One of the resources that you have to draw attention visually are infographics. If you look at company accounts (on social networks) almost all of them resort to these to summarize certain information and that it is not boring, but quite the opposite. But how to make an infographic?
If as a designer this project has come to you, or you are an entrepreneur and want to have infographics that you can show on social networks so that they see that you master a topic, this interests you. Surely with what we tell you you will know what to do and how.
What is an infographic
But before giving you the steps you must take to create an infographic, it is convenient that you know exactly what we are referring to.
An infographic is a way of presenting data using not only text, but maps, tables, diagrams, images, graphs, etc. so that the information offered is simpler and easier to understand. It is even possible that you can make interactive content within the infographic, understanding this as a way for the user to interact with the content (for example, graphics that move according to the cursor or text that appears as it scrolls down).
There is no doubt that it is a content that is becoming more and more powerful and that it is used in practically all sectors. In fact, it can be used on all of them. The way it presents the results, in a simple and entertaining, even fun way, makes it easy to remember. In addition, it greatly increases visibility on social networks, especially if it is accompanied by a carousel (several images in the same publication).
For all this, and much more, infographics are increasingly used. And creating good designs is important because if it doesn't attract attention it's useless.
But how to do it?
How to make an infographic step by step
An infographic is not difficult to create. You can do it from scratch, or you can take a free or paid template and customize it with the information you need. But all infographics have a common feature: the order of the information. You cannot do one with a title on gardening and the information deals with economics, video games and literature. House not.
Therefore, here we give you the steps prior to obtaining that template (or creating it).
What to do before having the template
Before you start creating an infographic, the first thing you need is data. And not just data, but a subject. An infographic should be focused on a single topic. They can be statistical data, explain a concept, summarize a document... But not everything at the same time and from different sectors or topics.
For example, you can create an infographic about the number of pets that Spanish families have; or about indoor plants that are toxic to cats; or the results of the use of social networks in the past year. All this can be boring to read, but in an infographic with vectors, images, graphs, etc. it even becomes fun.
That means you'll need to do some data research to have what you need to organize those ideas and create a document. Many believe that once you have the information, organizing it and starting to sketch an infographic is enough, but we recommend you do that intermediate step, especially at the beginning because it will give you a better view of what information is important and what should be there. in that design.
What to do after
Once you have the information and you know the key points that you are going to add to the infographic, the next step would be to get an infographic template, or to create it yourself.
In the first case, you can find many free and paid templates. Our recommendation is that you choose the one that is closest to that possible design you have in mind because it will make your job easier and it will take less time to complete the design.
If, on the other hand, you decide to do it yourself, we advise you to have some idea template, not for you to use, but to inspire you. And who says one template, says several and take what you like most from each one to merge it into yours.
The design of the infographic is perhaps what will take you the most. And you will have to pay attention to certain details such as:
- Do not copy other templates. You can be inspired, but not copy.
- That all the elements are well integrated: graphics, images, text, etc.
- That the color is pleasant to read and at the same time draws attention to the infographic.
- An elegant, legible typography and above all that matches the theme. Do not use a vintage font if your topic is about new technologies in the future. For example.
- fair resources. That is, do not recharge it. Only the necessary elements and to be able to be simple. In fact, many infographics are based on vector images and icons, but hardly use photographs.
Where to make an infographic
Normally, infographics are made with image editing programs. Although on the Internet you can find many tools that will help you in this work and they are free. Plus, many have templates you can use if you've made that decision.
Some of the ones we recommend are:
- Canvas. It is one of the best known and used, not only to make an infographic, but for many other projects. Of course, keep in mind that you have the free version that will be limited and the paid version.
- Vengeance. It is another of the most used. With the free version you can only create 5 infographics, but it's worth a try. And an added plus: it is in Spanish.
- Easel.ly. This is another of the tools that you can use and that offers you different templates so that you can customize them and create your final design in a few minutes. Then it allows you to download them in various formats or directly share them online (we recommend the first option).
As you can see, making an infographic is not difficult. But it does require time, especially at the beginning, because to make it look good, you have to pay attention to all the visual details and keep in mind, in some way, some of the principles of graphic design that would make your design perfect. Do you dare to it?