Infographics An Introduction
July, 2014
What is INFOGRAPHICS?
Infographics also known as Information graphics are a visual representation or
illustrations of any related Data/Information/Knowledge with the intention of depicting
complex pattern Quickly & visually appealing to the eyes.
They illustrate information that would otherwise be cumbersome in its text form and too
geometrical/mathematical in Graphical form.
Infographics is in short A Visual Shorthand for the reader; depicting the clear intent of
the graphics as well as allowing for Reader Interpretation scope too.
An infographics is ideally meant to: Show Data
Make the reader concentrate more on the displayed substance rather than the
method that went behind depicting it (Eg: why not a Pie chart rather than a Bar
graph)
Avoiding any distortion from what the data is meant to depict (Eg: Mean line in a Bar
graph for a cluster)
Presenting large set of numbers within a small space
Making large data sets coherent
Induce the reader to set up their own Comparison over the displayed graphics (rather
than some pre-defined one)
Present the data from several possible levels of detail Broad overview to Minute detail
Appear Crisp in its purpose
Lastly, it needs to be at par with the Statistical and Verbal intent/inductions of the data
set
Components of Infographics?
Why Infographics?
Around 50% of human brain is dedicated to visual empathy Reason why you register a
background of a billboard faster than the Singular line of Brand/Message pasted there
This is because images are processed as a whole or in one frame, compared to Text which is
processed Linearly along with semantics
Furthermore, it is also estimated that 65% of Indian population are visual sympathizers, and not
akin to the auditory or kinesthetic senses
All these followed by the newest trend of Social Media and Internet awareness makes Infographics
a lucrative tool to reach to or advertise.
How to create one?
By hand sampling drawing some related and meaningful pattern
By use of conventional methods like graph paper, pencils, markers, and rulers
By usage of Computer Software
Faster, Easier, Visually appealing & Can depict more complex and larger information
Tools used:
Licensed illustration software like Adobe Illustrator etc.
Freeware's like Inkscape
Infographics websites like [Link] or, [Link]
Type of Infographics
1. Visualized Article
Visualization is a technique to create images, diagrams and
animations for communicating any message
Visualization through visual imagery has been an effective way to
communicate both abstract and concrete ideas since the advent of
time
Examples from history include cave paintings, Egyptian
hieroglyphs, Greek geometry, and Leonardo da Vinci's
revolutionary methods of technical drawing for engineering and
scientific purposes.
Advantages:
Easy to infer (readers standpoint)
Less content more information
Interesting depiction of routine information
Generally used to depict Social media statistics
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2. Flowchart
This form of infographics act as a sequential depiction of any process or
method; with choices to the User (reader) that eventually helps in
decision making
Flowcharts are universal and have got standard communication
patterns
Generally used in Documenting Business processes in an organization;
or Org Structure
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3. The Timeline
A timeline is a way of depicting a list of events in chronological order.
It is created using long bars labelled with dates and the event printed alongside (Position of dates
& event label may interchange)
While showing time on a specific scale on an axis, a timeline can be used to visualize time lapses
between events, durations (Like lifetimes, wars etc)
Advantages:
Provides a sequential approach to a series of events; thus depicting chronological order
Used extensively while making case studies for Consultants
Used in trend analysis by Marketers or Market researchers
Also used to showcase History of a Person/Event
Best usage: Displaying project artifacts & deadlines
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4. Useful Bait
A great way to display or explain something (A Solution)
Basically an Answer to How to do it?
Has got the least visual appeal/contents compared to the rest
of Infographics
Used in Documentation of Everyday processes/tasks
Usually kept as printouts for everyday reference
Eg: Recipe of a cook dish or, How to open a call for a Call center
Service Personnel
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5. Versus Infographics
This type of Infographics does a Comparison between two Objects or events
in a head-to-head fashion
Visual aspects are very important in this form of infographics
Can work well with lots of data as well
Eg: Comparing the roles and responsibilities of 2 Job positions in an
organization
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6. Number Porn
This type of infographics presents oodles of numbers and
associated statistics
Usually used in depicting Market data or Periodic performance of
a team/product
Serve as report for Higher management or Newspaper snippets
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7. Photo Infographic
These (as the name suggests) used
Photographs primarily to depict its
message/content
The Photograph acts as a Visual aid to the
reader and thus helps in setting the tone for
rest of the story (data/number/contents)
Fairly simple design however choosing the
right photograph is essential to connect to
the reader or set the intended tone in his
mind/sight
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8. Data Vis
Similar to Visualized article; but emphasizes more on Graphics/design
Design can be simple; but needs to be effectively visualized (else it defeats the purpose)
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Which Infographics to use?
START
Do you have
a lot of data
to depict?
Yes
Would it be
easy to
visualize all
data?
No
Is it for a
specific
question?
No/Not sure
Yes
Yes
Yes
Will the
focus be on
Data/
Design
Data
Will it offer
practical/every
day guidance ?
Chronolo
gical?
No
Compa
rision?
Design
Abstract
Design
Are charts
alone ok or
you need
more design
Charts
are ok
No
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Yes
No
Thank you!!!
