Infographics are actually one of the first graphics I started playing around with when I started combining my GIS skills with communications. I created a submission for my grad school department’s annual conference and won a prize! You can find that infographic on my design portfolio page. And even though I did the most, I still am inspired by how it felt to communicate my data in a different way. Especially since most forestry or graduate communications didn’t compare.
So, what’s an infographic and why do I like them? An infographic is a type of visual content used to communicate information in an easily accessible format that is also engaging and stimulating. There are so many benefits to infographics; here are just a few!
- Infographics help illustrate your story effectively: I can’t say this enough, but showing why your work is important is key to communicating! Infographics can combine multiple media such as graphics, photos, text, charts, maps, and more. Whether you think you are or not, people are drawn towards images because they help us understand and retain information.
- They highlight the important take-aways: Most people don’t want to read through paragraphs of text when there are a few key important pieces of information. Creating an infographic will help you to summarize and dissect complex subjects and pull out the key take-aways. By doing so, you’ll sustain the attention of your audience because they won’t have to sift through all of the fluff to understand what is going on.
- Infographics are easy to share: Have an Instagram account? Share it there. Have Twitter? Share it there. Have email? Want to print out flyers and hang them in a school? There are limitless opportunities for sharing infographics.
- They provide a structured flow of events: When illustrating your story, it’s important that your audience understands how all the elements fit together. You could list off the key take-aways in no particular order, but having one flow into the next will help build upon what you’re showing and really give your story an umpph!
- They provide aesthetic value to your work: It’s simple; people like to look at aesthetic things. Your work already has value and is reliable, but having a way to communicate your work that is also pleasant to look at is a bonus.
Here’s a more recent infographic showcasing some statistics about abortion access in the US. And here’s hoping that continued education about the importance of protecting abortions helps move our country’s politics in a direction that respects the choices people make about their own bodies.
Even with Roe v. Wade in effect, abortion providers and abortion clinician numbers have been decreasing over the years. The U.S. will see a more drastic decline in these numbers in 2022 and on-wards. There has been a lot of information about abortions in the U.S., and to help make it more digestible, we’ve designed the following infographic summarizing some important statistic collected from the Guttmacher Institute and the U.S. Census.
Infographics are such a great visual tool! Even if not done very well, they’re persuasive and eye-catching; and easily understandable to people who have little to no background in the subject. Not to mention, you can make an infographic about anything.
Also, since most infographics have pretty defined sections, it’s easy to break it down into smaller graphics or visuals to disseminate information at different scales.
Share infographics that inspire you or that you made and you’re proud of on LinkedIn and tag @MapNerdConsulting or Twitter @IAmGlobot!