Design Tips for an Easy-to-Understand Infographic

When someone says “content marketing,” it’s easy to think of case studies, blogs, podcasts and whitepapers. However, those word-heavy pieces of collateral can normally be elevated and summarized with a beautiful visual flourish — an infographic. Infographics are one of the most effective ways to display information (particularly data) in a more digestible way to your target audience. Infographics are also more frequently shared across social media than standard blogs, serving as important vessels for spreading critical info about your business.

Precision is everything.

Ever see a graph stuffed to the brim with data? Multiple lines with jarring colors, dizzying volumes of information in such a tiny space? (An example coming to mind for us is the Brinker martech supergraphic.) Overwhelming your audience with data is a quick way to ensure they won’t spend time looking at your infographic. Know exactly what it is you want to present and keep data sets only to what’s relevant.

Readability is key.

This ties in with the precision point above, but it also links to design. It’s tempting to cram a lot of information into a graphic, but when that happens, legibility tends to suffer. You should still try to maintain good design practices like having enough white space on the page and big enough font for most readers to see the data you present.

Rely on shapes.

Shapes are a great way to elevate your infographic. Often, you can double up the functionality of shapes, making them both a visually appealing part of the design and also meaningful to your data set. An example of this would be circle infographics that help display size or segments of a unit.

Be careful with color.

From neon to clashing color schemes, we’ve seen some wild infographics in our time. An easy way to avoid going too overboard with your colors is to keep with your brand’s colors and complimentary colors. There’s an important catch with color, too, and it’s not one many people think of. If you’re comparing two sets of data, make sure your colors contrast enough in greyscale. Color blindness affects one in 12 men and one in 200 women around the world. Colors that don’t contrast enough can lead to all the data looking the same to anyone in your audience that’s colorblind, thus making your infographic inaccessible to them. Consider pairing shapes or line dashes with colors to give colorblind readers another way to differentiate data.

Keep your audience in mind.

As with any piece of content, keep your audience at the front of what you do. What questions are you answering with this infographic? Let that answer drive your work, both design and copy. Infographics can be tricky, but when they’re done right, they can build trust with your audience and establish your brand as a thought leader in the industry. Partnering with a graphic design agency like Appleton can help you overcome the potential design roadblocks and deliver meaningful content to your audience. By implementing valuable and shareable digital content strategies, Appleton can create the perfect social and digital marketing experience for your brand and audience. Your Internet advertising goals are worth a conversation: contact us at 407-246-0092 or info@appletoncreative.com.