Data is a necessary commodity. Data and information are readily available at your fingertips because of the accessibility of the internet. Because of this, data visualization and infographics are gaining popularity.
These two concepts may be new to many who don’t engage in marketing. Whether you are a marketer or a student using PowerPoint for school presentations, having data visualization and infographics knowledge can be a game changer.
There is currently a thirst for engaging and relevant content. You can create visually appealing and easy slides using predefined and professionally made presentation templates.
You will find this article helpful in transforming complex information into infographics. Keep reading to know more!
Understanding Data Visualizations and Infographics
Data visualization and infographics are two different concepts but share a relationship. Data visualizations are visual elements that help viewers see and understand data better.
Some examples of data visualizations are pie charts, bar charts, Venn diagrams, maps, and line graphs. Data visualizations are often found in infographics, brochures, reports, and presentations.
Infographics or informational graphics, on the other hand, are visual aids that tell a compelling story using other visual elements like illustrations, narratives, photos, icons, and data visualizations. Using infographics helps display data, survey findings, and research results in a visually appealing way.
Interactive infographics are considered highly important in digital marketing. Interactive infographics result when static infographics take into consideration user input and interaction. This type of infographic encourages a deeper conversation with your audience, allowing them to engage with you and develop faster brand recall.
You can make your infographics interactive by embedding a video or audio file. You can also add clickable buttons that can hyperlink to particular sites or blog posts. You can also add popups and animation.
Data visualizations need storytelling for the readers to understand the information provided. When data visualizations become part of an infographic, they start to have meaning.
Using Data Visualization and Other Visual Elements in Infographics
You can create infographics that are interactive and engaging by taking into consideration the points below:
1. Knowing Your Target Audience and Purpose
A good data visualization in infographics can better communicate complex information to its audience. This is possible when the infographic’s creator knows their target audience. They can effectively communicate the information using appropriate language and humor to convey their message.
Information can be complex that ordinary people may not understand when you explain it to them or make them read about it. Ordinary people can better appreciate and understand complex information when it is explained to them using visuals like infographics.
2. Data Collection and Effectively Communicate of Complex Information
Aside from knowing who your target audience will be, the next step is gathering data. Gathering accurate and reliable data is the foundation of a successful infographic. No matter how attractive your infographic is, readers will not share it when the information is unreliable.
Uninteresting and unreliable data will discourage your readers and will negatively impact your marketing efforts. As much as possible, use accurate and reliable information paired with engaging and interactive visual elements to produce a strong and compelling visual story.
3. Choosing the Best Data Visualization to Use
After knowing who your target audience will be and having collected all the necessary data, it is time to choose the ideal data visualizations for your infographic.
You can organize your data using visually appealing elements. Depending on your infographic’s topic, you can use several visual elements, such as a timeline, line graph, or stacked bar graph.
You can use several data visualizations in your infographic to represent several data points you have collected. You can make your visual content organized and more understandable using data visualizations.
4. Infographic Layout
Knowing how many data visualizations you will use for your infographic makes it easier to decide on the best infographic layout. Also, using a visual hierarchy is useful when sharing complex data.
Visual hierarchy helps give your content context and meaning based on the pattern the readers have observed. The purpose of using visual hierarchy is for readers to understand the relationship or correlation among the infographic’s content elements.
You can apply visual hierarchy in your infographics by choosing any of the methods below.
- Color hues. You can assign different colors to represent the different levels of information based on importance.
- Font sizes. Another way to show hierarchy in your infographics is to use different font sizes. The most important information will have the largest font size, and it decreases as the information becomes less important.
- Different styles. You can also differentiate the information’s importance level in your infographic by applying different styles for each.
5. Accurate and Compelling Data Visualizations
Create data visualizations with your goals in mind to be able to create a smooth story flow for your infographics. Data visualization for your infographic should be clear, compelling, and accurate.
An accurate infographic contains well-researched content. Content obtained from reliable sources helps your brand build credibility and authority.
You can make your visual content clear and compelling by appropriately labeling all graphs and charts. Also, use colors that are within your template’s color palette. Do not include any element that can cause distractions to your infographics.
6. Finalizing the Infographic
Once you are done making your infographic, it is best to review the contents and visual elements used. Check that your graphs and charts are properly labeled.
Lastly and most importantly, include all the references you used. Cite them correctly in the bottom portion of your infographic.
Before publishing your infographic, show it to others, for you may have overlooked typographical errors, mislabeled visuals, or some areas that need to be changed. Showing your work to your teammates and asking for their feedback is good practice.
Key Takeaways
Infographics aim to share information in the simplest manner that is equally appealing to the readers. Adding data visualizations to your infographics can help turn complex information into understandable and shareable infographics.
You can easily turn complex data into simpler and more understandable information by considering your target audience when creating the content and designing the infographic. Using reliable, accurate, and relevant information is equally important.
Always check your infographic for errors or areas that need improvement or revision before publishing.
