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Tips on Making Effective Infographics

Last Updated: 6 months ago by BrodNeil

Infographics are one of the most important content marketing forms today.  Many readers want simpler ways to understand numbers and data, more visual ways to follow instructions, and more interesting ways to learn about serious topics.      

Making effective infographics is not just making any visual content.  Especially now that infographics can be found in so many websites, you have to make sure your infographic will stand out with relevant information, understandable layout, and attention-grabbing design.

How do you plan for an effective infographic design?

While we are talking about infographics, the best way to show you how to plan an effective infographic design is through an infographic itself.   Below is an infographic made by Visme on how you can plan your infographic design in 9 easy steps.

how to make an infographic by visme.co
Source: Visme.co

Let me just explain the above steps quickly:

Step 1: Identify your target audience

Who are you making the infographic for? This should be the first thing you need to answer.  Infographics should not be generic and should not be for all people.  Instead, they should be specific and relevant for a target audience.  Identifying your audience and knowing what they want can help you design an effective infographic. This way, it would be easier for you to set the details of your infographic, such as the tone, the dimensions, the colors, etc. while still being consistent with your brand.   

Step 2: Define your infographic goals and objectives

The next thing you need to do is to identify your goal for your infographic.  What do you want to do with your content? Do you want to give an overview of a certain topic, summarize a long article, explain a complex process, display findings or data?  Defining your goals can help you find a proper template or make a proper design for your infographic. 

Step 3: Choose your topic

The third step in making an effective infographic is to choose a topic.  The topic should be relevant to your target audience and must be focused on a single topic.  An infographic is not a bin where you throw all your information and numbers just for sake of creating an informative presentation.  There must be a sense of focus and simplicity, without missing out on the important details. 

Step 4: Gather reliable and up-to-date information

Effective infographics are factual, current, and trustworthy.   When you gather information, you must make sure that they are from trusted sources and are up-to-date.  Especially when you have a lot of numbers and statistics in your infographic, be sure to double-check their authenticity and accuracy. 

Step 5: Cite your sources

As you gather your information, be sure to note down your sources.  You would need to cite them in your infographic.  You can cite your sources towards the end of your infographic or in the body, as long as it does not interrupt the flow of your presentation.

Step 6: Determine how to visualize your data

Before you make your infographic layout, you need to decide how to visualize your data.  You can visualize your data in different ways.  You can use flowcharts for simplifying a process; you can use charts, tables, graphs, and Venn diagrams for different statistics and comparisons; and use different icons for visualizing other information. 

Step 7: Set the tone for your infographic

The tone of your presentation is another thing you need to decide on.  You can have it in a friendly, fun, humorous, academic, or a more serious tone.  The tone will depend on the information you want to relay, the target audience of your infographic, and your business brand. 

Step 8: Write the copy and create a textual outline

This step involves the texts that will go with your visuals.  You arrange your texts into sections and write them in short, concise sentences or phrases that are easy to read and understand.  The sections must be streamlined and consistent with your tone. 

Step 9: Sketch a wireframe of your infographic

Now that you have everything set – from tone, to text, to visuals, you can now make a wireframe for your infographic.  You can simply use your pen and paper, a whiteboard, a wireframing software, or use Illustrator or Word. 

Make a skeleton of how you want to organize your infographic. Consider the text sections and visuals that you have and see how you can put them in place. 

Now that you have planned your infographic, you can proceed with designing your infographic.  You can do the designing yourself using templates or hire a visual artist.

What are other tips on making effective infographics?

Making an effective infographic depends on how you plan, design, and execute it.   Here are more tips you can consider to ensure you are doing the right thing:

Keep it simple

Effective infographics are not only informative, but also clear and easy to understand.  There is no better way to keep it that way than being simple and clutter-free.  Keep your sentences or phrases concise and avoid using too much visuals.

Maintain balance between visuals and texts

Too many words and lacking in visuals do not make good infographics – they’re boring.  Too many visuals and very limited text are also not the right way to do it – they may not be informative enough.  Effective infographics must possess a balance between visuals and texts.  They must be visually appealing yet informative.     

Make it easy to read and view

In designing your infographic, you need to make sure that is easy on the eyes of the viewer.  Ensure that the smallest font is readable.  The size of your font must balance with the size of your visuals. 

Remember to also add white space when laying out your infographic.  The white space will make your infographic easier to read, comprehend, and follow.  White space around a text or visual can also help highlight that object.   

Don’t make your infographic too long

If you make your infographic too long, you will lose the interest of your readers.  Make sure the length is just enough to convey your message and keep your readers’ attention.  This is also the reason why it’s important to choose a specific and focused topic, so that you won’t have to contain a lot of information in one infographic.    

Make a powerful headline

To make effective infographics, you must have powerful headlines – attention-grabbing and relevant.  Make sure your title really describes what your infographic is all about in the most interesting way possible to grab the reader’s attention.           

Focus on the flow

Infographics are like stories.  Make sure the flow of your content is seamless and sequentially laid out without missing major points.      

Animate your infographics

If you are hiring a visual artist or you know how to do it yourself, you can consider animating your visuals.  This will make your content more visually appealing and engaging. 

Follow infographic best practices

One of the best ways to make effective infographics is to follow best practices.  Find good examples and see how you can improve your infographic. 

Promote

Your infographic cannot reach your target audience if you do not promote it.  Especially if you do not have many subscribers yet, promoting your content through different platforms is crucial.  You can request users to share your infographic or have it featured in other sources.  Be sure to also make your infographic shareable with social plugins so it can have the potential to go viral.

Making effective infographics can be intimidating to think about, but as long as you follow the tips we shared with you, we are confident you can do it well. 

Sources:

https://neilpatel.com/blog/12-infographic-tips/
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