Understanding the different types is the first step to making a clear and effective infographic. Your aim should tell you which type to use:
- I have some interesting data but a graph is not engaging enough (data infographic)
- I need my readers to see the most important feature at a glance (data or process infographic)
- I need to explain how this process works (process infographic)
- I need my readers to really understand this idea (message infographic).
Data
Data infographics present data in interesting ways. They are based on real data, and should show it accurately.
Think about developing a data infographic if you have real data and a clear message that you want to convey from the data.
One of the first examples of a data infographic was developed by Florence Nightingale in the late 1800s. Nurse Nightingale wanted to communicate the impact of poor conditions in military hospitals to persuade the army, and the Queen, to improve conditions. The blue segments show deaths from disease that were largely preventable, while black segments show deaths from all other causes, including direct fighting. Red segments show the number of wounded soldiers:
Diagram of the causes of mortality in the army in the east
Source: Nightingale F (1858). Notes on matters affecting the health, efficiency, and hospital administration of the British Army, Harrison and Sons.
A characteristic of a good data infographic is that the main message is immediately visible, while longer viewings yield more information:
Greenhouse gas emissions by country
Source: Created by Biotext and published in Australia: part of the climate problem – part of the solution by the Australian Government Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, Canberra (2011).
A variation on data infographics is a data-collection infographic. These add design elements to make a list of numbers more engaging. These are the easiest type of infographic to produce, and can be good in posters or print publications to grab attention:
Innovation and Science Australia’s stakeholder engagement
Source: Created by Biotext and published in Australia 2030: prosperity through innovation by Innovation and Science Australia, Canberra (2017).
Process
Process infographics may be the most common – most people have seen a step-by-step process laid out visually. Process infographics lead the user through something. They can be simple or complex, plain and technical, or more designed. They can seem superficially simple, but can contain layers of meaning through the grouping of information, use of colour and icons, and so on:
Source: Created by Biotext and published by the Murray–Darling Basin Authority (2019).
Message
The message infographic aims to tell a specific story to inform, educate or persuade your audience. It can be the most engaging type of infographic:
Source: Created by Biotext and published in Australia: state of the environment 2016, Australian Government Department of the Environment and Energy, Canberra.
Source: Created by Biotext and published in Australia: state of the environment 2016, Australian Government Department of the Environment and Energy, Canberra.
