1

Infographics:
An introduction
Dr. Jennifer Ferreira
Centre for Business in Society
Coventry University
August 2014


2
Infographics: An Introduction

Contents
Infographics: An Introduction .......................................................................................... 2
Introduction .................................................................................................................... 3
What are Infographics? ................................................................................................. 3
The Tools: software options for making infographics .............................................. 5
Tableau ....................................................................................................................... 5
Online Infographic Platforms ................................................................................... 8
Creating infographics ................................................................................................. 10
10 Top Tips for Creating Infographics .................................................................. 13
A Short Guide to using Inkscape and Publisher ...................................................... 14
Inkscape .................................................................................................................... 16
Editing Icons and Images in Inkscape ................................................................... 16
Microsoft Publisher .................................................................................................. 18
Books and Websites .................................................................................................... 21
Summary ....................................................................................................................... 24
References .................................................................................................................... 25








3
Introduction

If youve read a newspaper or blog, flipped through a magazine, or used
social media recently, youve likely come across infographics those self-
contained pictorials that tell you the gist of the story or concept at a glance
(Smiciklas, 2012).

The use of infographics and other data visualizations have become increasingly
popular in the mainstream media as well as blogs, personal websites and social
media. They can be a useful mechanism to display information in visual manner.
There are many different ways you can create these images, some of which use
specialist software while others make more creative use of software you may
already frequently use. This introductory guide provides an overview of the
different ways which infographics can be produced, some tips for creating
infographics, as well as a short guide to producing simple infographics using
Inkscape and Microsoft Publisher.
What are Infographics?

An infographic is defined as a visualization of data or
ideas that tries to convey complex information to an
audience in a manner than can be quickly consumed
and easily understood (Smiciklas, 2012).
Infographics are essentially visual representations of
information. They are used to tell stories, convey ideas or
explore issues through a range of different graphics.
Infographics are now widely used in mainstream media to
increase a readers understanding of a particular topic or
issue. Alongside the traditional media such as newspapers
and magazines you will also find infographics in many digital
publishing channels and increasingly they are being
produced by a range of public and private sector institutions
as part of publications strategies (the example shown here
is from the Office for National Statistics).
Source: ONS (2013)


4
While it might appear that infographics are a recent phenomenon that have
developed alongside the internet the reality is that we have been using icons,
graphics, and pictures throughout history to tell stories and share information. This
can be seen in Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics, or Leonardo Da Vincis illustrations
of the human anatomy in the 16th century.
In Geography, data visualization is certainly not a new concept and the rise of
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) has been a key driver for the growth of
more visual representations of data. However, the modern form of infographics as
a particular form of data visualization could be considered a more recent concept.
Since around 2009 there has been a rise in the use of the term 'infographic' to
describe visualizations that use various graphics to display data and other ideas. A
quick look at a Google trends report shows how rapidly the rise in the interest of
the world infographic has taken place.



Infographics can be useful to disseminate information from research in a more
visual manner than traditional publication methods. There are no rules for
creating infographics, they can be as large or as small as you want them to be and
they can include as much or as little information as you wish (as seen in the two
examples shown on the next page).



Google Trends: Infographic
Source: Google Trends (2014)


5


The Tools: software options for making infographics

There are a range of different software options for making infographics and other
data visualizations, some use software you may already by familiar with, some are
freely available online platforms (with a paid subscription to access additional
features), and others are software packages which need to be purchased. I will
explore some of these options before providing a more each detailed explanation
of how to use Inkscape and Microsoft Publisher to create infographics later in this
document.

Tableau

Tableau: http://www.tableausoftware.com/public/

You may already by familiar with the data visualizations produced by the Tableau
software as it is frequently used in publications such as the Guardian, the Wall
Street Journal and the Economist.

Tableau is a piece of software which allows you to produce a range of data
visualizations and create dashboards' of information (which can be interactive),
like those shown on the next page.

Source: XKCD:
http://xkcd.com/1071
Source: DfID (2013)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dfid/11238612796/siz
es/o/


6














There are two versions of the desktop software, the personal edition ($999) and a
professional edition ($1,999). However, there is also a free public version which
allows you to use the software with all the files you create saved on the Tableau
public website. This means if there was anything you did not wish to share
immediately this platform would not be suitable.


Source: New Scientist (2011)
Source: Guardian (2011)


7
For many academics the use of Tableau may go beyond simply producing graphs,
charts and maps for infographics but may be a useful tool for data visualization
more broadly.

For those involved in teaching , there is a Tableau for teachers program which
allows the use of the software for free for the teacher and the students:
http://www.tableausoftware.com/academic/teaching

Tableau also have a number of White Papers on different aspects of data
visualization, including:
'Data Storytelling: Using visualization to share the human impact of
numbers': which explains that 'stories take advantage of human cognition.
They build connections and context around facts in order to make them
memorable' (2013:p.3). This uses examples from Tableau to show how
stories can be presented using their software, but more broadly highlights
the importance of developing a story or key message with your
visualization. It also shows that data visualization is not a new concept and
was in fact used by Dr John Snow in 19th century London with his research
on the spread of cholera.

'Visual Analysis Best Practices: Simple Techniques for Making Every Data
Visualization Useful and Beautiful': which provides a good overview of what
makes visualizations effective in terms of the types of charts used, ways to
emphasize importance data, and designing dashboards in the Tableau
software. In terms of design this document contains a lot of useful tips, for
example the types of fonts or colours to use and how to label them
effectively. It also includes a helpful list of questions to ask yourself when
you've completed a visualization which are useful for evaluating your own
work before publishing it:

Does this visualization answer all of your questions?
Is the purpose of the visualization clearly explained in its title or
surrounding text?
Can you understand the visualization in 30 second or less, without
additional information?
Source: Tableau (2013)


8
These are just some of the questions you might want to ask when you've produced
a visualization, and the questions may alter depending on the purpose of the the
infographic you are producing.

For those involved in university admissions or promotion of your department the
White Paper '8 Ways Universities are making an Impact with Data' may also be
useful. These and other White Papers including a special report from the
Economist Intelligence Unit and Tableau on 'Fostering a Data-Driven Culture' are
available to download from the Tableau website:
http://www.tableausoftware.com/learn/whitepapers

Online Infographic Platforms

The number of online platforms to create infographics continues to increase, with
many offering similar features. It is important to note that with many of these
online platforms which allow you to create infographics for free, it is often the
case, as with Tableau Public, that your infographic will automatically be shared on
their website. If you wish to make an infographic that remains private for a period
of time then you should perhaps explore the paid options with the platform of
your choice, or explore the Inkscape/Publisher option which I will explain later in
this document. However, given the nature of many infographics is to raise
awareness of an issue, research project, or idea then sharing it in another location
is only going to raise your impact further, so this might not be an issue. The
platforms included here represent some of the more widely used, but a quick
search on Google for infographic websites will produce a whole host of different
ways to start creating graphic designs that can be used as infographics - three are
introduced here.

Infogram
http://infogr.am

Infogram is a free visualization tool with six templates and
colour schemes to choose from which each vary in colour,
font and style. With this platform it is possible to upload
images, maps and text to include in the infographic. There is


9
also the option to upgrade to a premium account where there is more
functionality related to adding images, and changing styles.

Piktochart
http://piktochart.com/

Piktochart is another free visualization tool with an optional premium version. The
free version provides a series of templates which can be altered, and various
elements changed to suit the authors requirements. This platform has more
functionality in terms of customisation of the format as well as uploading and
editing data, providing different icons, and the positioning of infographic
elements.

















10
Easelly
http://www.easel.ly/blog/

Easelly, another infographic generator offers 15 templates for infographics as well
as the ability to create your own. It is also possible to import various types of
objects and icons to customize you infographic. For those who already use the
presentation creation platform Prezi, the format used by Easelly may seem familiar.

Most of these infographic generator platforms are easy to use and may be able to
provide you with enough customization to produce the kind of infographics that
you need. For those who are more creative, or would like to do more with
infographics, then the free versions of these platforms may feel restrictive, in which
case creating your own infographics from scratch might be a better option.

Creating infographics

This next section provides some tips for creating infographics whether you decide
to use an online design tool or standalone design software. Infographics are
created for different purposes, for some companies they are produced as a
marketing tool, for some NGOs they are used to raise awareness of an issue, for
academics they might be used to introduce a research project, to highlight some
research findings or simply to start sharing ideas about a topic. Whatever the
purpose of the infographic these are some things to consider.


11
Make the theme, story or message clear
Infographics need to have a clear theme, story or message. It is important to
think about what the purpose of your infographic is and what you want to
showcase before you start your design.
It is a good idea to story board your idea before you start creating anything
digitally. This helps draw out your ideas and begin to think about how they
might fit together in an infographic. Sometimes an idea that might seem
clear in a written paper or report might take a lot of work to display visually,
and it is much easier to just sketch out rough ideas on paper than in a
digital format.
The storyboard doesn't have to be detailed - an example of a draft sketch I
created for the infographic I created for the RGS-IBG 2014 conference next
to the finished result is an example.





Infographic Sketch and Final Result
Source: Author


12
Consider your audience
As with any type of publication it is important to consider
your audience. Think about the big ideas that you are trying
to display with your infographic and how best to visualize
this. Tailor the infographic to the audience and where you are
going to publish it. What symbols will be instantly
recognisable for your topic? If you are presenting research
findings are there terms or concepts that will need
explaining?

Make it visually appealing
This might seem obvious but it is nevertheless fundamental
to the production of a successful infographic.
Use graphs, maps and data to support your main
ideas.
If the infographic looks too complex, remove one or
two of the ideas and focus on those that remain.
If there are several ideas that need to be displayed
segment the infographic the break the information
down into manageable chunks.

Consider the Size
Infographics vary significantly in size so you need to consider
what will work best for you depending on how much content
you need to display and where you are likely to publish it. For
online infographics the longer versions sometimes work very
well. An example is shown here of an infographic I produced
while working at the Royal Geographical Society which has a
lot of different types of information all related to the theme of
megacities. It is an example of a much longer infographic
which is suitable for viewing on a website, but works less
effectively in print as it would take several pages.

Consider simplicity
There is a temptation to try and include a lot of information in
an infographic but sometimes the best infographics are the
simple ones. If you have a lot of information to present
Source: RGS (2014)


13
consider keeping the design as simple as possible (with limited fonts or colours),
or create a series of infographics.

Don't worry if there is space on your infographic - you dont have to fill every part
of it, it is more important that there is a clear focus to the infographic and a flow
between the different elements of information.

Use your data effectively
Whether it is qualitative or quantitative you can use infographics to showcase your
data. Try and consider more novel ways of presenting different aspects of your
data. Are there more visual ways that statistics can be presented rather than in a
table? Can you use a map to display information? Are there icons that you could
use represent some of the data?

Consider the impact
Most infographics are designed to be shared. Nearly all the online infographic
generators will provide an embed code for you to embed the infographic in
other websites, or links to tweet it or share it on other social media. If your
infographic is designed to be shared online then this should be taken into
consideration in the design stage - a much longer infographic will be less effective
on Twitter than it would on a website or blog.

There are no rules for making infographics and there is no set formula for a
successful infographic as it will depend on the content, purpose and design of the
infographic. As you begin to make infographics you will develop your own style,
you will realise the kind of designs that you like and are happy to work with, and
others that you don't. If you are new to making infographics start with something
small and simple and over time add in more features and design idea as you
develop your skills.

10 Top Tips for Creating Infographics
1) Sketch out a draft storyboard on paper before creating your digital design.
2) Be clear - have a title that is likely to 'grab' your audience.
3) Be concise - restrict the amount of ideas you are going to include.
4) Try to use differentgraphics to tell your story.
5) Limit your colour palette to keep the design simple.


14
6) Limit the amount of font styles used.
7) Try not to use too much text.
8) Only use data relevant to your infographic
9) Use simple graphics and icons that relate to your data
10) If you have a lot of information to convey consider breaking the infographic
into sections.
A Short Guide to using Inkscape and Publisher

Having introduced some of the online infographic design platforms as well as
some ideas to consider when creating infographics, this next section turns to
explore the use of Inkscape and Microsoft Publisher to produce infographics.
These are not the only software options open to you and any equivalent document
design software and image editing software (such as Adobe Illustrator) should
produce similar results.

The way infographics are designed will vary from person to person. In many
infographics the use of icons and images to display information is common. You
do not need to design the icons yourself, there are several places you can visit to
find a range of different icons and images that are suitable:

The Noun Project: http://thenounproject.com/
A good place to source icons to use in
infographics is a website called the Noun
Project. You will need to register with the
noun project and then you can download
file packages which include a version which
you can then tailor to your needs in Inkscape
(an .svg file). You can choose to subscribe to
the Noun Project with a series of options
depending on how much you want to use
them (a personal account which gives you
10 icon licenses a month is $10 a month), or
you can still download the without any costs
but you need to credit the designer of the
icons, except where they are freely available in


15
the public domain. If you are likely to become a regular user of this type of
images, a subscription would be a good investment.
Canva https://www.canva.com/
Canva is a little different from the other infographic generator platforms
mentioned earlier in this document, as it focuses more on creating graphics
to be used within infographics, or graphics for other purposes such as a
poster or presentation and so would be more useful for generating
elements of your infographic.
Wikimedia Commons: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
This is a repository of a range of media files which are freely
available. This is particularly useful for blank outline maps in svg.
format which can then be edited in Inkscape.
Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/
Flickr is a photo hosting website but there is the option to search for
images which can be used under the Creative Commons license. If
you wish to use photographs to include in your infographic but don't
have any suitable from your own collections this could be a good
place to start.


16
Inkscape

http://www.inkscape.org/en/

When I have mentioned to people that I used Microsoft Publisher and Inkscape to
make infographics the usual reaction is that they can use Publisher but have no
idea that Inkscape even exists and find it daunting to think about learning to use it.
The good news is that Inkscape is not complicated to use if you know what you are
trying to do with it. The other good news is that Inkscape is open source software
and so it is free to download. Inkscape is a vector editor, this means it can edit
images without losing as much quality as would do it you were editing a other
bitmap graphics such as jpeg .gif or .png. The files you will be editing in Inkscape
are .svg (which stand for Scalable Vector Graphics). Once you've finished editing
an image you can export it as a bitmap file which can then use in your infographic
(or any other document).

Editing Icons and Images in Inkscape

There are three key functions you will need to be able to edit icons and graphics in
Inkscape:
Editing Colours
Removing the background
Exporting the image

After you have downloaded a
suitable icon in an .svg format from
somewhere like the Noun Project
open up the file in Inkscape and you
should have a screen that looks like
this.

Hold down the Ctrl & A keys to
select all of the icon objects, and
then to change the colour of the
icon to suit the theme of your
infographic by selecting one of the


17
colours on the bar at the bottom of
the screen (you can continue to scroll
along to find the colour you need).

If you need a specific colour, for
example to use a university colour and
you have the Pantone or RGB number
for those colours it's easy to change it
to one of these colours too.

Double click here and you will open
up a window with more colour
controls.


Here I have changed the colour using the RGB numbers (0/170/155) to give this
turquoise colour. You probably won't need to worry about this kind of detail
unless you are dealing with infographics that need to conform to any branding
guidelines.

So either by clicking on the colours at
the bottom of the screen or entering
specific colour details in the 'Fill and
Stroke' panel you can now change the
colour of the icons. Next you will need
to remove the background to the icon
so that it can be used on infographics
which have a different background
colour.

At the top select 'Path' and then 'Trace
Bitmap' and then tick the 'Remove
Background' box. Once you've done
this close the 'Trace Bitmap' box and
you now have a graphic ready to
export. To do this select 'File' and
'Export Bitmap'






?


18
Once the Export Bitmap window is open you have the option of changing the size
of file you export. I would recommend you change the size to at least 800 pixels in
width and height otherwise they may appear blurred if they are enlarged in the
infographic. Select the area you wish to export the graphic to by clicking on the
browse button and then click export. The file will now be saved in that location
and is ready to use in the infographic.

If you wish to edit a map in Inkscape, for example to highlight a series of countries.
All you need to do is find an .svg file version of the map (for example from
Wikimedia Commons).

Then you need to click the fill tool
indicated here, and then select the colour
you wish to use and then the area of the
map you wish to colour, as I have done
here with Florida. You then follow the
same steps to export your image ready for
the infographic. You can also remove the
background in the same way.






There are of course at lot more advanced things you can do with Inkscape with
various different graphics but it is these functions that I most commonly use and
help build some of the fundamental parts of the infographics that I have created.

Microsoft Publisher

If you have not used Publisher before the commands are similar to those you will
more than likely have used in other Microsoft software such as Word or
PowerPoint. If take a look at the example of the infographic I created for the RGS-
IBG 2014 Conference you can see the different elements that are included.


19

Don't be put off by the amount of different boxes, this was all relatively simple to
put together. Each of the maps were created in Inkscape, the graph was created in
Excel ensuring that the colours matched the scheme of the infographic and the
text boxes were created as they would be in any other document (again ensuring
the colour scheme matched).




20
Then other elements I added were:

The dotted Lines to act as section dividers: Insert>Shape>Line followed by Right
click>Format Autoshape - this allows you to make the line dotted and change the
colour.


Then to make the other images related to countries it was just a case of moving
icons created through Inkscape into the correct pattern and then grouping them
together to make one image (Select the items you wish to group>Right
Click>Grouping>Group).








For the countries with text inside them all that needs to be done is for the text to
be changed to white and placed over the top of one of the country icons
generated through Inkscape.
The rest is left to creativity, or at least
playing around the ideas you have until
you find the layout you want. This example
includes some of the simple ways of
putting an infographic together. There are
much more creative examples (and more
complicated ones) which can be found in
the list of books and website listed in the
next section. For an infographic this had
quite a lot of text. You might want to do
something with much less text for
example, this A to Z of Economic
Geography.
+
=


21
Books and Websites

There is a rapidly increasing variety of books around the topic of infographics and
data visualizations but the following are good places to start:
Cool Infographics: Effective Communication with Data Visualization and
Design, 2013, Randy Krum
This a great source for inspiration of different types of
infographics. In this book the author explains why
infographics and data visualizations can be effective, and
examines the different tools and techniques to make them.
The author is founder of InfoNewt a company which
specialises in visualizing business intelligence and author of
the blog: http://www.coolinfographics.com/


Infographics for Dummies, 2014, Justin Beegel
The author is a founder of Infographic World, a New York
City based infographic agency, and this book provides
advice on all aspects of creating infographics with a lot of
step-by-step instructions.

The Power of Infographics: Using Pictures to
Communicate and Connect with Your Audiences,
2012, Mark Smickilas
If you are completely new to making infographics
this is a good starting point, much like the
previous too this provides a lot of advice about
what to include (and what not to include) to create
effective infographics. In particular the sections on
'Visualizing how things work and are connected'
'Visualizing, who, when and where, and 'Visualizing


22
numbers and concepts provide lots of examples to illustrate the different ways
different data types can be visualized.
Visualize This: The Flowing Data Guide to
Design, Visualization and Statistics, 2011,
Nathan Yau
Data Points: Visualization That Means
Something, 2013, Nathan Yau
The first book has a lot of data design tips.
The author provides step by step tutorials to
show how to visualize and tell stories with
data, as well as practical design tips for
creating statistical graphics, geographical
maps, and information design. The second
book then e essentially acts as a companion
to Visualize This taking a closer look at a wider variety of visualizations. It explores
the use of statistical charts, maps, and the art of data graphics. The author uses
examples from art, design, business, statistics, cartography, and online media.
Infographics: The Power of Visual Storytelling,
2012, Jason Lankow, Josh Ritchie and Ross Crooks.
This book focuses less on the way you visualize
data but more on the way visualizations and
infographics can be used to communicate
messages, and particularly how you can use these
to market ideas, objects or processes. Discover
how to unlock interesting stories (in previously
buried or boring data) and turn them into visual
communications that will help build brands and
increase sales Use the power of visual content to
communicate with and engage your audience, capture attention, and expand your
market.



23
Infographica: The World As you Have Never Seen It Before, 2012 Martin
Toseland
A fun introduction to infographics and would be useful
to gain ideas about the different ways to approach
creating infographics. This is not an academic text
and does include some bizarre infographics from
the worlds hottest chillies to the countries with the
most McDonalds Restaurants but it still provides a lot
of good ideas for visualising different topics.

Information is Beautiful, 2012, David McCandless
Described as A visual guide to how the world really
works, through stunning infographics and data
visualization. If you are looking for inspiration about
how to visualize data then this would be a good
place to start. This book provides infographics on a
wide range of topics aiming to making information
meaningful, entertaining and beautiful. As with
many of the books on this list they are good starting
point or reference guide to see the different ways in
which people have developed their infographics.
These are just a few examples of the growing range of books on infographics.
If you are interested in receiving further training on data visualization and the use
of infographics there are courses run by the Guardian including, Data
Visualization for Researchers and Visualization with Motion Graphics
http://www.theguardian.com/guardian-masterclasses/data-visualisation-courses
Before you start making your own infographics you might want to have a look
through some of the websites to gather ideas. Good places to start are the
websites of the Infographic online generator platforms such as Infogram
mentioned earlier in this document.


24
Other useful websites include:
A Daily Infographic http://dailyinfographic.com/
The Office for National Statistics Infographic Guidelines:
http://theidpblog.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/infographic-guidelines-v1-
0.pdf
Cool Infographics: http://www.coolinfographics.com/
Visualizing.org: http://www.visualizing.org/
Summary

This document has provided an introduction to the world of infographics with
some ideas for platforms where they can be created, some hints and tips for their
design, as well as some guidance for using Inkscape and Microsoft Publisher to
create your own infographics. I hope you have found it useful.

An electronic copy of this report is available from:
www.eternalexploration.wordpress.com

If you have any questions about what I have written in this document or about
infographics more generally then you can contact me:













Jennifer.Ferreira@coventry.ac.uk @jennywrenwatts


25
References

Google (2014) Google Trends. Available at:
http://www.google.com/trends/explore?hl=en-US#q=infographic
Guardian (2011) Data Blog: Crime in America: Get the data for your town,
Guardian, 30 September 2011. Available at:
http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/interactive/2011/sep/30/crime-map-
us-data?guni=Article:in%20body%20link

Mackinlay, J. Kosara, R. and Wallace, M. (2013) Data Storytelling: Using
visualization to share the human impact of numbers. Tableau White Paper.
Available at: http://www.tableausoftware.com/learn/whitepapers
New Scientist (2011) Interactive graphic: Japan's deadly seismic history, New
Scientist, 14 March 2011. Available at:
http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2011/03/interactive-
graphic-japans-dea.html

ONS (2013) Infographic: Labour Market Summary 2013, Office for National
Statistics. Available at: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/infographics/labour-market-
summary-feb-2013/index.html
Royal Geographical Society with IBG (2014) Discovering Megacities. Royal
Geographical Society. Available at:
http://www.rgs.org/OurWork/Schools/Teaching+resources/Key+Stage+3+resour
ces/Global+Learning+Programme/Discovering+megacities.htm
Smiciklas, M. (2012) The Power of Infographics: Using Pictures to Communicate
and Connect with your Audiences, Indianapolis: QUE.
Tableau (2013) Visual Analysis Best Practices: Simple Techniques for Making Data
Visualization Useful and Beautiful, Tableau White Paper. Available at:
http://www.tableausoftware.com/learn/whitepapers