5 Rules for Infographic Success

5 RULES FOR
INFOGRAPHIC SUCCESS
A how-to guide with case samples

IQ Agency
August 2012
iqagency.com

Copyright © 2012 by IQ Agency

OVERVIEW
How do you deliver a whole bunch of information in a way that’s
organized, meaningful and compelling? For the last few years,
one of the most popular trends on the Internet has been the
implementation of infographics, transforming tedious data into
graphic-rich content, designed specifically to be easier to digest,
more engaging, and highly scannable.

But does it work?

This document covers what IQ considers to be the top 5 rules for
using infographics successfully.

But first, let’s discuss the anatomy of an infographic.

Copyright © 2012 by IQ Agency 2

Infographics (“Information graphics”)
are graphic visual representations of
information, data or knowledge.
Essentially, they make content more
fun to digest.
These graphics present complex
information quickly and clearly, such
as in signs, maps, journalism,
technical writing, and education.*
* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infographic


INFOGRAPHIC EXAMPLE
Source: go.iqagency.com/5-best-infographics-rules


WHY THEY WORK
Infographics are popular because they simplify concepts that would
otherwise be difficult to understand or are simply overwhelming to consider.
While the attention spans of Internet page visitors are diminishing,
expectations for quick and compelling content are increasing.

Users not only want to be able to parse information at lightning speed—they
demand an enjoyable experience doing so.


5 RULES FOR USING INFOGRAPHICS
SUCCESSFULLY
1. Tell a story
2. Pick the right visuals
3. Keep it simple
4. Stay timely
5. Make it shareable


1. TELL A STORY.
Think of your infographics as stories-- each should be structured with an
introduction, a middle and a conclusion.
Before designing your infographics, research all the data points you want to cover ahead of
time, determine what content is most compelling and important to relay, and ensure your
story has an arc.

And because you are creating infographics, use visuals to bring your story to
life.
Think about ways to visuals to increase the impact of the ideas you want to convey. Consider
what role text will play in your infographics and how it can also help enhance your story.

Obviously, design should play a heavy role in your storytelling.
Look for original ways to translate data to visuals. Bar charts are fine, but not particularly
engaging. Use color coding and unexpected shapes to represent ideas —whatever it takes to
surprise and engage.


1 TELLING A STORY:
POOR EXAMPLE

1. This infographic represents the
environmental benefits of freight
rails, but offers no story or
natural flow of content.

2. While the green implies being
environmentally friendly,
too much green causes the data
2 to get lost.

3. The images are a good start in
terms of visualizing the content,
but they misrepresent the
numbers that the data calls out.
3

Full Infographic:
http://visual.ly/environmental-
benefits-freight-rail


TELLING A STORY:
GOOD EXAMPLE

1
This financial infographic
explains the hidden value of
investing in less developed
countries.

1. Key points are clearly labeled
and help the information flow.

2. Visuals allow the reader to view
the data using minimal text.

3. Statistics are presented in a
variety of ways to keep the
infographic from becoming
repetitive.

Full Infographic:
http://www.iqagency.com/work/
cassh-information-graphics
2
3

2. PICK THE RIGHT VISUALS.
The types of infographics you will need to create will be determined by the data you are trying
to convey.

What data points do you have? Are they statistics? Timelines? Processes? Geographically organized? How you
present your data will be contingent upon this point.

Begin with the data, not the design.
What may have appeared to be a process flow when you began may turn into a timeline by the time you are
finished. While data visualization may seem like the most exciting step, it is important to begin and plan with
a content audit before working on a conceptual wireframe.

Consider where your readers will access your infographic.
Will your users be at their desk when they see your infographic? Or will they more likely be on a mobile
device? Or an iPad? If possible conduct customer research before starting to ensure it will be optimized for the
appropriate audience.

Not all visualizations are created equal.
Just because you can present content through a creative visualization doesn’t mean you should. There should
be connectivity between what you are trying to say and what you are visually showing. If the content you have
is best presented in a pivot table, it may not lend itself to presentation as a simplified graphic.


PICKING THE RIGHT
VISUALIZATION:
POOR EXAMPLE

1. This infographic of the anatomy
of a vegan misuses bar charts so
that no numbers pop and labels
are difficult to read.

2. The graphic points to
1 illustrations that don’t seem to
have any recognizable
relationship with the numbers.

2
Full Infographic:
http://
www.advancedphysicalmedicine.org
/anatomy-of-vegan-infographic.php


PICKING THE RIGHT
VISUALIZATION:

1 GOOD EXAMPLE

This infographic explains
where to invest cash.

1. Playbook style illustrations
complement the sports theme
and clearly segment different
types of investments.

2. Statistics are introduced and
viewed using large, clear images
and can be identified at a glance
through color and placement.

2 Full Infographic:
2 b2c-marketing-infographic


3. KEEP IT SIMPLE.
People should be able to understand what you are trying to convey in seconds.

Anything longer and it’s no longer simple. Even if the subject matter is advanced and might take
longer to process the actual data, the basic subject matter should be clear in a matter of seconds.

Use text sparingly and graphics that enhance the subject matter.
Remember, it’s an image. The objective is to create “graphical representations of information.”

Be conservative in the use of different fonts.
The text you use should be easy to spot and read. Using more than three fonts creates clutter
and degrades the illustrative nature of infographics.

Don’t make it long just for the sake of making it long.
Sometimes it makes sense to have long, scrolling infographics, as long as every piece of content
has a specific reason for being there. Keep your ideas focused. It’s not a term paper. The fewer
ideas you communicate the more likely they will be successfully consumed.


KEEPING IT SIMPLE:
POOR EXAMPLE

This infographic highlights key
dates in African-American
history.

Unfortunately, it is impossible to
follow any sort of flow of content
due to too many words, no
recognizable order, and no imagery
to back up the data.

Full Infographic:
http://www.wallstats.com/
389yearsago/


1 KEEPING IT SIMPLE:
GOOD EXAMPLE

1. This horizontal infographic on
the trustworthiness of beards
demonstrates how a simple
design can still be compelling.

2 2. Color is used subtly to show a
range from very trustworthy to
dangerous.

3. While each beard is labeled,
providing an additional level of
humor isn’t necessary: the
simple beard graphic clearly
3 demonstrates the information
without words.

Full Infographic:
http://visual.ly/how-much-you-
can-trust-bearded-man


4. STAY TIMELY.
Infographics are trendy
Infographics often highlight current themes in the marketplace or in a particular industry
using timely data. For that reason, it is important to design your infographics to feel current
and up-to-date.

Prepare to revise.
If you want to provide content that feels current, be it a trend in the stock market, a surge of
interest in the social media world, or a new fad diet, be prepared to revise it to constantly
stay on top of the trend.

Make sure you date your work.
If you don’t properly label data that is time-sensitive, users will discredit the information.
Make sure to be upfront and clear about statistical data.


STAYING TIMELY:
POOR EXAMPLE

1. This “Top 10” infographic is
cleverly done in terms of making
the bar chart into books on a
bookshelf.

2. However, the books run the risk
of becoming out of date as new
popular books are added to the
mix.

3. Because no date is added to the
infographic, it’s difficult to
determine whether the
information is still valid or not.

Full Infographic:
http://visual.ly/top-10-most-read-
books-world


STAYING TIMELY:
GOOD EXAMPLE
1

1. The infographic is dated at the
top so readers know they are
reading a recent version.

2. This infographic calls out key
2 dates and investment
implications of the Eurozone
crisis which can be identified
quickly at first glance.

3. This is a great way to keep
3 viewers coming back to an
infographic and establishing
yourself as a consistent, credible
source of timely information.

Full Infographic:
ishares-good-infographics


5. MAKE IT SHAREABLE.
Display your infographics where your audiences congregate.
Blogger outreach is a great way of approaching this. For example, stock trading infographics
will receive more impressions when posted on popular financial networks.

Use company branding sparingly to avoid the presumption of biased content.
You want your company to show what you know about a topic, rather than focusing on how
your company owns that topic. Remember, these are infographics not advertisements.

Optimize so that sharing features are available.
This can be approached in multiple ways, such as social media buttons for Facebook,
Twitter, and Pinterest, or using social sharing tools like ShareThis.

Use web sites optimized for sharing infographics like Visual.ly or Pinterest to
create impressions outside your typical target audience.
Believe it or not, many people actually like infographics, not simply because of the subject
matter they convey, but because they simply like infographics!


SHARING
INFOGRAPHICS
1

1. Some infographics offer the
ability to pin, tweet, or share the
graphic.

2. Others might go as far as to craft
an additional data point on
behalf of the user, making it even
2 easier to pass relevant
information to the masses and
spread impressions.


1
VISUAL.LY

1. Visual.ly is the world's largest
community of infographics and
data visualization.

2. Users can browse all content or
can filter by specific categories,
such as gaming, animals,
education, how-to and other
topics.

2

Source:
http://www.visual.ly


PINTEREST

Pinterest is another location where
infographic enthusiasts mine for
information content, regardless of
the topic.

Source:
http://www.pinterest.com


PUNCH LIST FOR YOUR NEXT INFOGRAPHIC
STORYTELLING VISUALIZATION SIMPLICITY TIMELINESS SHARABILITY
Does it have a Have you Can your topic Will your design Is your graphic
beginning, gathered and be identified in withstand displayed where
middle, and reviewed all seconds? current trends? your target
end? data points? audience is?
Do you use text Will you able to
Do your visuals Have you sparingly? update timely Have you
bring it to life? designed based information? limited your
on where users Do you use branding?
Have you will view your fonts Is all time-
considered infographic? conservatively? sensitive data Have you
unusual design annotated and/ planned for
elements to set Is the research Does it have a or cited sharing
yourself apart? you’ve compiled particular focal appropriately? features?
compelling point?
enough for an Have you posted
infographic? to infographics
sites?


THANK YOU
To get in touch with IQ, call us at:
678-449-2021
or visit: iqagency.com


5 Rules for Infographic Success

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