More and more companies nowadays are looking for UX/UI designers. The reason is, businesses now more than ever need to present their products and services in interesting and visual formats. UX/UI designers are perfect for such a task. In this case, infographics are powerful tools for businesses. But what exactly is an infographic? How do you make a good one? 

Infographics are a visual way of presenting information that relies heavily on graphics. In addition to images, elements such as text, arrows, diagrams, stickers are also often included. But images play the key and central role. 

Graphic designers usually create infographics. For this reason, a user experience design agency often looks for, recruits, and attracts illustrators. 

But just how important are infographics? And do they differ that much from a simple image or text with an image?

Infographics are not an illustration or decoration; they are a source of information all themselves. This means that the ideas and facts that you intended to communicate in graphic form do not require additional informative material. This makes infographics highly effective mediums for presenting the information.

Infographics are not only meant to be interesting and intriguing when possible but also are designed to present material quickly and efficiently.

What do Good Infographics Look Like?

Indeed, data can always be presented in its simplest forms – text, tables, and numbers. If this is the case, then why should you use infographics? 

First and foremost, infographics allow you to convey large amounts of data quickly. Just a few images can get across information that, were it in text form, would take forever to read. 

Second, good infographics make information more visual and, therefore, appealing. Pictures are perceived by the human brain better than text, because, for hundreds of thousands of years, our ancestors evolved dealing with data from images – not text.

Third, bright, interesting pictures help attract the attention of audiences. This format is used in public speaking and loved in the media and used in modern textbooks.

Where to Apply Infographics 

Infographics are applicable almost everywhere. Here are some particular areas they are useful:

• Submitting information to customers or employees.
• Illustrating important news.
• Advertising your products/services.
• Making convenient technical instructions, which are understandable to everyone, regardless of language people speak: the language of pictures is universal (think of IKEA, for example).
• Creating safety instructions that are easy to remember and easy to understand.
• Visualizing cooking recipes.
• Designing statistics, annual reports, or research results.

In general, the scope of infographics is almost limitless; it all depends on your imagination and goals.

Types of Infographics

There are five main types:

1. Analytical, or digital infographics. This helps represent statistics. They feature an abundance of numbers, charts, graphs, and more.
2. News infographics. Visually talks about recent events, reflects the chronology and important stages of what is happening.
3. Structural infographics. Demonstrates the structure and components of an object or the mechanism of a phenomenon. Sometimes the chronology and causes of a particular historical event.
4. Advertising infographics. Created by companies to promote their product. Bright pictures describe the merits of the particular product and the benefits of the purchase. It can attract customers if done well – that is, it combines competent marketing and successful UX/UI design.
5. Comparative infographics. Lets you compare features of various objects.

Always remember! Infographics, while useful and often serious, are not always all about being informative – they are also an opportunity to add humor and make your design more fun. 

Drawbacks of Infographics

Like any method, infographics have their drawbacks.

The first con of infographics is that, unfortunately, they are not very cheap. Writing a text or a list is usually much easier, cheaper, and faster than choosing the right images and combining them correctly and creatively. Good infographics necessitate true professionals – like a UX design agency, for example. They understand how your audience will perceive any piece of graphic information and use this understanding when doing their work. 

The second con is that sometimes when information is presented in a graphic-heavy, colorful manner, the audience may perceive the information less seriously than the presenter had intended. This can be easily remedied by always and often focusing on and referring to the importance of what you are talking about exactly. 

The third con is that infographics are almost always schematic and general.

How to Make a Good Infographic

Making infographics is easy. Making GOOD infographics is difficult. 

Here are some tips:

• Do not overload the infographic with text. Remember that the image should always carry the main information. Here’s a piece of advice – if you want to check whether the infographics fulfill their role, remove all text from. An effective infographic will be even without text
• Despite the first tip – never be afraid to add separate pieces to explain the details.
• Remove decorative elements that do not carry add clarity to the overall point. These decorative additions tend to be distracting. Each line, arrow, or icon should serve a clear purpose.
• Build a clear and logical structure where possible. Place the most important components or large groups in the center. Make them larger.
• Use bright, eye-catching colors. But make sure that the text is not lost in the background of the pictures. If you are doing a corporate project, use the colors of your company.
• Use commonly used symbols and pictures. They should be intuitive to your audience and elicit strong associations.
• Design all the elements of infographics in one universal style.

Final Thoughts

Infographics are a cool tool when you want to convey a lot of information to the viewer in a fun and easy-going manner. It works great for large and small businesses and can help create effective UX/UI designs that should help companies make more profit.