Mistakes to Avoid When Designing an Infographic

Infographics help your audience understand faster the information you want to provide them with. Whether you’ve written an article, a book, or are giving a presentation, an infographic can go far in helping your audience better understand the information you want to provide to them. Not only that; it can drive the story toward the direction you want to drive it so that your audience concludes without a doubt that your information is accurate.

But, an infographic has to be well made or it will make things worse rather than better for your audience – and for you. Here are some mistakes to avoid when designing an infographic.

* Not Checking Your Math – If the numbers don’t add up, they’ll be even more noticeable when you use images. Ensure that the way you arrange everything means that the numbers add up. There’s nothing like people focusing on your numbers being 147 percent instead of 100 percent. Even if there are reasons, the information will not be believable if the numbers don’t make sense.

* Not Using the Right Form of Chart or Graph – There are many types of charts, from 3D graphics, to pie charts, to stacked bars, line charts, and more. Use the right type to show the information you want correctly, without trying to trick the reader into thinking something is better than it is by the visuals you use.

* Not Laser Targeting the Information – When you are trying to create an infographic, you need to narrow down the type of information that you want to provide. It’s imperative that you don’t try to convey too much information in one infographic. You may be able to create more than one infographic out of any survey or group of data that you obtain.

* Not Scaling Images Correctly – When you are using images to portray a value, it’s imperative that the images you choose are proportional in relation to the number. Don’t try to make numbers look bigger than they are by your visuals.

* Not Creating Compelling Headlines – If you want someone to click through to look at your infographic and to keep reading it, take the time to develop headlines that make people want to know more.

* Not Including the Legend on the Infographic – Some people try to save space by putting a link to the legend, but you don’t want to do it that way. Put the legend in a clear place right on the infographic.

* Not Using the Right Comparisons – Don’t compare apples and oranges. Ensure that any comparisons you make aren’t conflating two different things. If you do that, you’ll confuse your audience – plus you might even turn them off.

* Not Using Logic When Arranging Data – Arranging data in a logical way is important. For example, if you want to demonstrate something using a pie chart, put the colors of the pie in the order of size.

Using infographics can help explain tough-to-understand data, directions, and information that you have explained in an article, blog post, or white paper. The addition of an infographic that can work both with and without the text information will help you impart information in a better way; you just need to know the mistakes to avoid when designing an infographic.

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