Student Guide: Infographic

This guide will help you to understand how to design and create an infographic.

'What is an infographic? 

An infographic is a collective term for an image that uses a mixture of text, graphs, and images. The design is very concise so that you can read and understand it in seconds.  

It requires the designer to be very clear about what they want to communicate. It also needs the designer to be inventive in the way they represent this. This is so that it captures the viewer's attention as well as communicates the idea.  

Here are some examples of infographics 

Why might I want to create one? 

You can see that designing an infographic requires many different skills. Sorting, organising, filtering, and communicating information to a wider audience. It can be useful to develop these skills for your studies, in the workplace, and even in your personal life. 

  • As part of your course work: Your tutor may ask you to create an infographic for your assignment. This is because they want you to develop these skills. This is very different from writing an essay.  You will need time and practice to create your infographic. Make sure you read the assignment brief and practice using the recommended software below.  
  • As part of your research: Research is as much about impact as it is about finding out new things. Your findings can reach a wider audience through different communication methods. Knowing how to use visual language effectively can help share your findings. It may also help develop your career. 

How do I design and make one? 

Get ready: Do not start your design until you have gathered your information. Research your topic in depth to understand all the different aspects. Then identify the important parts of this information that you want to highlight. Remember you are trying to find the key messages. Use a process like mindmapping to help you do this. Edit and summarise the information. Watch the following video about how Charli has approached visualising her music listening habits for 2015. Designing a music infographic | CharliMarieTV.  

Visual Language skills: Charli demonstrated in the video how she wireframed her design. Use the same process to think about any visuals you might use to help communicate. David McCandless is a famous data visualisation expert. In this video he talks about how he makes his decisions on how to represent data. Think about the different ways you could communicate your key messages. David McCandless Ted talk called the beauty of data visualization by David McCandless. A good design needs an element that makes it stand out and catch the eye. This is very difficult to teach someone. However, try different designs and remain open to creative ways to get your message across.  

Adobe Express: LJMU have accounts for the online software, Adobe Express. You can use this tool to create your final design.  

Accessibility: As a visual designer you need to be careful of the different needs of your audience.  

  • Colour contrast: Many people have a visual disability connected with colour vision deficiency (CVD) or colour blindness. An infographic can be hard to read if there is low colour contrast between text and background colour. Use the WebAIM contrast checker to help you to measure colour contrast.  
  • Alternative text: Some people need a text alternative because their visual impairment will prevent them from reading your infographic. Prepare a text alternative that you can share along with the infographic on the web or in a document. Here is a guide on ALT text by Microsoft .
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