Research Guides: Digital Scholarship Services: Infographics

Overview

What is an Infographic?

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, an infographic is a "visual representation of information or data." Infographics use interesting and exciting visuals to synthesize complex information. They're attention grabbing yet easy to understand. The idea is to give the viewer a better understanding of the information conveyed.

What can I do with an Infographic?

The possibilities are endless, but here are a few ideas:

Display research
Raise awareness to a cause/issue
Synthesize data and statistics for a more general audience

Questions? Ask Us!

If you have questions about infographics and how to integrate them into your classroom or a project, reach out to UMKC Libraries Digital Scholarship Services for a research consultation.

Creating an Infographic

Keep in Mind:

What is the main idea of what you're conveying?
Who is your audience?
What is your purpose?

Infographics Infographic
Use the steps outlined in this infographic for creating your infographic. You don't necessarily need to follow them in order, but it can give you a good idea of where to start and what you need to do.

Making Your Infographic

Using these resources, you can easily create an infographic from scratch or using a template.

Canva
Canva is great for creating your own infographic, or finding a template to suit your needs.
Venngage Infographic Templates
Venngage has a number of free infographic templates to use. Venngage is good for data visualization with customizable elements.
Piktochart Infographic Maker
Piktochart has many templates to choose from. There are templates for all different types of infographics.
How to Create Accessible Infographics And Data Visualizations
It's important to make sure that your infographic is accessible to everyone. Use these guidelines to ensure that your infographic is viewable by anyone.
W2C Accessibility Standards Overview
Accessibility standards put forth by the World Wide Web Consortium.
WebAIM Contrast Checker
Test the contrast ratio of your color scheme.
Adobe Color Accessibility Checker
Using this tool, you can import your infographic to check if the color selection meets WCAG standards. Adobe will suggest contrasting colors if your palette doesn't meet the standards.
RAWGraphs
RAWGraphs is an open source data visualization tool. Use this to create graphs and charts for your data. No account is necessary, and they don't store your data either.

Design Tips and Tools

Use these resources to create an eye-catching array of information.

Coolors
Create color palettes with this easy to use website.
Color Wheel and Palette Generator
Easily generate an appealing color palette.
How to Make an Infographic in 5 Steps
This video from Venngage gets in-depth with different kinds of ways to visualize data.
Data Visualization
Learn about different types of charts and graphs and the sorts of data useful for each.
The 6 Principles of Design Infographic
A helpful infographic illustrating the guiding principles of the design world.

Inspiration

Infographics are everywhere. Try searching for a topic you're interested in and see what comes up, or take inspiration from the ones linked below.

Digital Scholarship Services