Saturday, 12 January 2013

Infographic design secrets

 10 tips for dynamic data visualisation ..

Great infographic design can really get you noticed. It's a powerful tool for communicating complex ideas efficiently. Follow these simple steps for success...

Infographic design starts with 'why?'

The key to a memorable infographic is to understand its purpose. What are you trying to achieve?

Make the complicated, uncomplicated...

There's an old clich that proclaims that "a picture is worth a thousand words."  The best examples encapsulate or explain an idea in a simple, visual way.

Map it out first

Don't make it up as you go along. Sit down with a pencil and paper and map out the flow of your infographic before you do any serious illustrative work. Consider using sidebars to break things up and make the design more digestible.

Don't try to include everything

Some infographics are huge and require some serious screen-scrolling before you reach the end. These might be taking the format too far. So, strip away redundant data and concentrate on the key message.
The Psychology of Colour, created for PaintersofLouisville.com by nowsourcing.com. Click to see the full infographic design.

Offer a fresh perspective

Don't just take data and visualise it with pie charts and bar graphs.
Illustrate data sets and highlight patterns within them, make sure you give your data a twist and come at the presentation from a fresh perspective. See The Psychology of Colour infographic above and take a look at 10 great infographics (to inspire you to create your own).

Do your research3

It doesn't matter how pretty your infographic design looks if you've got your numbers wrong. Research. Then research some more.

Make your artwork stand out

Don't just ape another infographic's visuals. Bring your own style into play and create something that truly stands out.

Choose a delivery system

The basic infographic type is the 'explainer' - a clever, visual representation of basic data.
Consider infographic design that compares and contrasts data (like 'Geek vs Nerd' below; tells a story through a timeline/flow chart; or annotates something, like a product. Lists can also be visualised, as can 'how to'/tutorial content.
Geek vs Nerds, created by mastersinit.org. Click to see the full infographic design.

Minimise the words

Communicate ideas with shapes, graphs, diagrams and pictures. If you have to explain your infographic then it isn't doing its job.

Make it sharable

Include social media buttons on your blog or website. Like any blog post, your infographic design should be topped with a great headline to help it get noticed on less visual channels like Twitter, Reddit and RSS feed readers.
Source: http://www.creativebloq.com/graphic-design-tips/great-infographic-design-tips-1232813

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