At Sinage Design I get many requests from clients to implement and design bespoke infographics.

Below is a short guide with some do’s and don’t’s for your next infographic project.

Planning

Most people will have an idea of content they want to include in their infographic.

Keeping the visual/content balance – Normally the ingredients to creating a good infographic is to have visual led content (with supporting information).

You don’t necessarily need to go to a 2 hour workshop to discover this (and a good designer with great marketing skills will be able to guide you in this area once you provide them with your proposed content).

The hardest part is cutting your content down into digestible chunks. When approaching certain data for charts and graphs try and keep this to a minimum also. If you bombard the viewer with too much information they will automatically switch off.

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Colour

Choosing a correct colour palette for you infographic is extremely important (especially if you are sticking to those colours throughout your infographic).

Here is a good article which explains a bit about colour theory: http://www.colormatters.com/color-and-design/basic-color-theory

If you choose an agency or designer who isn’t aware of (or particularly good at matching) colours together, it can be harmful to your messaging and also your branding overall. Using these colours you are trying to invoke feeling, emotion and interest to the reader.

Below is an example of a bad colour palette versus a good one:

Try to use uplifting positive colours and steer clear of the darker more turgid tones (unless of course the information you have is along those lines and takes a darker tone, in which case you could use a darker palette to start with some lighter highlights a long the way).

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Illustration

All too many times I have seen infographics that while the information is good and informative the execution is poor (which can be down to the fact that the creator cannot actually draw or has sub standard skills (normally using Adobe Illustrator). The illustrations should be sharp and stylised.

Be sure when choosing your designer that they have the style nailed to a great standard. For instance, if you are creating a character, they need to be able to draw using a good style (and a good colour palette as mentioned above).

The last thing you want for the final result is a character representing your brand with an abnormal neck and incredibly large strange looking chin!

If your infographic features illustrations that are bad this will hurt your brand and create a feeling of non-trust for the reader. Creating a sense of positivity is the key.

Infographics rely on the creation of beautiful illustration/icons/symbols which enhance the messaging, with all the above considerations in mind you are well on your way to creating a successful infographic!

If you would like to discuss any of the points above or your next infographic project, please get in touch with me: [email protected]