Infographics: A Field Guide

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KEYWORD IDEA MESSAGE NCEPT IDEA THOUGHT CO KEYWORD CONCEPT THOUGHT KEYWORD IDEA white paper > Infographics: A Field Guide 2

When you only have a few short moments to capture someone’s attention, try an infographic.

What’s Inside What are Infographics? 3

How to Use Infographics 4

Mistakes to Avoid 5

Keys to Success 6

Final Thoughts 7

Infographics are only as effective as the data, design, and story put into them. Infographics can be found everywhere. The basic technique is nothing new – maps, charts, and graphs have long been used to visually capture information in media, for everything from weather forecasts and transit diagrams, to features in newspapers like USA Today.

But information overload and the proliferation of simple design tools make now an especially fertile time for infographics. There’s a widespread need for information nuggets that are insightful, easy to grasp and share, and suited to our fast-moving digital world.

Critics and trend-watchers talk about “infographics fatigue,” arguing that the trend is dead and no longer of value. However, we see infographics as a tool that can be used well or used poorly. They are only as effective as the data, design, and story put into them. This paper is a field guide to the fundamentals of infographics, the different ways they can be used, common mistakes to avoid, and keys to success. white paper > Infographics: A Field Guide 3

THE BASICS: What are infographics?

The terms infographics, information design, and data visualization are loosely defined and generally refer to the same thing: information presented in a graphical form. These terms can be considered to have 18th century Scottish slightly different shades of meaning:1 engineer and • Infographics, literally information plus graphics, are visual political economist representations of information, data, or knowledge. They present complex information quickly and clearly – and often, tell a story. William Playfair • Information design is the practice of presenting information to foster is considered the understanding, often taught in graphic design courses. founding father • Data visualization is the study of visual representation of data – i.e. using graphics to make sense of large amounts of data or information, of infographics. especially in science and academics.

First, start with the building blocks

Bar graph Pie chart Flow chart Timeline

Map Venn diagram Bubble chart Word cloud

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On their own, each one of these familiar building blocks could be considered a simple infographic. The complex infographics we routinely see today often use them as components – much like a complex molecule is made up of a number of chemical elements. white paper > Infographics: A Field Guide 4

Using infographics – presenting Infographics can information, telling a story showcase data in a 2 Content marketing expert Joe Chernov praises the power of number of ways: infographics in an era of “too much information and too little time.”3 • See relationships Chernov recommends that communicators choose from four core among data points types of infographics to help simplify the complex – as he (scatter plot, matrix discusses in a brief video.4 chart, network diagram) 1. The “state of” an industry/trend/idea: Share updates, celebrate • Compare a set of values milestones, paint a picture of change, show relationships, or set up (bar chart, bubble chart) calls to action. • Track rises and falls 2. Educational resource: Create goodwill and sticky experiences over time (line graph, with “how-to” resources and guides that may offer steps, diagrams, stack graph) or do’s and don’ts. • See the parts of a whole 3. Compare / contrast: Provide education or stimulate discussion (pie chart, map) with comparative infographics (for example “Mac vs. PC” or “Geek vs. Hipster”). • Analyzing and diagramming a text 4. Evolution: Offer “food for thought” content that establishes authority, (word cloud, word tree) fosters debate – or helps you get more life out of existing content.

There are two more types of infographics we’d like to add to the list.

5. Numbers and stats: The ever-popular figure-driven infographic, which focuses on numerical data, percentages, or survey responses. In place of spreadsheets or voluminous reports, a pithy summary infographic can make an immediate impact. 6. The visualized article: An interesting format to tell a story, letting readers follow the flow in visual form. Re-imagine a traditional article % visually, like this smart infographic from the Newspaper Association of America about why millennials still want newspapers.5 Storytelling through infographics is eye-catching, engaging and one of the most clever ways to make a powerful emotional connection with your audience.

Why people like infographics A recent article6 by marketing education and training organization MarketingProfs looks at why we like infographics. The article contends that effective infographics help us sort useful information from the volumes of unnecessary data we are faced with every day – in as little time as possible! – through “a well-thought-out combination of font sizes, colors and visual elements.” MarketingProfs also highlights our human propensity for visual learning and for wanting to see statistics and numbers as proof of expertise. white paper > Infographics: A Field Guide 5

Mistakes to avoid

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THOUGHT ONCEPT KEYWORDC COMMUNICATIO !! ! CONCEP Beware the Crap Circle!

!! IDEA ! ! ! Certain visual clichés crop up all too often in infographic form, and one of the biggest offenders is the circle-and-arrow cycle that has been branded as the “crap circle.” These diagrams Not all infographics are are intended to show how a process flows in a loop, and brilliant masterpieces. they may look snappy enough. When they’re bad, infographics can be a total mess, failing to register But they can lazily contrive a with the audience you wish to influence or even backfiring to harm your cyclical relationship that is either reputation. But what makes an infographic bad? Here are some major questionable or false. Harvard pitfalls to bear in mind. Business Review speaks out against the crap circle in this 7 • Gratuitous infographics are done for the sake of doing an infographic oft-cited blog post. when text or simple diagrams would work just as well. Added icons and symbols need to serve a purpose. • Confusing infographics make your data or information harder to understand instead of easier – defeating the whole purpose of going visual. • Overloaded graphics pack too much information together, fail to make a point, and risk losing the reader’s attention fast. Your audience may be left asking “So what?” It can be wise to split complex information into multiple pieces instead of cramming it all together. • Bad design can wreck an infographic. This can be a matter of gaudy colors, ugly fonts and amateurish layouts, but it can also be professional-looking design where the information itself is mishandled. The designer might inadvertently distort the data to conform to a visual concept that looks nice but fails to represent the information correctly. • Misleading infographics deliberately paint a false picture to promote an agenda or make an unfair marketing claim. For example, zooming in the scale on a bar graph in order to make a small difference between values seem much larger, or making “apples and oranges” comparisons. Such gimmicks risk creating a negative impression and suspicion among the audience. white paper > Infographics: A Field Guide 6

Keys to success Make it memorable What makes an infographic great? New research shows that our minds unconsciously receive a surprising amount of visual detail in just an instant. So an infographic’s memorability can enhance its effectiveness. The recent article “The Secrets of a Memorable Infographic”8 looks at this connection, based on the more than 2,000 images that made up the largest scale visualization study to date. This is what the study found about memorability: Snapshot: Railinc

• Recognize it and remember it. Many infographics contain “human Railinc is a provider of data recognizable objects” that we see in everyday life – photos, body and software for the freight rail parts, icons, animals, or foods. With good reason, because these industry. During 2012, Railinc images make for the most memorable visualizations. collaborated with industry partners to solve pressing • Colorful is better. Researchers found that infographics using more technology problems, increased than six colors were more memorable than those with few colors or service delivery reliability, and those in black and white. better aligned with customers’ • We like to see a lot going on. Visual density or “clutter” is often needs. To showcase progress, frowned upon, but done right it can actually boost memorability. Signal created infographics for Complex infographics showed an advantage over more minimalist Railinc’s 2012 Annual Report – visuals. And rounded shapes were an added bonus, so well-received that they increasing memorability. were repurposed in their corporate brochure. • Bar charts are a no-go. Surprisingly, basic bar charts and graphs suffer from overexposure. We have a hard time distinguishing one bar chart from another.

And tie it to strategy Memorability can be a powerful edge, but still an infographic is only as good as the data and strategy behind it. As with any other marketing communication, Signal recommends that it should be based on:9

• Good planning • Thoughtful strategy • A solid understanding of your audience Snapshot: Syngenta

• Strong, aligned, approved messaging Syngenta is a leading agribusiness offering a comprehensive portfolio • And accurate, meaningful data and information. of crop protection products. Signal With these things covered, we find that an infographic serves as a great designed a complex educational piece of snackable content: bite-sized and designed for easy consumption. infographic illustrating ways to control insects and grow more corn. white paper > Infographics: A Field Guide 7

Final Thoughts

Creating memorable infographics that are aligned with your strategy may mean the difference between your communication moving customers The ultimate to action – or getting lost in the fray. Joe Chernov tells how he was so impressed with an infographic on which fish are safe to eat that he carried measure of an it in his wallet, consulting it at restaurants. Now that’s an effective infographic! infographic’s success

At the end of the day, our best advice is to be thoughtful in the use of is retention – how infographics. Don’t add a visual when words alone will do. Ask yourself well it teaches new these two simple questions when trying to decide between using an infographic and sticking with words to convey that critical message. information that the audience retains 1. Do you want to express nuggets long-term. of information that have a clear relationship between them?

2. Can you find interesting visuals that will represent that relationship?

If you can answer yes to both questions, an infographic is a great solution.

We hope you’ve found this paper helpful as you think about the best way to tell your organization’s stories. If you’d like to learn even more about infographics, content marketing, communication planning and more, please visit us at www.signalinc.com.

References: 1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infographics 2. https://wiki.carleton.edu/display/itskb/Types+of+InfoGraphics 3. http://www.prnewsonline.com/featured/2011/09/15/the-top-4-core-types-of-infographics/ 4. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mADN6kKMFQ 5. http://www.naa.org/millennials 6. http://www.marketingprofs.com/opinions/2013/24017/why-your-customers-heart-infographics 7. http://blogs.hbr.org/2013/03/its-time-to-retire-crap-circle/ 8. http://www.fastcodesign.com/3021394/evidence/the-secrets-of-a-memorable-infographic 9. http://www.signalinc.com/new-research-on-memorable-infographics/ 67% 9%

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