Human beings have been communicating with pictures since we lived in caves. I’ve had the chance to explore some of these caves in the Southwestern United States marveling at the ancient hieroglyphic carvings and wondering about their authors and their meanings.
Modern life has a new twist on cave drawings and we call them infographics. Here’s a quick video that chronicles the history of visual communications from the cave to computer:
It claims that today the number of infographics is increasing by 1% a day!
What is an Infographic and how can you get one?
According to Wikipedia: Infographics (or information graphics) are graphic visual representations of information, data or knowledge intended to present information quickly and clearly.
The reason that are so popular? They can improve cognition by utilizing graphics to enhance the human visual system’s ability to see patterns and trends.
Here are some example infographics from Allegory clients. These have been used on websites, in brochures, in their sales presentations, and shared via social platforms.
Allegory Infographic Examples
Do you have unique idea, expertise, approach or delivery system that could be translated into graphic? To create a compelling infographic, you’ll need to:
- Get clear on the story you want to tell.
- What are the patterns and trends you want to highlight?
- Pull out the data that makes the most compelling points.
- Determine a way to visualize that data.
- It’s often helpful to ‘wireframe’ your idea – create a simple sketch.
- Determine both the graphical elements and the copy you need to support these.
- Create it!
- There are numerous online tools (some are free) for creating your own infographics.
Will your infographic go viral? Hard to guarantee, but this blog by Social Media Today chronicles size, shape, word counts, color schemes and more of the most shared Infographics.
