Infographics
Make data come to life! Use images and icons to share info.
Familiar with internet memes? They contain a funny or witty caption with an illustrative image to express an idea or show an emotion.
This method of using an image to tell a story helps the viewer understand the content of the message very quickly and easily. Infographics use this strategy to convey data and facts about a topic in a simple and readily understandable way.
Infographics make data easier to read and more engaging by adding images and simple text to make the data more appealing and understandable.
Infographics can be viewed online or printed for display.
"Pie graph" made into an in illustrated ring The added images enhance data, making it quickly and easily understood. | "Bar graph" made of symbolic images This could have used figures with traditional dress to add emphasis to different countries. | Proportionally color-coded dinner plate Originally a food pyramid, this eating guide shows realistic proportions of food on a plate. |
"Pie graph" made into an in illustrated ring
"Bar graph" made of symbolic images
What are the pros and cons of these images? Do they make the information more appealing? Can they be misleading? How can the information be used to convey a message?
Infographics should help the viewer understand the information in significant ways. Is there a story to tell or compelling message? What are the take away ideas?
Sometimes you are simply trying to share facts in a clear way. Other times, you may want to influence the viewer to think a certain way or make a judgement based on the information you present.
Stats and Icons This infographic uses simple graphics to enhance data, and contains a consistent color scheme with easy to read sections. | Lists and Pictographs This infographic has distinct sections with "lists" of data, illustrated and captioned, and uses a pictograph to compare litter size. Controlled color scheme keeps it cohesive. | Icons and Data Blurbs This infographic uses simple silhouette icons of various animals, comparative bar graphs, brief text boxes, and maintains a dichromatic color scheme (shades of blue and grey only). |
Stats and Icons
Lists and Pictographs
Making your own infographics:

Guiding Questions:
Have I gathered all the facts I need?
- compare data? (display side by side)
- show a relationship? (correlation between two or more variables)
- describe something? (give attributes of one thing)
- give a list? (group items that share a trait)
- show parts of a whole? (fractions, percents)
Have I chosen appropriate visual representation for my data set(s)?
Is each illustration...
- accurate and correct? (not misleading or invalid)
- clear and simple? (not too much text, not too busy)
- easy to recognize? (images are not confusing or ambiguous)
Does my design...
- have appropriate thematic elements? (background, icons, images)
- include a controlled color scheme? (not too broad, not too narrow)
- flow in a logical way? (progression of ideas, grouping of facts)
Have I shown significance of my data?
Review and Edit for Style and Emphasis
"Information Prison" This first example shows a heavy image, with thick lines and little distinction between elements within each drawing. The glow lines around the signal lamps can be confusing, suggesting movement or vibration. The viewer is unsure where to focus, and the graphic loses its impact. | Revision This revised version is much more easily read. The boundary lines fade into background, as do the body silhouettes. Emphasis is now given to the lamp positions, shown in color, and the arrows indicating movement are in a contrasting color. The viewer is drawn to the lamps and their movement, which is the focus of this graphic. |
"Information Prison"
Revision
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Canva Choose from a variety of publishing format templates, including infographics, posters, fliers, certificates, etc. | Easelly Create infographics using thousands of free templates. | Piktochart Edit free templates or use icons and graphics to create your own infographics. |
Canva
Piktochart
You can also use Google Drawing to create an infographic.
Here's a one-page guide to using Google Drawing.
Examples for Math Regression Project
Data SetThis is a set of data calculating the relationship between a baseball team's on-base-percentage (OBP) and the total number of runs they score over a full season.
| IllustrationThis image illustrates the data set given, showing that a 1% increase in OBP yields 38 more runs in the season.
| InfographicThis image shows a relationship between the increase in a team's OBP and their total runs earned in a season. It shows that a small increase in OBP, 1%, can yield a return of a 5.8% increase in scores earned.
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Data Set
This is a set of data calculating the relationship between a baseball team's on-base-percentage (OBP) and the total number of runs they score over a full season.
- This shows a positive correlation between OBP and runs scored.
- Is this significant?
- Does this data include the percentage of increase in runs scored?
- What audience can make sense of this data?
Illustration
This image illustrates the data set given, showing that a 1% increase in OBP yields 38 more runs in the season.
- Is this significant?
- Does the illustration tell a story or merely repeat the summary statement from the data?
Infographic
This image shows a relationship between the increase in a team's OBP and their total runs earned in a season. It shows that a small increase in OBP, 1%, can yield a return of a 5.8% increase in scores earned.
- Is this significant?
- What other variables in a team's performance can affect their total runs scored?
- What variables are more significant or less significant?
- Is OBP the most significant way to increase runs scored?