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<div align="center"><a href="http://www.submitinfographics.com/full-size-infographics/Tis-The-Season-To-Break-Up.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.submitinfographics.com/full-size-infographics/Tis-The-Season-To-Break-Up.jpg" alt="infographic" width="430"><br /> Click to Enlarge </a><br />Via <a href="http://www.comparecards.com/"> CompareCards.com </a><br />View Other <a href="http://www.submitinfographics.com">Infographics</a></div> <p>

Compare Cards put together this infographic in the spirit of Valentine’s Day, to let us all know when it’s time to cut our credit cards loose. Let us know what you think!

An important aspect of creating an infographic is making sure that your design is shareable. This is the difference between an infographic and a viral visualization (an infographic that leans more on eye-candy and niche statistics than traditional infographics do). Most of the infographics that are shared online are viral visualizations, and one of the reasons why is that they are more interesting to look at.

The infographic element that is perhaps the most difficult to creatively visualize is the ever-so-common pie chart. Here’s an example of a traditional pie chart. (Note: The data is imaginary survey data created for the purpose of this post.)

Conventional pie charts are simple as they are, but on great infographics they seem to have a little something extra. For this one, I dressed it up with a unique color palette and an attractive font (Knockout, one of my favorites). This is great for a simpler, B2B infographic, but it could use a little something more if I wanted to use it in one of my viral visualizations.

This chart has been reworked in the style of one of the infographics from our portfolio. Shrinking the smaller sections of the pie charts adds a level of depth to the graphic and makes the larger pieces more prominent, leaving more of an impression. The trick with this one is to balance the slices of the pie. This trick makes the chart a bit more interesting without completely abandoning a clean, simple aesthetic.

The hollow or “donut” pie chart is one of my favorites. It’s a bit more unique but still very simple. Leaving the white space in the center of the pie chart also creates a few more design opportunities – many designers will put accompanying copy inside of the graph, or call out the data with the percentages or an icon. There are a ton of possibilities here! I recommend this technique if you are overwhelmed with data that is best represented with pie charts–it allows your design to stay consistent and cohesive without being repetitive.

This final example is a bit more complicated, but when it’s done right it can work very well. We see it on a lot of viral visualizations. You still get your point across, but you leave a lot of workable white space and it is more visually interesting without being confusing. Notice all of the pieces begin at the same point–this chart is more of a hybrid of a bar graph and a pie chart. It works very well if you have to work with several data points.

All of these tricks can be done very easily. If you’re using Adobe Illustrator, make all of your charts using the chart tool and rework them after the fact–this way you don’t have to eyeball the data and your graph can stay accurate. Examples three and four can be done quickly using the “minus front” tool – a huge time saver!

BRAND BUILDING

Infographics are a unique way to build your company brand. Launching an infographic – especially one that is well-designed, as well as unique and relevant to your target audience – can say a lot about your corporate identity. Integrating infographics into your design and content plan can do loads for your ability to show your audience who you really are and distinguish yourself from the rest of the crowd.

Similar to blogs, infographics are also a great way to establish yourself as a thought leader in your field. They aren’t just for regurgitating established data–you can also build an argument with them. If you can utilize complex information that is relevant to the concerns and interests of your target audience, you can build trust among your subscribers and create clout for your product.

ACCESSIBILITY

Part of what makes infographics such an attractive marketing tool is their incredible ability to go viral. As our attention spans get shorter, the need to produce simple and accessible content becomes greater. In the tech and online marketing industry, the ideas being shared are becoming increasingly complex, but need to be expressed in simpler ways. Infographics have been shown (and continue) to be a near-perfect solution to this problem, conveying complicated data in a way that audiences can understand and are more likely to share. Displaying the information visually is much better than giving your subscribers a weighty reading assignment.

SHAREABLE

The accessibility of infographics is very closely tied in with another attribute that brings them so much success – shareability. Infographics, as well as niche blogs and social networks, are becoming increasingly popular. This creates an environment in which infographics will be shared freely and frequently. With the number of infographics that are out there, it may seem unlikely that your IG will get much love, but worry not. Case studies have shown that well-designed, simple infographics that contain useful (like IG about the effects of sitting at work) or topical and controversial (the Too Big to Fail bank IG) go viral easily. Even clever IGs on more niche topics get plenty of attention in the blogosphere.

LINK BUILDING

Marketers have been taking advantage of the viral capability of infographics and using them as link bait, and so should you. Providing useful information to share can build numerous back links to your site, which of course does wonders for SEO. The more your infographic is shared, the greater the opportunity to create inbound links to your site. It is that simple.

ALL IN ALL…

No matter which way you look at it, infographics have immense value as a marketing, SEO, and branding tools. If you haven’t already taken advantage, get on it – infographics are here to stay, but the sooner your business can benefit, the better.

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<div align="center"><a href="http://www.submitinfographics.com/full-size-infographics/are-you-addicted-to-your-mobile-phone.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.submitinfographics.com/full-size-infographics/are-you-addicted-to-your-mobile-phone.jpg" alt="infographic" width="430"><br />Click to Enlarge</a><br /> Via <a href="http://www.cashgenerator.co.uk/are-you-addicted-to-your-mobile-phone.aspx"> Cash Generator.co.uk </a><br />View Other <a href="http://www.submitinfographics.com">Infographics</a></div> <p>

This infographic comes to us from the good people at Cash Generator.co.uk. Here is what they had to say upon submitting their infographic to us:

Are you addicted to your mobile phone? This infographic created by Cash Generator (the UK discount retailer), it illustrates how the use of smartphones takes over our lives nowadays. It begins by highlighting background information and common use characteristics to establish why we use them in the first place. Then the infographics goes on to explore common scenarios leading to mobile phone addiction. In conclusion, for some people turning off your mobile phones to avoid addiction might not be the best idea, since the stress from not being able to communicate could just make things worse.
The data used to create the infographic was originated from Europe, US and Worldwide. Are you ready to switch off?

This infographic certainly highlights the prevalence of mobile phone addictions. There are a ton of interesting statistics regarding smartphone use, but unfortunately none of them are visualized! Typography and icons are used in every instance where a data point is called out. Although the subject of the infographic was interesting enough that I read through the entire thing, it does feel a bit like a blog post or article rather than an infographic.

Overall, the design is pretty good. The colors are a bit dull, the the graphics used are clean and simple, which work really well since the subject is already pretty engaging. However in spite of the accessible design, I have to give this infographic a C because of the lack of data visualization. Remember to visualize data wherever you can, especially on an infographic whose content is as shareable as this one!

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<div align="center"><a href="http://www.submitinfographics.com/full-size-infographics/holiday-mobile-shopping-survival-guidex1000.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.submitinfographics.com/full-size-infographics/holiday-mobile-shopping-survival-guidex1000.jpg" alt="infographic" width="430"><br />Click to Enlarge</a><br />Via <a href="http://pushsci.com/holiday-mobile-shopping-survival-guide/#.Tt6aVXOlfRo"> Push Sci.com </a><br />View Other <a href="http://www.submitinfographics.com">Infographics</a></div> <p>

This infographic was submitted to us by the good people at Push Science. It’s a holiday shopping survival guide done in the style of the many zombie survival guides out there.

The idea behind this infographic is unique, creative, and appropriate. Even though a large chunk of holiday shopping can now be done online, it is no joke that many last-minute holiday shoppers flood the mall in hordes. This infographic provides strategies for getting through the gauntlet and getting your shopping done.

I really like the illustrations for this infographic. They do a surprisingly good job of combing the zombie and holiday themes in a nice way. I appreciate that the zombie images are comical and scary without being gross as well.

Unlike a lot of “guide” or list-type infographics, this infographic does a fantastic job of following the data-viz rule: where there is data, it is visualized appropriately and simply. There may be quite a bit of copy, but it is not used to replace data visualization and it is critical to driving the infographic’s story.

Overall, this is a fantastic infographic that will hopefully get a lot of love this holiday season. Be sure to visit the link to this infographic. When you hover over the elements, there are some fun animations that really add to it. All things considered, I’m giving this infographic an A-.

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<div align="center"><a href="http://www.submitinfographics.com/full-size-infographics/history-students-infographic.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.submitinfographics.com/full-size-infographics/history-students-infographic.jpg" alt="infographic" width="430"><br />Click to Enlarge</a><br /> Via <a href="http://www.misco.co.uk/student/students-through-ages?p=1529"> Misco.co.uk </a><br />View Other <a href="http://www.submitinfographics.com">Infographics</a></div> <p>

This infographic was submitted to us by the folks at Misco. Here is what they had to say about their infographic upon submitting it to us:

Currently Misco has been working on an infographic demonstrating Education through the ages and the massive transaction between “old” times and the current, I think with technology exploding at the moment it creates quite an interesting contrast.

I really enjoy the illustrations on this infographic. A lot of the information here is very dense and there is a lot of text, so the illustrations break up the content nicely, as well as add a little something to each point. I especially love the medieval section – the dragon, while slain, is actually pretty cute!

The bad thing about this infographic is that it does not visualize data even though there are several opportunities to do so. Any of these statistics could be visualized: all percentages could be represented as pie charts, where fractions (such as 1 in 20) and quantitative data can be represented with icons. Although there is a lot of great information here, it feels a lot like a reading assignment. Remember the biggest rule of data visualization: if you can take out all of the text and it doesn’t make sense, then it is not a traditional infographic – it is more like a well-designed article.

Overall, I really like this piece – it is an interesting subject and it is well-illustrated, but it is just not an infographic. Overall, I have to give it a C+.

Data Viz Example

Ever wonder what the difference is between a good infographic and a great one?

It’s the data.

It may be beating a dead horse to say so at this point, but infographics are data-driven designs. Even the strongest design can fall short of the standard without the right data behind it. Unless your client provides you with the data, the onus is on you to ensure that your infographic is both attractive and well-sourced.

So, where should you look for the right data? There is a lot of information out there, and it’s important to know where to find data that is both reliable, well-sourced and accurate, but how do you weed out the good from the bad? Below are several resources to get you started.

FedStats.gov

FedStats.gov is the ultimate data resource for any government-related or political infographic. The site links to statistics and information from more than 100 federal government agencies, allowing you to get the scoop on crime, demographics, income, labor, education, transportation and more. If your infographic needs well-sourced, statistically strong data on just anything in the realm government or politics, this should be your go-to.

Google Scholar

If you want to look into scholarly literature for your data, look no further. Google Scholar is the central hub for all things academic. You can search many sources across several disciplines all in one place, locate specific documents and view them online if available.

Neilson and Forrester

For data collected through market research, be sure to hit up Neilson and Forrester. You’ll get a variety of well-sourced information from sizable samples.

PayScale.com

The best source of data on the pay, demographics, and education for several thousand different professions.

Wikipedia

Though citing Wikipedia directly isn’t exactly best practice for infographic research, there is a wealth of information available through Wiki if you know where to find it. Once you find a statistics you’d like to use, scroll toward the bottom of the page and check those sources for legitimacy. Chances are, they’ll lead you to more data that you can use.

The Old-Fashioned Google Search

If all else fails, I like to give my topics a good, old-fashioned googling. Try searching the keyword for your infographic topic along with “statistics,” “by the numbers,” or “facts,” and see what you can find. However, be sure to take search results with a grain of salt and make sure that they come from legitimate sources before using that data. In general, most .gov, .org and .edu sites provide really great data from reliable sources. Avoid using .com and blog websites as a resource for any academic, economic, or political data as the quality may not be up to snuff.

Infographics are becoming a widespread tool for link and brand building, and more and more IGs on niche topics are coming out of the woodwork. For the more obscure topics, it may be difficult to find the right data, but the above resources should help point you in the right direction. Whatever the topic, infographics are a valuable tool for conveying complex information in a way that is both simple and digestible. With good sources and a strong understanding of the research, a great designer can knock an infographic straight out of the ballpark.

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<div align="center"><a href="http://www.submitinfographics.com/full-size-infographics/engagement-rings-spend.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.submitinfographics.com/full-size-infographics/engagement-rings-spend.jpg" alt="infographic" width="430"><br />Click to Enlarge</a><br /> Via <a href="http://www.thediamondstore.co.uk/news/index.php/buying-an-engagement-ring-not-sure-how-much-to-spend/4040/"> The Diamond Store </a><br />View Other <a href="http://www.submitinfographics.com">Infographics</a></div> <p>

This infographic is one that we worked on with the folks at the Diamond Store. We can’t critique our own designs since we are biased, but regular readers of our blog know how we critique infographics. Let us know what you think!

Brought to you by My Jewelry Box.com the online jewelry store to Buy Engagement Rings

This infographic is one that we worked on with the folks at My Jewelry Box.com. We can’t critique our own designs without bias, so let us know what you think!

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<div align="center"><a href="http://www.submitinfographics.com/full-size-infographics/renting-is-for-chumps.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.submitinfographics.com/full-size-infographics/renting-is-for-chumps.jpg" alt="infographic" width="430"><br />Click to Enlarge</a><br /> Via <a href="http://www.mortgagesum.com/blog/renting-is-for-chumps/"> Sell Mortgage Sum.com </a><br />View Other <a href="http://www.submitinfographics.com">Infographics</a></div> <p>

This infographic comes to us from the folks at Mortgage Sum.com. Let us know what you think of it!