Infographics for business: 6 principles of creation, 5 services and 4 tips.

Infographics for business are necessary, no designer would argue with that. And it's not because he wants to make money; it's just the most convenient way to present information. Yes, it requires painstaking work, but the result is worth it. Also, no one makes you draw everything by hand or in Photoshop. There are now a lot of services that will do half the work - you just put in the numbers.

Whatever type of infographic you choose (video or picture), you need to remember the eight basic principles, from conciseness to authenticity. They're all detailed below. We also recommend diluting boring graphs and pictograms with illustrations or some other tricks. And we talked about that, too. So get your paper and pen ready, because there is a lot of useful and interesting information waiting for you next.

The need for infographics in business.

Perhaps not much time has passed (literally 10–15 years) since people went to the library or research institution for information and were forced to spend hours or even a whole day there. In today's world, we are constantly bombarded with information that reads like rich texts that no one wants, and with the current fast pace of life, there simply isn't time.

Last but not least, this is why modern infographics technologies came about and became so popular. They let you show information in a way that is compact, structured, clear, and concise.

Thus, infographics are an independent type of information design that allows you to present all kinds of information in the form of tables, charts, diagrams, pictograms, and charts, and all these techniques can also be combined.

Important: The value of infographics for business is just the fact that they are not just pictures with labels but a separate, highly perceptible type of content that allows even a complex product (an event, a phenomenon, or news) to be presented in a clear and understandable way.

Often it happens this way: a businessman instructs a manager to complete his presentation with an infographic. If an employee does not understand what it is and what it is for, he just gathers pictures and attaches a text. Don't expect much effect from such actions. Here, the style of the infographics will be strikingly different from the brandbook. And the addressee will have to give additional explanations, which is immediately a big disadvantage for the whole affair.

How and where infographics can be used for business:

• In a company's promotional products, on product packaging.

• On the site to present complex products (to clearly show the functionality).

• On a company blog (to describe the product in detail).

• On pages of social networks in the expectation that the content will go viral.

• For creation of presentations (to present the product to partners, investors, at events, etc.).

• For mailing letters.

To use infographics for business, it's important to think carefully about what information you need to convey with them. If you want to use this tool just because your competitors have already done so or because it's trendy, don't. An infographic must really make sense. Otherwise, no one will pay attention to it, much less share it. The task here is not just to show but to clearly convey really valuable information.

SIX PRINCIPLES OF INFOGRAPHICS IN BUSINESS.

1. Conciseness of the narration.

It is important to find such a graphic variant of presentation so that the essence of the issue is disclosed as briefly and clearly as possible.

When the basic design concept is selected, it can be supplemented with important information, facts, and graphics. Remember that compact and briefly presented material is always easier to perceive and remember.

2. More elements of visualization.

Just reading texts bores people (that's not about long-form readers, of course). But visual elements (diagrams, charts, graphs, and geometric shapes) always attract more attention. Symbols and icons should be used instead of words wherever possible. Today's users are interested in this way of presenting.

3. Creative approach.

Creativity is what distinguishes infographics from simple diagrams or charts. Try to present information in the most interesting way possible; use illustrations, icons, typography, and other modern design tools. Be creative, express yourself boldly, and don't be afraid to be a little daring, and then, you can be sure, you will be noticed.

4. Organization of information.

The hallmark of a quality infographic in business is properly selected and competently structured information. Use only reliable sources; check the objectivity of the obtained data and their correspondence to reality. If the information turns out to be unreliable, you will lose your readers, and no design will save the situation.

Look for relevant materials on the Internet, go to the library, and consult with experts. The more knowledge you have, the more interesting and effective your infographics will be. Put enough effort into collecting and organizing the information, and work out both the context and the visual design.

5. Accuracy of the narration.

It can be difficult to display a large amount of information compactly in an infographic. Try not to make mistakes when constructing diagrams, charts, and graphs. Use a variety of shapes and sizes, but do not overload the material. Be sure to calculate the scale and indicate it when depicting the figures, and remember to observe the proportions.

6. Simplicity of design.

Too many visual elements are a bad thing. Infographics overloaded with details become difficult to grasp. When choosing a design and level of sophistication, be sure to consider the target audience you are working for.

Common types of infographics in business.

If we talk about the use of infographics for business, it is hardly possible to divide it simply by species. The classification turns out to be broader.

There are several types of infographics in business:

• Analytical, consisting solely of numbers and statistics.

• News, which presents events in a comic book format (it is important to show everything in chronological order and to convey to the audience the consequences of what is happening).

• Infographic-reconstruction, like "what was, what was done, and how it became."

• Presentation, which is essentially an advertisement for a product (indicating the advantages and disadvantages), as well as analytical data.

In business, infographics can be presented in the following ways:

Single. Presented as a single picture (not divided into blocks), which holds all the information you want to convey to the user.

Separate. This is all on one very long sheet, divided into blocks, which the user leaves one by one. And the information collected in one such block is not necessarily interconnected with the rest.

Infographics are also differentiated by categories. They are:

Numerical: some figures are shown in graphs or charts.

When a fact is illustrated with additional explanations, it is said to be extended.

Step-by-step: all actions are shown step-by-step with arrows indicating the order of progress.

If we consider the way of presenting information, then infographics for business are of the following types:

• In the form of instructions. This type of infographic is used to display processes as training material in a variety of ways. The implementation of any action is described in detail using charts and graphs.

• Infographics that are dynamic in nature are demanded in cases where it is necessary to show the change in indicators to demonstrate development. They are usually used to display some social or economic processes.

• A static type of infographic. This is some data presented visually in the form of charts, graphs, and other forms. It can also show how these indicators relate to each other.

• Infographics in video format. The most up-to-date way to present even quite complex, multi-level information to a user. A variety of methods of visualization can be used here. The best perception is also facilitated by a parallel voice reading. Practice shows that this is perhaps the most effective type of infographic for business because, literally, 80% of the data presented in this way is easily remembered.

Separately worth mentioning is an interactive infographic whose data can change along with the initial indicators entered. This format has found application in various online services where the user needs to calculate, for example, the balance or cost of services, etc. Such infographics allow calculations to be made directly online and the results to be given.

Ways to create infographics for business.

Here's something to keep in mind when you start developing infographics:

If you need an infographic for business, it is best to order it from specialists. They will do everything right, take your wishes into account, and give you all the information you need.

Be sure to add your own logo or website address to your infographics. And yet, so that no one then gave out ready-made pictures for their own, they placed logos on them.

If you take the image for an infographic somewhere on third-party resources, keep in mind that someone may have the right to possess it, and then do not do so without making claims.

In infographics, there should be not only pictures but also text explanations of them.

When you put pictures of infographics on the site, always add a signature, caption, and alt. This will let search engines "see" your content and include your resource in the results.

Creating a quality, well-functioning infographic for business is not so easy. It's not enough to know how to use graphics editors. A certain amount of imagination, creative thinking, and creativity are required. It takes a long time to learn, to try, to make mistakes, and to "get the hang of it." Of course, the first batch of pancakes will probably be expensive, but once you learn how to create your own infographics, you will be able to save a lot of money on them.

There are three ways you can develop your own infographics:

1. Find ready-made materials on foreign platforms that fit your needs, change them as needed for the topic, and add your own figures.

2. Find and download a ready template from the Internet or use a special online service (there are many of them).

3. The most involved in the development from the ground up.

If you decide to search for ready-made infographics on foreign sites, through "Google Images," check if anyone in relevant forums has already used the option you chose for yourself. If you use a template, make sure that no one else has used it as the basis for their materials.

If you decide to do it yourself, first draw everything on paper. This makes it easier to form a structure and correctly place elements, arrows, pictures, and other components.

Use at least two, preferably three to four, different colors in your designs, and try to harmonize them with each other.

Quality infographics should be clear, with large, clickable, and full-screen images. Don't pile information into one pile, but don't stretch it too much either.

FIVE SERVICES TO CREATE INFOGRAPHICS FOR BUSINESS FOR FREE.

Below are a few free services you can use if you've decided to design an infographic for your business yourself:

Canva.

Enjoys great popularity. A set of ready-made templates and images is quite extensive. With this service, you can create not only infographics but also presentations, summaries, posters, and other demonstration materials.

Easel.ly.

Another well-proven tool here is, in addition to ready-made free templates, a bunch of icons, arrows, pointers, lettering, fonts, etc.

Piktochart.

Perfect for creating analytical infographics. The initial data here can be loaded as a whole file (in Excel format). A version with basic functionality is available for free, and a paid subscription greatly expands the capabilities.

Venngage.

In three easy steps, you can make quite good infographics for business. There are ready-made templates, the option of additional settings, replacement colors, and so on. As a result, the picture turns out to be almost unique. The tool is free.

Creately.

Especially useful when you need to draw a diagram or a chart of absolutely any complexity. Settings allow you to change the built-in templates to your liking, so you can fully exercise your creativity here. The interface is clear. There is no need to pay to use the service with its basic set of functions.

FOUR TRICKS TO EFFECTIVE INFOGRAPHICS.

1. Visualization.

There are a lot of tools for interesting visualization of graphs and tables. Popular are all kinds of dials, thermometers, speedometers, and elements in the form of sensors, batteries, etc. They allow you to be as creative as possible.

2. Minimalism in data presentation.

Modern presentations have a tendency to present smaller numbers and simpler pictures. The viewer needs more visualization and ease of perception than slides full of information that take a long time to look through and understand.

3. Dashboards.

For any business, numbers and numerical indicators collected in tables are important. And they are always present in presentations and reports because, without them, it is impossible to sufficiently understand the issue and gain insight.

Any business decision requires information on the main factors that will subsequently determine profits, traffic, or other indicators of development.

A panel in a business infographic is the place where data on the main processes of your business are displayed. You can visualize this information on a dashboard. Here, all the figures are compactly arranged on a single slide.

It is worth saying that this is more of an option for creating presentations that will then be sent out to clients. With PowerPoint, it is not always possible to make high-quality material of this kind.

Microsoft, for example, has developed Power BI for such purposes. It has integration with PowerPoint, and the report data can be uploaded directly to the prepared slides.

After you have entered the basic baseline data, you can design the dashboard to your liking. The main thing is not to overdo the amount of information and the number of graphs (4-6 is enough).

4. Stories.

It would not be a bad idea to present the facts not in their bare form but with some kind of story of your own. Many companies resort to this visualization technique, which helps the public perceive the information more actively and thus spread it more quickly.

Generally, it is quite difficult to make a high-quality visualization, but the process itself is very interesting. This opens up a lot of room for creativity, imagination, and creativity. You need to be able to get your business ideas across to the audience quickly and easily. So, when you need to do that, use the tools and recommendations described in this article.

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