Secret Sauce Tips for Creating Kick-ass Infographics
It’s ironical. The good folk at Hub Spot say that an infographic is 30x more likely to be read than a text article.
And here I am attempting to share my insights on the best way to create a great infographic in mostly plain text. Perhaps I will attempt to do that once I am done writing this piece.
So we all know why infographics are hugely successful. And the team at Neomam are giving us 13 Reasons why in this awesomely interactive infographic here One key reason that goes beyond is because we are now time-poor and attention deficient. We’ve forgotten to read a book. We consume news and events in character counts. Heck – I’ve even stopped reading my favourite Mint Lounge from cover to cover.
The infographic simplifies life by making a point. Simply and visually. Creating a great infographic is not difficult – but it does require going to back to basics and using common sense.
Read on for my 5 not-so-secret sauce tips for Kick-ass Infographics.
1.
What do you want to say in the Infographic ?
It sounds incredibly simple – but it’s not easy. You should be able to write down what you wish to convey in your infographic in one single and concise sentence. Check out the infographic alongside. Its objective is to showcase a large variety of craft merchandise from different artists and drive engagement and traffic to an online store. When I began working on it – my task was to ensure the merchandise was aesthetically displayed minus any clutter. The Independence Day theme was subtly woven in – also keeping in mind that this is a time when lots of online shopping takes place.
So go figure – are you sharing knowledge, promoting a brand, deriving insights, or letting your infographic solve a problem ?
2.
Where will you be sharing your infographic ?
Facebook ? Twitter ? Pinterest ? A blog ? A website ? All of the above ?
Different platforms have different ly sized placeholders and image options. Even on a blog or on Pinterest – an endless series of vertical scrolling will ensure your consumer loses interest. And what if you want to upload it on Facebook or Twitter ? Your work will be ruthlessly cropped out of shape. Hang on – there’s a solution there. Ever tried creating a horizontal infographic ? At least your work will be visible and if you are careful – readable too. The trick also lies in doing test uploads and tweaking aspect ratios.
3.
What kind of look and feel will work ?
You need to keep your core audience and subject matter in mind. Festive communication allows for .. well .. a festive appearance. A business or research subject needs to be precise and clear-cut in its treatment. A youthful audience will allow you to take liberties with colours, fonts, graphics. While a great art partner can make life easier – the lack of one should not be an issue – with enough examples available for inspiration.
Do ensure you max out on the visual aspect of your work. Experiments are fine but within the framework of your border lines !
4.
How can my work be memorable ?
Tell a story ! Because stories make things easy to understand and remember as we turn them in to experiences. Use metaphors, strong, positive words and associations. Show results – especially those which are quantified. Have a clear hierarchy of information. And use infographics in unusual ways. An infographic based résumé ? Or a portfolio based infographic ? Think. Out-of-the-box !
5.
Where do I begin ?
Write down what you want to say using pen and paper. Try to create a structure as you work and organize your work in to a hierarchy of information that flows naturally.
Try to figure out where all will the visual elements be needed.
Edit, edit, edit.
You’ll have a mind-map or wireframe of sorts on hand – which can be used as a basis for your creative resource to work with or as an input for your infographic creation tool.
So while it’s not that easy to make a great infographic, it’s not difficult either. Like I said – all you need to do is get back to basics.
Happy Infographic-ing !
