Infographics are a powerful tool for visualizing complex information in a simple, intuitive, and engaging way. Infographics use a combination of images, charts, and (minimal) text to convey information in a way that is easy to understand and remember.
When designing an infographic, prioritize the idea and goal for your communication. Start by defining what you want people to understand or do with your information. Use existing infographics as inspiration for your original ideas or a template to help you plan the layout.
Infographic template sites like Adobe Express , Canva, Venngage and PiktoChart can help simplify infographic creation.
Infographic Checklist
- Does your infographic have a clear and concise attention-grabbing title?
- Is it easy to read on-screen?
- Does your design use text sparingly? Focus on headlines and short, descriptive labels to complement the visual elements. Avoid using long paragraphs of text, which can be overwhelming and detract from the visual impact of the infographic.
- Remember that most social media platforms show smaller versions of images in a feed. Make sure that at least the basic information is readable at the sizes it will be displayed.
- Break down the information into bite-sized chunks, using simple charts, graphs, and icons to convey the key points.
- Is the information recent and displayed accurately?
- Use up-to-date information and imagery to avoid misleading or alienating your audience.
- Did you cite your data sources?
- Is it relevant?
- Is this a topic that the audience has shown interest in? Find out what information is trending due to current events, or what topics have high traffic on the website. This information can help gauge audience interest.
- How does it look?
- Are visual elements bold and impactful?
- Ensure that the infographic design meets ACF visual style guide standards.
- Avoid default Microsoft Office graphics and dated or overused clipart.
- For all graphics or photos, use professional, hi-res images.
- Keep the design, colors and fonts simple and consistent. Consider breaking up an infographic with too much information into multiple infographics instead of presenting a cluttered, text-heavy design.
- Did you include a call to action? A link to a website/resource or a social media hashtag, to encourage readers to engage with the information and share it with others.
- Is it 508 compliant or is there a text equivalent to ensure everyone can access the information?
By following these guidelines, we can create infographics that are both informative and visually appealing. Strive to convey information in a way that resonates with the reader and uses your data to tell a compelling story.
Infographic Dimensions
Where and how you plan to post or share your infographic determines what size it should be.
- Most infographics have a vertical display with a typical width 600 pixels and the length 1800 pixels.
- For horizontal orientations, the most common size is a width and height of 1200 and 900 pixels, respectively.
Below are the most common places you might post an infographic with the recommended sizes:
- Website/Blog: 600 x 1800 pixels
- Facebook: 1200 x 628 pixels
- Pinterest: 600 x 900 pixels
- Twitter: 1200 x 675 pixels
- Instagram: 1080 x 1080 pixels
- LinkedIn: 1104 x 736 pixels
Infographics vs Fact Sheets
They are not the same.
- A fact sheet is a document (typically one or two pages) that provides an overview of a topic or subject (mostly) via text. It may also include statistics, facts, and figures to provide background information or to summarize information in a concise and easy-to-read format.
- An infographic, on the other hand, is a visual representation of information. It uses a combination of images, text, and charts to convey information in a way that is easy to understand and remember. Infographics are often used to communicate complex information in a simple and engaging way.
Benefits of Using Infographics
- Enhance understanding
- Improve retention
- Increase engagement
- Convey complex information quickly and clearly
- Highly shareable (especially on social media)
- Save time by presenting large amounts of information in a concise format