gather all supportive data.
This next step is crucial! That is to make sure that your data is factual. Data based on actual studies and professional surveys are great treasure troves of data. Weed out relevant data from those that will clutter your infographic.
Knowing what type of information is best suited for infographics will help you achieve your desired results.
You should always fact-check your data yourself to make sure that nothing is amiss. Lastly, cite your sources!Get designing!
Firmbee/Pixabay
Everything is set for you to start designing your infographics. Now, throughout all of this, your end result should always be an infographic that communicates quickly yet educates your readers the best. This statement is always true, whoever your audience may be.
So choose which elements you should use. What icons best suit your goals. What type of graph are you going to use for this one? A chart, a guide, a timeline, etc.
Color is also something you should use to your advantage. Different colors can emit different emotional responses to people. Choosing the right one for your target audience will be very wise.Keep it Simple. Keep it Informative
Visuals have been used as an effective teaching tool throughout the ages. I mean, why do you think our first educational books are plastered with photos? Because images accompanying lessons and words are powerful mediums to engage our curiosity and brains.
Infographics, in a way, are catered to people of all ages. You just tweak it here and there to suit specific groups. But the result should always stay the same. It is a simple yet engaging layout designed to educate and inform most effectively.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. I say an excellent infographic may even be worth more.
