Infographics Are a Great Way to Show Research Data AND Drive Traffic to Your Site

The really great thing about the merging of art, design and technology is the fun new ways that we can present data.  There is no excuse for killing your audience with boring charts and tables.  Infographics are here to not only inform the reader about data and statistics, but get them engaged and excited enough to pass the resource on to others.

What's Infographics?

(Information Graphics) An umbrella term for illustrations and charts that instruct people, which otherwise would be difficult or impossible with only text. Infographics are used worldwide in every discipline from road maps and street signs to the many technical drawings in this encyclopedia.

You can't begin to appreciate how powerful an infographic is until you actually see them in action.  In fact, infographics are spreading to all forms of communication, not just presentations - but resume's too.  Take a look at some of these.



 



And then there are the really good infographics that explain processes or data that are just too hard to "get" any other way.  There are more cool infographic resumes to look at over at Cool Infographics Blog.

Check out these infographics about social media

 

 

There are 65 Social Media Infographics you can look at courtesy of Pamorama Blog.

Why market Research is More Relevant than EVER

There's a trend going on that may seem threatening to market research on the outside, but is actually a huge whopping opportunity on the inside and here it is -

Data is MORE important than EVER.  But UNDERSTANDING data and putting it into a context that helps marketers develop strategies and sales people sell is an area where market research hasn't explored as much as it's needed.

Providing data and context so that the creatives can create infographics that help people understand products, services, industries and markets is HUGELY important!

So You Want to Create Your Own Infographic?

Great - you're sold and now you want to get on creating an infographic!  How do you even begin?

1. Throw down all the data - You're going to need a main point, theme or message (point #2) and if you don't have one, then the best thing to do is to throw down ALL the data that you have and start looking for comparisons, contrasts and what images come to mind as you look at the data.


2. What's it all about?  What's the burning issue you want to communicate?  Is there a main theme that you're trying to represent?  For example, if you are presenting data about social media - you can use the social media icons .  If the point of your data is to show relationships, then think about what shows a relationships such as a family tree.  If music is a theme, then think about instruments or sheet music.  You get the picture.  Use the examples to spur ideas.


3. Keep it as simple as possible.  This requires really understanding the data and what it is telling you.  Reduce it down to its simplest visual form.


4. Decide on a basic type of infographic - You can choose a timeline, a Venn diagram, flow charts and maps.  The possibilities are endless.


5. Give yourself time and a break.  Unless you're a statistical and graphic genius, chances are you will go through several iterations and drafts.  Don't get discouraged.

Here is a link to a bunch of free tools and resources where you can create your own infographics.

Have you already created an infographic - share it with us by leaving a link to your graphic in the comments.