
Like many great pairings – think fish and chips, Batman and Robin, Laurel and Hardy – the different elements of creative infographics work well separately, sure. But combine them? Then there’s something positively powerful at play.
And this isn’t just about the merging of words and pictures. It’s about developing a new way to reach out to an audience in a matter of moments with something that’s both clever and captivating.
A thing of beauty
Just as a caterpillar blossoms into a butterfly, creative infographics can take dry data and turn it into something rather extraordinary. In many ways they’re mini works of art; canvases filled with colour and character that tell you all you need to know about a subject in an expressly different, but compelling, format.
Don’t just take our word for it. You’ll find some beautiful examples at creativebloq. From the simple yet effective ‘Apple tree’, showing the evolution of Apple’s tech, to the decidedly more complex ‘History of Life’, with its telling timelines and multi-coloured milestones, each and every infographic here is as glorious as the last. Feast your eyes.
A thing of simplicity
As well as looking pretty darn good, creative infographics also provide an easier means of digesting facts and figures. A study by the Visual Teaching Alliance found that 90% of information transmitted to the brain is visual, and that we can process graphics 60,000 times faster than text. This means messages can be conveyed quicker and more clearly with materials of a more visual nature, regardless of the subject matter.
A well-crafted infographic can make even the most complex content accessible to all. Technical jargon, heavy historical stuff, scientific stats… with the right treatment, this typically hard-to-swallow data can be presented in a way that’s not only easy on the eye, but easy to read, too.
A thing of precision
The key to a good infographic is to know what data to extract and how to convey it – this is where the real beauty lies. If the reader can make sense of the information in front of them then they will appreciate it more, so knowing your audience and acknowledging what makes them tick is the first step to producing a successful infographic.
What’s the point in having a great visual if the data is flat? To make a real impact, it’s important for the material to have substance as well as style, and the way to do that is to succinctly summarise your wording – think quality over quantity, and keep it short and sweet.
A thing of creativity
What makes infographics so exciting is that the creative opportunities are endless. Whether it’s a complete landscape with text flowing around points of interest or a singular shape containing key facts, you can play around with the layout and make information beautiful.
That’s precisely what we did for our An internal communications agency’s year in numbers blog. Using bold hues, various fonts and a mix of icons, we made a vibrant collage of fun facts that provided a snapshot into our company in one tidy and tantalising text box. Thinking inside the box, if you will.
Something to think about
So, for content that’s as pretty as a picture (with a few words thrown in), creative infographics are definitely the way to go. You can whittle down masses of text, condensing it into a much cleaner and cohesive resource, and make an instant impact with the attention-grabbing visuals. It gives you the best of both worlds – information and images – and the opportunity to be playful, yet purposeful.
If you want a new approach to presenting data, get in touch with us to find out how we can help.
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