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!

It starts with “d” and ends with “ata viz.”

…

(It’s data viz.)

More specifically, we often end up commenting on a lack of data viz in the majority of infographics out there. While there are many components to a great infographic (see 8 Factors of a Good Infographic), data viz is number one on the list for a reason. Without visualized information, users are left with either a lot of text, a lot of icons, or both. And while these can be fun to look at and packed with useful information, they aren’t as efficient or as… awesome as a true infographic.

That said, not every idea that passes through the mind has the type of data that can be converted into charts, graphs, etc. Here are two general ideas we see a lot. They usually need some tweaking in order to earn the designation of “infographic.” Please note that:

1) This is definitely not exhaustive of difficult-to-visualize topics, and

2) These comments are generalizations. It is not to say that you can’t make a great infographic using these models. It’s mostly to say that we see a lot of these done poorly.

A History of…

We all know the timeline. It’s a concise and chronologically sensible way of displaying the evolution of something, from French cooking to paleontology to, say, infographics. And I won’t argue that it isn’t relevant or interesting, because that wouldn’t be true. A timeline can be an integral part of an infographic, but when it begins to dominate or become the entirety of the graphic, it’s a problem. Unless you get creative with it, timelines typically are comprised of text and maybe some accompanying icons/imagery.

That said, it’s entirely possible to re-imagine the timeline and include primarily visualizable data. “December 1, 2002: 71% of paleontologists eat bologna sandwiches.” (Okay, that’s obviously made up, but bear with me.) With points like that, your timeline can serve dual purpose as a history and a collection of statistical data.

If you do end up wanting to include a “traditional” timeline, don’t let it be the only component of your graphic. Check out this example of making your timeline properly proportional to your data viz.

If you have the opportunity, get creative with the design of the timeline itself. This football infographic made a helmet into a timeline.

# Ways to Do This/Reasons for This/Tips on This/etc. etc. etc.

Once again, this can be a great model for conveying strategies, tips, and ideas. A lot of the time, this is opinion-based information, though. Take, for example, weight loss tips. Everyone’s got an idea about the best way to lose weight, from drinking 20 glasses of water a day to holding your breath while hopping on one foot. Is there going to be a lot of hard data related to these? Not usually. If you can find a stat about the number of Brits who lost weight by chewing bubble gum, good on you! But mostly these structures are used for giving advice.

We’ve also seen this format used for excessive branding, which is another no-no for infographics in general. If you want to enact this format, be sure you’ve got some hard data to back it up, and make it visual! Here’s the wrong way to do it:

If you’ve got a stat or two to back up the opinions provided, you can make this model work. Link us to some good ones!

Also, let us know in the comments about some other models you’ve seen referred to as infographics.

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.