So you want to create an infographic and according to that you have seen many references and now you are ready to go. Do you need to read another guide on how to make an Infographic Design, if you ask me then I would honestly say No. If you know what to make and you have a clear picture of it then it’s the best time to hit the bull’s eye.

But if you are the kind of person who enjoys learning about the creation and design process and have at least 15 minutes to go through once, then I think it will be worth your time.

We use 5 steps in making of every infographic :

1. Selection of a story
2. Wise choice of type
3. To have relevant data
4. Design process
5. Promotion

1. Selection of story

This is the main and I would say one of the hardest part as you have to think that what should it be about? What is the gist of it which you want to showcase by using it a different approach? For us this is a discovery process by which follows two approaches:-

Data driven approach – This is when you already have your data and with that you want to tell the story. Here you try to use the data with your story line rather than using it to outline your story.

Problem approach – This approach requires you to think about the problem first when you are trying to solve it or the questions which you have to answer with your story.

2. Wise choice of type

You have got the story and now you have to choose the type of infographic. How many types of infographics are there? There are hardly 10 types of infographics which can be used to make things appealing by providing a different look. Wait before you roll your eyes here and there. Here you got the list.

a. Statistical Infographics

b. Timeline Infographics (time-oriented)

c. Process Infographics

d. Informational Infographics

e. Geographic Infographics

f. Compare/Contrast Infographics

g. Hierarchical Infographics

h. Research-based Infographics

i. Interactive Infographics

j. Word cloud Infographics

3. To have relevant data

More boring stuff as we are moving ahead. So here are three approaches which can make a tedious task a bit interesting.

Own data – If you are using this approach then you have here own data on which infographics have to be made. If you don’t have then your company or organisation would be having subject or story on which you are going to write about. Ask around and send some emails to get it work.

Original research – “OR” or Original research is the king and I am sure that no one can beat this. You don’t require any content writer or data research team for this. And unless you’ve got a big budget don’t even think of paying a research or marketing firm for this.

4. Design Process

So you have got the story, type of infographic and the data. Now all these have to be put together to give them an appealing look. I will not lie as for a non-designer it’s a tough job to create an eye soothing infographic from the scratch. I’m sorry if you were led to believe that you can click a few buttons and magic appears.

Personally, I’ve been doing this for years and I still kind of suck at it. My infographics still look amateurish. How did I get better? There are few points on which we have to work for the better outcome.

On color scheme – The best way to choose good colors for your layout is to get inspire by others work that how they use colors for their designs and layouts or to just play with a single color and their shades.

On Fonts – You should not become fan of using too many fonts and try to get stick with two fonts and use it with your themes for getting easy to read and to make things look visually good.

On layouts – Put everything together by picking up a layout which is enjoyable to read. The infographic should be well balanced. If you stick to a grid system, you should be fine.  If you’ve created an outline or picked a template, you should just follow that layout.

On chart types – Most people have tendency to visualise things that how should be the diagram has to be big and complex in order to deliver an impact. How many people know how to depict a dense diagram or call it a chord? Stick to simple charts like line, column, bubble charts etc. Or better to use numbers and words if charts aren’t necessary.

On outline – Before you getting dive into making the infographic, it’s better to make outline on the piece of paper for better ideas.

It’s all about readability. In the age of newspaper, editor wanted writers to use 5-7 readability factor when writing an article. So keep it simple and smoother rather than making it destructive.

5. Promotion

Yippee… Congratulations.Now you have done with the infographic but remember one point, if you have done infographic for the marketing purpose then here comes a one more step which is promotion. There is no mean of going through all this effort if no one sees it. Is there?

Here are some key points which you should keep in mind.

• Sharing on all your social networks.
• Send out an email newsletter.
• Ask your advocates to share explicitly.
• Post it on social discovery sites.
• Outreach – find bloggers who will benefit from sharing your infographic.