What is an Infographic? (Examples & How to make One) (2024)

What are infographics? There’s no doubt you’ve seen an infographic design before. Whether you knew what you were looking at or not is another story.

They are used on different websites and social media, as well as printed on paper sometimes. So, you may be wondering – what are infographics good for? How are they used? Is it worth your time to promote one for your business?

Not to worry! We have compiled a guide that will explain everything you need to know about infographics, infographic design and how to use them for digital marketing campaigns.

What is an infographic?

It’s only right to begin the guide by explaining what infographics really are.

By definition, an infographic is a visual representation of data, knowledge, or information. The word infographic is a compound word that literally breaks down to “information” and “graphic”. They are used to represent information that’s complex in a clear and quick manner. Using them as visual communication tool is helpful, as they make complex idea(s) easier to remember by enhancing the human eye’s ability to distinguish trends and patterns.

Infographics not only tell a story, but they also help organize information and make it easier for the viewer to process. This is because regardless how much information you are displaying, it can be laid out into pictures, graphs or other visual elements and minimal text.

What is an Infographic? Explained in an Infographic

What does an infographic template look like? Well, You are looking at an infographic example right now! Infographics are a fun and quick way to learn about a topic without a ton of heavy reading. There are many different styles of infographics and data visualizations. The ultimate goal for all infographics is visual content to be shared. Learn what makes a great infographic. Learn why they are useful for everyone. Here are some great tips to create a viral infographic and the numbers to back it all up.

via customermagnetism.com

What elements are used in the infographic? (Infographic elements)

When it comes to creating a good infographic outline, there should be specific elements included. First, you want to make sure plenty of visual elements are included. These can include reference icons, color, charts (e.g. a pie chart, bar charts, line charts, etcetera), data points and graphic elements. Next, it will need to contain content. Some good information to include for this is statistics, references, and time frames. Finally, the most important part is the element of knowledge. In other words, lots of facts!

If you ensure your information visualization contains each of these elements, then you’ve created something that is effective and worth sharing.

Types of Infographics

One of the best things about using static infographics to get your point across is that they are versatile, and there are many types. The infographic template you choose will depend on what kind of information you’re sharing, as well as who your audience is. So, if you are creating infographics to teach children a concept, you will want to choose one of the easier layouts. Whereas, it may be easier for adults or an older audience to understand a more complicated infographic template. Here are some examples of types of infographics:

• Statistical infographics
• List infographics
• Hierarchical infographics
• Informational infographic
• Process infographic
• Comparison infographics
• Timeline infographic
• Infographic resume
• Interactive infographic
• Animated infographics
• Explainer infographics
• Infographic posters
• And many more!

Alternatively, you can create your own custom infographics from scratch.

History of Infographics

Now that we’ve talked a little about what infographics are, it’s important to take a brief look at the history of infographics. Perhaps the most surprising detail is that while you would think they are a new concept created during the age of technology, infographics actually date back about 32,000 years.

The first infographics were found in the form of cave paintings around 30,000 BC. These pictures depicted animals and other resources found in the local area. Since they represent data visually, they are certainly considered infographics.

Egyptian hieroglyphics from around 3,000 BC are also good examples of ancient infographics. Egyptians used these photos to tell stories of religion, work, and life. These are just a few of the oldest examples, but information graphics can be found in many forms throughout history since.

Why Use Infographics?

Infographics are beneficial to businesses. They are a great way to provide your audience with important though easy to understand information. Here are four reasons why you should use infographics.

Helps Clarify the Message and Simplify Communication

The truth is it’s not always easy to get your point across using only words. Most people will see the page and move away from it because either they don’t have time or aren’t compelled to read an entire page of just text.

This is especially true if your content is technical, confusing, and too in-depth, as your readers may struggle to understand the point you’re trying to make. In today’s world, people want answers quickly and need to know what you’re explaining in the easiest manner possible with minimal text.

This is where graphic visual representations come into play as part of your content marketing strategy. They help clarify your point and make it easy for your readers to immediately see what you’re explaining. When the information you’re displaying is in an easily digestible visual format, readers are more likely to engage. Not only will they take the time to read your graphic visual representation, but they will also absorb the information better.

Audience Engagement

If you are looking to increase audience engagement, information graphics are perhaps the best way. These visualization tools work to make your readers interested in your information. If members of your audience don’t have time to read an entire page, they will skim the content. This increases the chances of them missing the point altogether, or taking away an unintended impression of what you were trying to say.

Yet, when your webpages are broken up by infographics, it will cause the person to stop scrolling and engage with the content. This will help prevent an overload of information and help keep the visitor on your site longer.

Bring Legitimacy

Infographics can help bring legitimacy to your webpage. They are the best way to showcase knowledge that you’ve compiled through research. See, when you present statistical data that relates to your field, your audience will know that you are knowledgeable and consider you an expert. Presenting the relevant data and infographic content in a clear manner will help your audience to feel more confident about choosing your business because you’ve taken the time to learn and present your facts.

Helps Drive Results

If you’re looking for an easy way to drive results, infographics is your answer. You already know that they will help engage your audience, but the best part is that they are shareable! Hence, they are easy for your audience to share on social media, which helps drive leads to your website.

Think back to the last time you scrolled through Facebook, how many infographics did you see? There’s no doubt you saw at least a few because it’s not uncommon for good ones to go viral.

Companies commonly use them to increase brand awareness, and for good reason. They help viewers get a good feel for your brand since infographic design is usually focused on both your company’s branding and it’s unique style.

Creating infographics also helps you reach your target audience faster since the information will appeal to those who are looking for it. So, when they’re looking for information relating to a specific industry, coming across your infographic will also make them interested in your company. This is a great way to connect with potential customers who are already interested.

How to Make an Infographic?

As you can see, infographics are very helpful. But, how do you create ones that are effective? First, you must acknowledge that there’s room for growth and change. Since graphic design is all about using imagination and innovation to provide clarity, infographics will always evolve throughout time. So, if you are looking to create one, here are some things you should keep in mind.

Who Will Create the Infographic?

Most importantly, you will need to decide who will create your infographic. This is the most vital step. It takes a good amount of effort and time to create an infographic that will actually drive results. Therefore, you must make sure you are equipped with the right infographic tools to create one that’s successful. Check out our step-by-step guide, this guide clearly explains the steps you need to take to make an infographic.

If you plan to create your own visual, you’ll need to use the right tools. Especially if you’ve never created one before. In this case, you’ll want to use infographic maker tools that make the information design process easy.

Even though there are available programs that can help you build professional infographics, you may still decide to use a web designer, graphic designer or design agency. This is recommended for any company that can fit it in their budget. The truth is, marketers can create stunning infographics that are effective because they have experience with data visualization, and the overall skills to create ones that will work for your needs.

Look at Examples

There are good infographics examples all over the internet. Looking at existing ones is the best way to get ideas of how you want yours to look. If you’ve never created one before, you probably need inspiration. We have lots of illustrations on our site that cover a broad range of topics such as health, politics, food and drink, and much more.

Decide on Your Topic

Infographics are centered around a specific topic. It’s important that the topic is the focus and the information provided isn’t too general.

Let’s say you operate a web design agency. You want to create an infographic about why companies should use professional web design for their website. If you create an infographic that simply talks about web design but has no clear direction, your audience will not find it helpful. To make one that’s effective, you will need to include statistics. Also include the reasons why a company can benefit from a professional website.

If you can’t decide on a topic, keep looking at infographics created by other people. Just be sure you don’t directly steal someone else’s idea or content, instead use their idea to come up with a new concept.

What Will Your Audience Learn?

After you choose a topic, you’ll need to determine what information you can include that will support it. In other words, determine what you want your audience to learn from your information graphic. Keep in mind that it should bring value to your reader, so create a clear objective and make sure you stick to it.

Coming up with a clear goal will help keep you on topic with your infographic. This is important because an infographic should do more than just look good. So, make sure to obtain plenty of useful data through research that relates to your topic and is worth learning. You need to leave your audience feeling educated and informed on your topic.

What Makes a Design Effective?

It’s a fact that the human brain looks for patterns within visual information to help make sense of the world. This is important to know when designing an infographic that’s effective.

Here are some practices to keep in mind:

• Group related information by using shapes, lines, and borders
• Use a contrasting color palette to draw attention to where it needs to be
• Use three font styles to create a text hierarchy
• Illustrations, images, and icons make key facts more memorable

How to Use Infographic as Leads

Now that you understand all about infographics and how to create them, it’s important that you understand the proper way to use them. Here are three ideas to generate leads:

Use the Infographic to Promote an Offer

How does your company currently generate leads? Perhaps one of those ways is by creating content that’s downloadable. Choose one of your current offers and break it down into different ways it can be promoted.

To begin, you may want to create a list of 10 interesting things about it, such as important information it contains or problems it can solve. Think of things like statistics and other bits of helpful trivia that relate to it. Once you’ve compiled this information you simply need to figure out how to lay it out to design your infographic.

Write a Blog Post

If you currently have a blog on your website, this is the perfect place to showcase your beautiful information graphic. While you don’t need to write a lot of content, it will need to be optimized for SEO so it ranks on major web browsers. For the most part, your infographic will speak for itself. However, you need somewhere to exhibit your infographic creation. Also be sure that your title is optimized because this will help people find it and a good title will make people want to click on it. Don’t forget to share it on your Social Media channels, in particular Pinterest, Twitter and Facebook.

Submit to An Infographic Website

Another popular option is to submit your infographic to an infographic website. Such sites may charge a nominal fee, but they will promote your creation and ensure that it reaches your target audience. This will save you a great deal of time, and help your infographic reach more people than other outlets can achieve.

In conclusion, infographics are a great way to visualize large amounts of data and content. They are not only appealing to the eye, but people love to share them!