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<div align="center"><a href="http://www.submitinfographics.com/full-size-infographics/palatin-remodeling-index-infographic-full1.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.submitinfographics.com/full-size-infographics/palatin-remodeling-index-infographic-full1.png" alt="infographic" width="430"><br /> Click to Enlarge </a><br />Via <a href="http://www.palatinremodeling.com/top-100-residential-remodeling-markets-of-2012/"> Palatin Remodeling, Inc. </a><br />View Other <a href="http://www.submitinfographics.com">Infographics</a></div> <p>

This infographic was submitted to us by Palatin Remodeling, Inc., who provided this description:

With the housing industry in such a shaky state, more and more people are turning to remodeling their existing homes, as opposed to buying a brand new one. According to the Residential Remodeling Index (RRI) the majority of cities who are doing the best in the remodeling sector are East of Texas. This infographic was designed by Palatin Remodeling Inc, a San Diego bathroom remodeling contractor.

This is a heat map depicting the top remodeling markets in the country. The color coding by density of Top 100 cities is helpful, but ultimately it is a map, not an infographic. I also find the color palette to be a little off-putting–the aqua/blue is awfully bright to dominate such a large part of the graphic.

If the designer added in some more visualizable data–what percent of homes in the top 10 markets have been/are being remodeled, the average cost of a remodel vs. the average cost of a new home, etc.–this could cross the threshold from map to true infographic. An introductory paragraph would also be nice, to explain a little more about what the map represents. The same descriptive text/blog post accompanying a graphic may not be reposted each time, so if an introduction exists right there on the graphic, all viewers will have context to the content they’re seeing.

As an infographic I’d have to give this a C-, since it’s pretty lacking in telling a complete story and including instances of data viz. I’d rate it higher as a map, however, since it does show some interesting concentrations of areas that are most prone and least prone to remodels.

The Kitchen Remodeling Process: Start to Finish – An infographic by the team at Palatin Remodeling, Inc.

This infographic was submitted to us by Palatin Remodeling, Inc. They included this accompanying description:

It seems like there is a severe lack of information readily available that tells the average homeowner what they should expect from a kitchen remodel. Sure, there are plenty of resources, like the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI), but few of them are in an easy to read and easy to understand format. In fact, many were downright vague. So we decided it was up to us to create a kitchen remodeling infographic that breaks down what homeowners should expect from their kitchen remodel and what steps they need to take for it to be a success.

I like the fairly simple layout of this infographic. It’s easy for a viewer to first just scroll through and see what they need to consider before launching into the details of each particular section. The illustrations and color add some visual interest.

However, there’s a lot of text here–and the shadowing is extremely distracting. There are some spots where the text length is ideal (albeit with typos), but in most cases it’s just too much. I can see the designer tried to combat this by sectioning the text off into boxes, but reading all of this could take awhile.

I think this infographic could benefit from literally cutting the text in half. Each step on its own may not look like much information, but all together as a 10-step IG, I get intimidated scrolling through. Imagine if every icon within each step was represented by no more than 10-15 words. The design would be able to breathe, viewers could get just about as much information in far less time, and be more likely to read through to the end of the graphic.

In all I’d give this infographic a C. It’s got good info, but could use some design work and truncation to make it great.

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<div align="center"><a href="http://www.submitinfographics.com/full-size-infographics/diy-deck-inspection.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.submitinfographics.com/full-size-infographics/diy-deck-inspection.jpg" alt="infographic" width="430"><br /> Click to Enlarge </a><br />Via <a href="http://www.ricksfencing.com/blog/wood-decking-diy-inspection-infographic/"> Rick’s Fencing </a><br />View Other <a href="http://www.submitinfographics.com">Infographics</a></div> <p>

This infographic was submitted to us by Rick’s Fencing

This makes a great tool for anyone wondering if it might be time to replace their deck. It gives detailed tips on what exactly to look for in multiple problem areas. The illustrations are simple but cute and do their job perfectly. (I’m a little worried about the guardrail missing from behind the illustrated character, though–hope she doesn’t fall off! Maybe a fence would help…)

However, there’s no data visualization here. There is only one number that could be visualized, anyway, but a solid infographic relies on data viz to tell the story. If we could get a few more factoids scattered within to up the numbers quotient, that would be helpful: what season is most common for collapse? What are the most and least durable deck woods? What percent of decks collapse from what problems?

Again, I love the concept surrounding the information here, and I think it’s definitely accomplishing what it set out to do, but as far as being a true infographic as we define them, it’s not really in the same category. That makes it hard to give it a letter grade–I’ll give it a B as a tool, but it’d have to be a D as an infographic since it lacks data viz and relies mostly on text.

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<div align="center"><a href="http://www.submitinfographics.com/full-size-infographics/diy.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.submitinfographics.com/full-size-infographics/diy.jpg" alt="infographic" width="430"><br /> Click to Enlarge </a><br />Via <a href="http://www.toppstiles.co.uk/comms-centre/infographic.asp"> Topps Tiles <br />View Other <a href="http://www.submitinfographics.com">Infographics</a></div> <p>

This infographic was submitted to us by Topps Tiles.

I love the aesthetic of this IG! The sort of plaid, patchworky feel (especially of the text) is pretty unique and drew my attention in quickly. And really, if the overall design of an infographic isn’t eyecatching or unique, it’s going to be tough for a viewer to move through and absorb all the information. So right off the bat, great job there.

The way the data is visualized is working really well here, as a combination of iconography and charts. It’s very clear from looking what the top category of each chart is. It also does a very good job of keeping text incredibly minimal–the introduction is one sentence that only takes up 2 1/3 lines but sums up the data pretty well. (Although, if you’re going to get “texty” in any area of your infographic, it’s not uncommon to have a few sentences making up an intro paragraph to both explain the topic and build intrigue.)

I think maximizing data viz potential is important, so my only real critique is that a visual representation of the value adds of the top 5 home improvements would have been nice. (And perhaps it would be interesting if there were data on how much the average UK household spends on DIY home improvement each year?) Otherwise, it’s a solid piece that maximizes its use of space and covers its topic without overdoing it.

In all I would give this infographic an A! Short and sweet isn’t a bad thing in the world of infographics.

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<div align="center"><a href="http://www.submitinfographics.com/full-size-infographics/Feng-Shui-full.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.submitinfographics.com/full-size-infographics/Feng-Shui-full.jpg" alt="infographic" width="430"><br />Click to Enlarge</a><br />Via <a href="http://www.paulsimon.co.uk"> Paul Simon </a><br />View Other <a href="http://www.submitinfographics.com">Infographics</a></div> <p>

This infographic was submitted to us by the folks at Koozai, for Paul Simon home furnishings.

It has a calming effect, and water could conceivably flow between the blocks of text, so perhaps the designer paid some mind to chi when creating the infographic. The background and font are good choices, and I like that most of the points made are illustrated here. It’s certainly a good guide to creating feng shui, and could be really useful for people moving or just reorganizing their living area.

To achieve “infographic shui” (a concept completely made up for the purposes of this critique), the guide would need statistics. Since this is what we call “soft data” (there are tips and tricks, but no facts or figures), data visualization would be difficult to impossible. Any statistics about the amount a person’s mood is boosted by a properly set up room or how many people consider feng shui when designing might be difficult to find or unreliable. This really just means that while this is a nice tool, it can’t be called an infographic.

It’d be difficult to critique the guide as such, then. I would like to see the model of the living room as the main focus, regardless. That way viewers could see a large sample of feng shui executed properly, and each key element could be highlighted by a symbol or arrow that would then be explained in a key. In general with any graphic, the emphasis should be on visuals more than on text.

As an infographic, I’d have to give this a D-, because there is no data, and therefore no data viz. It’s text-heavy and offers no concrete information. But as a tool to increase awareness of the concepts of living room feng shui, I’d be rating it much higher. I’m sure I will consider these points when I reorganize my furniture next!

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<div align="center"><a href="http://www.submitinfographics.com/full-size-infographics/2011HomeTrends.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.submitinfographics.com/full-size-infographics/2011HomeTrends.jpg" alt="infographic" width="620" height="2307"><br />Click to Enlarge</a><br /><a href="http://www.elocalwebsites.com/" target="_blank">eLocal.com</a><br />View Other <a href="http://www.submitinfographics.com">Infographics</a></div> <p>

This infographic comes to us from elocalwebsites.com, a company that focuses on designing directories for local businesses including roofers, plumbers, lawyers, and more. Upon submitting this infographic, the folks at eLocal said the following:

If you’d think 50 experts would have a lot to say on home improvement trends in 2011, well, then you’d be right! We had such a great response to the 2nd eLocal.com Blog-Off that we ended up with volumes of information and insight.

After a little bit of magic, we packaged everything you need to know into the below infographic, giving you your complete guide to 2011 home improvement trends. Let the inspiration begin!

All in all, the design of this infographic is nice and clean, and it’s definitely fun to look at. My issue with it is the same that keeps popping up as more and more companies create their first infographic: there’s no data being visualized. An infographic is a graphic representation of information. It should include charts and graphs as well as text, but shouldn’t rely on text only to get the information across. Right now, if all of the text were taken out of this infographic, not a single piece of information or data would be provided to the viewer. That means that this is not using graphics to display the information, instead the graphics are merely complimenting the information. While these graphics do a great job of complimenting the information, it’s basically a well designed article. To improve things and make this more like an infographic, the folks at eLocalWebsites.com could have included graphs showing the money spent in each home improvement trend. They could show popularity by getting keyword traffic data from Google. They could also show how these trends are improving the value of homes by diving into the profit gained per home improvement. Unfortunately, none of this is happening, which makes this infographic hard to take in. Infographics should require as little reading as possible, and this only requires reading.