You may have heard the term “infographics” floating around on the web lately. Better yet, you’ve probably seen an infographic and never knew what it was called.
Infographics are the latest trend, they’re visual representations of information, statistics, or knowledge in a fun and entertaining image. Think of them as slideshows on steroids…only it’s one single slide set up vertically for easier viewing on your browser.
The Mighty Morphing Infographic
Like so many other trends on the web, infographics are still in their infancy. People are using them for everything from detailing complex statistics to pure entertainment. Some are a lot of fun and others get way too long winded. From a business perspective, an infographic is a fun way to tell people what you do, it engages them with color and visuals which they can see in a single glance. Creative people have even gone so far as to start using them as resumes. If you’re a designer, what better way to display your skills?
Some of the reasons people use infographics are:
- Easy to share. Pin it or share it on Facebook with a click. People on the web are scan-aholics. You have a better chance of someone remembering your message with an image than a lot of words.
- Attractive. People love facts and trivia. Sure, you could write a post, but think about when you were a kid. How did you remember information best? Was it the teacher lecturing and you taking copious notes? Or do you remember how much fun movie day was when you could see what you were learning?
- Universal. Pictures are the world’s oldest language, they cross all barriers. A viewer may not understand your language, but a pen is a pen no matter where you show that picture.
- Marketing. No two infographics are going to look the same. Make one for your company and it’s going to have your own unique branding message right on it. If people like it, they’re going to pass it around and before you know it, your message is reaching millions of people worldwide.
Creating Infographics
I won’t kid you and say they’re easy. They are and they aren’t. Maybe I should say they’re labor intensive. Anyone with a command of Photoshop can make one. Don’t know Photoshop? That’s okay, there’s sites and designers who will do it for you…at a price, and they’re not cheap.
Yesterday I spent the whole day putting our infographic together (see it at the end of this post). Doing it yourself requires a lot of footwork. You have to come up with your theme, your copy, search for and format your images, and arrange everything. For a newbie with limited graphics skills, it’s a huge task.
Some sites, like Piktochart, allow you to set up an account to make your own using their tools and templates. The free account only offers the choice of three basic templates and no custom images. If you upgrade, you have more choices. Still, it’s limiting.
They’ll also do custom designs, just like us, which will run you anywhere from $700 on up. Aside from being labor intensive, many infographics rely on vector images. These are the flat, two dimensional images you see in ours below. Many vector images start as hand illustrations and are then converted for the computer in a program like Adobe Illustrator. Custom images like these, whether you purchase them from iStock or have an illustrator do them for you, are not cheap. They can take several hours to create, on top of the time it takes to put together your infographic.
Is An Infographic For You?
Sure! If you have information worth sharing, there’s a way to put it into an infographic. All it takes is a little planning and creativity to come up with your theme. An infographic doesn’t have to be monstrously huge, just long enough to get your message across. Contact us today if you’re interested in having one made for yourself.
In the meantime, enjoy ours on Website Essentials, and feel free to share it.
