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Visualising information
“Infographics are nothing more than visual representations of data and other information”
The purpose of visualising data is to make complex information more easily understood and absorbed. Data visualisation is a science/art in itself and your infographic will only scratch the surface of this fascinating field.
Principles for visualising information
A successful infographic will present key information visually through, charts, diagrams, icons and other graphics. It is essential that the graphics are meaningful and not just cosmetic for your infographic to be effective.
These few pages cannot go into great detail on the theories and processes of data visualisation, but if you want to look into it in more detail, there are excellent books and eBooks in our library - see the Home page of this guide for some recommendations.
Most data visualisation theory emphasises the need for the visuals to clarify rather than simplify the data. This is generally a good guiding principle, but one of the important aspects of an infographic is simplification - so that the data is understandable by non-specialist audiences - and compromise may be necessary. In infographics, some simplification is definitely needed.
For example, a typical chart for a piece of written work may look like the first one here, but for an infographic (or a poster) you would need to simplify as shown alongside it:
Chart suitable for a written report
Chart suitable for an infographic or poster
Common visualisations used in infographics
Graphs and charts
Graphs and charts are probably the most common and one of the most effective way of visualising data. Using a single image of a graph rather than the amount of text it will take to describe the data will use a lot less space, whilst engaging the viewer. Consider the box plot below. Look at how much text is needed to explain what can be seen almost instantly in the graphic version:
Using graphs has the added bonus of also providing evidence to support your key message. The more complicated the data the more efficient it is to use a graph (as there are more elements that need explaining). But having too many key points in your graph reduces the clarity of your message; some people also do not have much experience extracting information from graphs. Pairing your graphs with a key fact or extract of text can help overcome both of these issues:
Remember: A graph without a clear message is no better than a big lump of text!
Diagrams
Look at the diagram on the right (or below on some devices). Imagine trying to explain how to construct this furniture using text alone... How much text do you think you would need to replace it? How easy do you think it would be to follow the instructions if they were all text-only? Now think about all of the languages you would need to translate it into for global distribution...
Diagrams can help display complex ideas or reinforce key points through visual imagery. Remember that key points should be reinforced using multiple modes of communication. Most diagrams include some text - even if only a caption, as such they take advantage of both visual and language processing sections of the brain to improve the effectiveness of communication.
Although beware of overly complex diagrams that attempt to communicate too much in one go.
Image from Think Architect Files
Here are some examples of effective diagrams that have been created in PowerPoint alone:
Icons
A staple of many infographics, icons provide visual representations of information. They tend to have a straightforward design and you can change their colours to fit into your overall design.
Icons can be either pictograms or ideograms.
Pictograms
A pictogram is simplified visual representation of a physical object or action which conveys it meaning directly through its resemblance to that object or action.
The icons below are all pictograms:
Departure icon
Electric vehicle icon
Rain icon
Skid risk icon
Cyclist icon
Fire icon
Ideograms
Ideograms are icons that represent more than the object they depict. A good example of this is the lightbulb icon - it represents more than the physical bulb, it represents an idea. Similarly a circle with a diagonal line in it represents stop. The icons below are all ideograms:
Idea icon
Travel icon
Stop icon
Love icon
Search icon
Good icon
Sometimes, the context will change a pictogram into an ideogram. For example, if you have a heading 'Healthy eating' and a picture of an apple, then the apple represents healthy food in general - you are not suggesting eating only apples.
You can also mix up pictograms and ideograms, for example a stop ideogram combined with a cigarette pictogram represents no smoking (or stopping smoking depending on the context).
