Am I the only one getting irked by infographics? They're certainly not a new way to present data or other information, but they've recently burgeoned in popularity.
Nearly 30 years ago, notables such as Edward Tufte, a statistician known for elegant approaches to analytic design, advocated using graphics to help audiences grasp information, especially anything involving complex data. Still, infographics seem to have really caught on only within the past year. And caught on with a visual vengeance. My inbound channels are now clogged with these things. Sometimes as many as two or three infographics showing up each day, more if I click links on Twitter.
At first, infographics did indeed seem like a super-effective way to deliver what might otherwise be boring-to-read content. Now it looks to me like they're being hauled out of the communications toolkit without nearly enough forethought. Here are three factors to consider before launching yet another infographic:
1) Audience: How well do you know your intended audience? How do they process information? What's their preferred learning style?
Advocates argue that graphics help spatial-temporal reasoning. My response? Only if the person is a visual learner from the get-go. If customers and clients are visually oriented, then infographics could be effective. If they aren't, then your message will not permeate their brain, no matter how snazzy your design.
While you're at it, add age to the mix. Age is a demographic that will help you assess whether your audience is icon-driven or icon-befuddled. There's at least one generation, not dead yet, for whom icons fail to provide meaning.
Go find out this info about your audience before investing time, talent, and money into creating anything for people who can't comprehend charts and graphs.
2) Design: Are you letting trendy eye candy eclipse readability? For a while just about every infographic was an homage to Art Deco, then to mid-century Modern, then a mash-up of industrial design and 1950s cartoons.
Creating infographics that look like every other one out there is not a smart strategy. Take a look at Cool Infographics for examples of design supporting message and content.
As with anything else created for online viewing, choice of colors and fonts matters. Design rules do not get suspended just because you're creating an infographic.
3) Usability: For how long do you want anyone to use your infographic? Seeking that moment of viral fame? Or do you want your infographic to have staying power? Usability will decline if your infographic is too visually jarring to be readable (see above) or sucks up too much visual real estate.
You want to make sure your infographic won't require lots of scrolling to view, can be easily embedded in a social media platform (e.g., a blog, Pinterest), and will work near-equally well on a mobile phone, tablet, and honking huge computer monitor.
Remember, infographics are just one tool and we don't need to use a hammer to drive home every point. Slow down and think more strategically about who you want to reach, for how long you want them to pay attention, and whether they can pass your infographic along without crashing a brain or digital platform.