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I recently went to a talk given by Robin H\u00fcdepohl, the Head of Content Marketing & Information Design at Statista, at this year\u2019s TFM. Robin\u2019s session was titled \u2018Pics or it Didn\u2019t Happen: The Power of Infographic\u2019. Somewhat surprisingly, I managed to pay attention well past my 8 seconds, to take note of some excellent points on why infographics and visuals are so essential in our business, and how best to use them.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s what I learnt:<\/p>\n
Why you should be using infographics<\/h1>\n
1. They\u2019re your best bet at grabbing the consumer’s attention <\/strong><\/p>\n In the vast sea of information, a striking infographic with a clear, attractive design has a better chance of standing out than a block of text. Whether a simple image, or a more involved interactive, marketers can\u00a0use them to gain attention and stand out from the crowd.<\/p>\n An example of how even the most basic infographic has the ability to demand attention and publicity may be found in the South African airline Kulula. Kulula decided to use a simple illustration to maximum effect by placing humorous labels pointing to different objects on the outside of the plane – for instance, there was a label for the \u2018loo (or mile-high club initiation chamber)’. Their witty banter and easy design gained them plenty of attention, and business, with minimum effort and spend.<\/p>\n 2. They\u2019re easier to understand & grasp <\/strong><\/p>\n Translating a block of heavy text into an interesting infographic helps people understand information more easily as it\u2019s condensed, simplified, and aided by visual signals.<\/p>\n When done correctly, they reduce complex issues into smaller bite-sized chunks of information that the reader can digest easily. For instance, they can simplify the word heavy text and complicated data found in things like company reports, helping the reader grasp the information quickly and easily.<\/p>\n A prime example given here was the site http:\/\/histography.io\/. This incredible infographic is an interactive timeline spanning 14 million years of history, where you can use the interface to target specific years, time periods, events, categories etc. to access or discover historical information. Extremely addictive and useful, it is an excellent example of how effective infographics can make an overwhelming amount of information more accessible and understandable.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Additionally, when dealing with inconceivable numbers or scale, infographics can help get information across much more effectively than words. For example, this clever infographic shows the global carbon emissions footprint of each nation with a simple drawing of an actual footprint, providing the reader with both perspective and a useful visual comparison without just listing a load of mind-boggling numbers.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 3. They\u2019re more memorable<\/strong><\/p>\n One of the advantages of the infographic is if it’s unique and interesting, people will remember it. Striking visuals will stick in people\u2019s memories a lot longer than a long article.<\/p>\n Infographics can encourage and aid remembrance by drawing on different psychological tricks. The example given here was of \u2018framing\u2019, the trick of using a pattern that people are already familiar with to teach new information. Take for instance the well-known Periodic Table of Elements \u2013 a familiar pattern drilled into our minds in high-school chemistry classes. This same pattern was used in an infographic listing the shelf-life of different condiments – the \u2018Table of Condiments that Periodically go Bad\u2019\u2013 an ingenious way of making this content relatable, easily understood and memorable.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"\/wpe-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2017\/10\/Kulula.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"\/wpe-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2017\/10\/Emissions-Footprint.png\")
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