6 Silly Mistakes to Avoid When Creating Your Next Infographic
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Most universities use infographics because they can break down hard-to-digest information into simple, easily understandable components. Visual aids help students conquer the lack of motivation to study, save time with lesson preparation, and drastically improve their vocabulary, to name but a few. Humans are visual creatures, and that’s what makes infographics so effective. Students can use infographics to present their research findings, share data or highlight trends, and turn their assignments into passion projects.
Making infographics is easier than ever, and there’s no compromise on quality. With an infographic maker, you can transform complex data into a simple yet striking visual form. The templates save you time, so your infographic will be visually appealing and highly sharable. The thing is, infographics are tricky to get right. Numerous mistakes can be made, some leading to ineffective presentation, while others can kill your infographic. These are the critical design flaws you need to avoid.
- Too Much Text
The popularity of infographics is credited to the fact that they enjoyably cover heavy topics. Text provides context, but it should be short compared to the graphics and illustrations. Don’t make the words do all the work. An abundance of text will make it harder for others to absorb knowledge and grasp the connection between concepts. The best part about using an infographic is you can get straight to the point. Figure out what you want to say and select a layout that best suits your needs. Your images should speak the right thousand words and complement the theme.
Like a good story, your infographic should have a beginning, a middle, and an end. You can’t copy and paste data into an infographic. It’s not how it works. Split up the content into small, very focused chunks to simplify your infographic. One of the easiest ways to ruin an infographic is to include extraneous details. Instead of going into the details, you should better illustrate your ideas. Thoughtful visuals will enhance comprehension, so your data will be portrayed in the most straightforward way possible.
- No Consistency in Your Visuals
There should be rigor and consistency in the use of visual elements throughout the infographic to minimize visual clutter. Use white space (margins, padding between columns, etc.) to let the rest of the content breathe, play with lighter and darker colors, and create a structured and attractive design. Making connections between elements and building a solid visual hierarchy is of the essence. Your choice of visuals can lead to data visualization inaccuracies and leave readers feeling helpless, confused, or angry.
- Tackling Too Many Subjects
An infographic needs an exciting topic that grabs attention, educates, and informs. Don’t try to tackle too many subjects at once because you can’t divide your attention without compromising your focus. You’ll end up designing an infographic that’s either too long or too cluttered. There should be only six main data points; it’s the information you view as most important within the data you’ve collected about the topic. If you try to create an infographic that’s interesting for everyone, you’ll end up pleasing no one.
Exploratory visuals are used when you’re not sure what questions you need to answer with the data you’ve collected. Narrative visuals help support the hypothesis of your story and tend to be illustration-heavy. What matters is that you choose an infographic template that works for the type of data set you want to present. You’ll find one perfect for achieving your goals among the many types of infographics. Examples include but aren’t limited to side-by-side infographics, timeline infographics, graph-based infographics, and flowchart infographics.
- Using Only Static Images
When creating an infographic, you can use stationary images like flow charts, diagrams, and maps to display data or statistics. The images don’t require user input. If you use static images exclusively, you miss out on one of the most powerful ways of presenting data: video. Use YouTube videos in your infographic to captivate your audience. Determine what your call to action will be, whether you’ll need subtitles or translations, and how long you want the clip to be. By combining sound, moving graphics, and text, you help viewers understand and retain information.
- Terrible Headline
The headline indicates what the infographic is about and offers a solution to a problem (a benefit for the reader). You can include numbers (6 Important Tips on Writing a Research Paper), add an interesting adjective (Best Headline Formulas That Work), and use call-to-action words (Don’t Let These Myths Doom Down Your Presentation). Don’t over promise or exaggerate. Keep the target audience in mind as you’re developing the infographic to understand what they need. It’s helpful to have a rough design sketch to write a copy to complement the design.
A good infographic headline will have these features:
- It summarizes the overall content.
- It immediately hooks readers’ attention.
- It has between 11 and 24 words.
The headline is people’s first impression of your infographic, so invite them to learn more.
- Over-Illustration
You must show, not tell. A good theme and a tasteful illustration are enough to explain anything to anyone. Nonetheless, infusing too much personality into the infographic you’ve created will come back to bite you. Illustrations function to explain, prove, or apply and shouldn’t be used excessively. If you can get your point across without resorting to images, it’s better not to use them. Choose only a few elements to bring to life – in other words, find creative ways to illustrate your points as you explain, prove, and apply.
To summarize, if you want to deliver information in a visually impactful way, you won’t find a better tool than an infographic. Creating an infographic takes more than copying some data on a page and hoping for the best. Actually, it’s a challenge and requires a mindset that can be acquired with strenuous effort. If you avoid the pitfalls mentioned above, you can take your performance to the next level and get the attention you’re after. Simplicity is hard to get right.