3 Simple Infographic Tips

Awhile back, I wrote about the difference between data viz and infographics. In short, an infographic is more of a story, and a data visualization is more of a tool. (For more, see original tip here.) Seems nonprofit communications folks everywhere have jumped on the infographic bandwagon. The thinking goes something like this: if they won’t pay attention to what we have to say about climate change, homelessness, or education in written form, maybe they will if we say it in pictures. So they hire a graphic designer if they have some extra change in their pockets or they DIY with programs like Canva or Spark. But an infographic is no cure-all for your communication woes. Pictures don’t always beat words, particularly confusing pictures.

In my experience, the most effective infographics . . .

1) Are simple. They employ just a few visual elements (pictures or charts), words, and numbers. I’ve seen many infographics which are a jumble of clip art or icons labeled with numbers. A few might work. Too many and you’ve lost your audience.

2) Have a clear point of entry. They include visual signposts that tell the viewer where to look first and where to go from there. Some do this by making the infographic narrow and long creating a clear pathway from top to bottom. Some use numbers or arrows. Without a marked trail to follow, my eyes jump around an infographic. And because no clear message or story emerges, I give up.

3) Use just a few colors. They use color to direct attention to the most important elements of the message. Black and white and one accent color often works well.

See other data tips in this series for more information on how to effectively visualize and make good use of your organization's data. 

Data Viz Vs. Infographic

Infographic and data visualization often are used interchangeably. And, indeed, the distinction is not hard and fast. They both focus on showing rather than telling. They explain something using more visual cues than words or numbers and so take advantage of our visual superpowers. (For more on these superpowers, see Tip #1.) The difference is that an infographic is more of a story, and a data visualization is more of a tool.

An infographic typically uses images to lead the viewer through a story. Some of those images might be visualizations of data. For example, the point of this infographic is to show the viewer the negative impact of homelessness in contrast to the positive impact of a program called Ability Housing. Infographics are usually meant to explain or show something to people who are not all that familiar with the topic.

A data visualization, unlike an infographic, uses visual cues (shape, color, size, etc.) primarily to represent data. Think bar chart, line graph, pie chart, and maps. And though the creator of the data visualization may have a story he/she wants to tell, the viewer can use the visualization to discern any number of stories.

For example, on the quadrants chart below, each circle represents an educational strategy. The strategies are plotted along two measures: how much importance educators place on the strategies and how often they put these strategies into practice. We can use this chart as a tool to decide what to do next. Clearly, most of the educators represented in the data already feel these strategies are important. But they use the tactics less than 50 percent of the time. So we need not waste time explaining the value of the strategies to them. Instead, we should figure out what is getting in the way of their implementing the strategies.

So if you are looking to tell a specific story particularly to an outside audience, consider an infographic. If you are looking for a tool to explore data, consider a data visualization.

See other data tips in this series for more information on how to effectively visualize and make good use of your organization's data.