Before the advent of technology, information about many things was a scarce resource. It didn’t grow on trees, and it certainly was not in many people’s arms' reach. Then, information just presented itself in books and word of mouth. However, in today’s time, information can easily be found and accessed by virtually anyone. One can easily look up a question or a topic, and they will be presented with multitudes of data and information. There is such a vast amount of data thrown out there that we have also found new ways to present this information. One of the best and most popular ways is using infographics. This article will walk you through what it is, its significance to you and your business, and teach you how to make an infographic of your own.
What is an Infographic?
You have probably heard of the term infographics in school or the workplace. After all, it is one of the most common ways of presenting information today. See, if we dissect the word, we end up with two words: Info- (short for information) and -graphic (visual art or vivid picture). And using this dissection, we can come up with the definition of what is an infographic. It is visually and presented information. In a more profound sense, infographics is a way to depict information that involves using graphical and artistic cues.
When you look at different infographic examples, which you can easily find online or at your nearest library, you will notice that infographics balance out graphics and text. This allows it to be one of the best tools for visual communication that we have today. See, its combination of text and graphical figures allows it to easily and quickly send out information without demanding much time and effort from its readers. One of its main goals is to grab the attention of those with curious minds. However, the best infographics do more than just catch the eyes of curious cats. It is also vital for them to be informative enough to satisfy their curiosity and visually appropriate enough for that information to be remembered.
There are many infographic examples that you can find. It shouldn’t be surprising that you find one for virtually any topic you can think of. See, the good deal about infographics is that there are so many different types of layouts and designs, and so they can also efficiently channel different kinds of information. From enumeration, statistics, timeline, or just plain explanations and definitions, you can find (or make) all kinds of infographic examples that you can read or take inspiration from.
Image taken from Strikingly User’s Website
Importance of Infographics
Let’s move on to discussing what is an infographic, in general, and dive deeper into why infographics are vital for business. Here are only some reasons why making infographics is worthy of your time and effort.
∙ Short but Sweet. Quick pleasures are still very much pleasures. No matter how small the serving of a food is, as long as it is delicious, we are satisfied, right? This is what infographics are all about. It summarizes information that might normally be long and tiresome to read and turns it into something that is easy, fun and enjoyable to read. It takes a few minutes to read, but minds can easily be blown by what they find on these infographics. Thus, being a business owner, you need to use this for your benefit. You can easily share new details about your business and/or your products in the sweetest way that your customers will love.
Image taken from Strikingly User’s Website
∙ Complexity Turned Simplicity. A lot of us are often curious about a lot of things. And when it comes to something technical or scientific or complicated, we tend to let our minds wander by and forget this curiosity because it is often tedious to satisfy our curiosity. Well, infographics tend to take center stage in these times. Because the best infographics can present the most complex processes and information in a way that can be more easily read and understood by those who are not adept at the particular study. This characteristic of infographics is useful and best maximized when you have a particular process or background information to disclose to your customers.
∙ Efficient, Effective, and Flexible. Infographics can typically hold limited information because the space to be occupied is shared with visual art and design. However, this does not mean that the information shared is compromised. The best infographics tend to be more effective because the visual art and design added to the information help with comprehension and retention. Our minds have a way of remembering more when the text comes with pictures or graphic design. Thus, as a business owner, you can easily share information with your customers and help them retain this information. This would be an effective way to inform and plant a seed in their minds about your business. Infographics are also particularly efficient because it doesn’t take up much space. Hence it takes fewer costs for your business. It also comes in layouts and designs that you can use on social media, on your website, or even as pamphlets or posters to give away to passers-by.
Image taken from Strikingly User’s Website
How to Make An Infographic?
Image taken from Strikingly User’s Website
Now, after talking all about how infographics can help you and your business, let us take a look at the process behind how to make an infographic. There are still many steps inside these particular ones, but we have summarized the process into five steps.
1. Decide on a Topic and Do Your Research
Of course, the starting point to every process that involves sharing information is to develop the specifics. You could talk about many things regarding your business and everything that might be connected to it and which you deem important for your customers to share. Do not fret because there is no rule regarding making multiple infographics for particular topics. We’re trying to point out here for you to be careful not to make the mistake of cramming up all the ideas and concepts you deem important into just one infographic example. Decide on one particular concept and start there. Research what you think is relevant to your business regarding this concept you’ve chosen and what you think will best help your customers and target market.
2. Make an Outline of the Information Gathered.
After researching the particular concept, it is important to note what the main points are. The best infographics often have sections that allow information to be presented in a much more organized way. Thus, after you have finished your research, the next step would be to outline the data you gathered. Start organizing it like you think it will be most comprehensive and fun to read and understand. Making sure that your infographics follow a good train of thought starts in the outline you will make in this step. Though you might find many infographic examples that you can take inspiration from on how you would outline or separate the information you gathered, know that there is no specific way to make an infographic because it always depends on what concept it is you’re presenting.
3. Start Visualizing and Make Your Layout
Once you have already finished outlining your data, you can now start sketching some things. Bring out the artistic side of you and start drawing up plans on how you would want to finish up your infographics. There are a lot of infographic examples that you can find inspiration in as you make the design and layout of your infographics. Make sure that you don’t necessarily copy what you see and deem extraordinary. Don’t be afraid to go out of your comfort zone and explore different things as long as it is appropriate for what you are trying to present. There are also a lot of online resources and tools that you can use to make the best infographics for your business.
4. Strut Your Infographic Stuff
Image taken from Strikingly Product
And once you get everything in order, you are now ready to share your infographics with the world! Brainstorm how you can best show off your best infographics within your team so that none of the efforts and information you have will go to waste. If you plan to put it on your website, Strikingly is a website builder that allows you to showcase your infographics in many ways. You can add it as its page. You can attach it to your blog posts or an image display in a particular section. You can even add an embed code to ensure that shares of your infographics lead back to your website. Take advantage of its usefulness and versatility and bring it to all the social media platforms.
One of the best things about infographics is that it is fun and encouraging to look at. Those of us who are not bookworms or the likes are usually easily intimidated by long paragraphs and pages with no images or graphics on them. Good thing that many different infographic examples prove we can still learn a lot of things without being subjected to reading. As a business owner, one should take advantage of this fact because it is incredibly useful to use infographics as it does not just help your customers learn about your products or business. Still, it also adds to your business’ overall charm and visual branding. Out of the many ways you can present information about your business and your products, making infographics is perhaps one of the best ways. And with the right partner like Strikingly to help you share it with the world, you are setting yourself up for success. Sign up or log in with Strikingly now.
