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Dear Gracie,

What are infographics and why should we include them in our PR campaigns? What are some tips for design, layout, content?

Green Grapher

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Dear Green Grapher,

Eight ProfNet experts share their knowledge on infographics:

What Are Infographics?

"Infographics, also known as data visualizations, are changing the way people view, experience and understand data in the age of information overload," says Carol Scheffler, graphic design specialist at Eastwick Communications, a tech PR agency in Silicon Valley that uses infographics for re-branding efforts, press releases, trade shows and more. "[Infographics] can present complex data in a compact, clear and creative way, allowing intricate statistics, facts and information to be easily digested by the viewer."

"Attention spans are shorter than ever," says Dean Hollander, chief content officer at Fenton Communications, a PR agency. "And infographics are great short-attention-span communication tools." They deliver the information quickly and in an entertaining way.

Jonathan Asher, senior vice president at Perception Research Services (PRS), a consumer-research and marketing company, explains why infographics are so effective: Communicating via visual cues as supplements to, or replacements for, verbal messages has become more critical in recent years due to:

• Multi-lingual considerations
• Literacy limitations in some places or among some industry segments
• Limited space available due to down-sized packaging and/or additional legal constraints
• General shift to a generally greater visual approach to the world in our digital age

To be effective, an infographic must be sufficiently visible, intuitive and evocative of the desired response, Asher continues.

The infographic doesn't have to be the largest element of a PR campaign, or even the first thing seen necessarily, but if it's not seen enough, it won't matter how wonderful it looks, says Asher. Visibility is best achieved via contrast (mostly color, but also shape).

As for being intuitive: "A picture is worth a thousand words, but only if it is immediately obvious what it is a picture of," says Asher. Or, more to the point, an infographic is effective only if the intended meaning or message is obvious and not prone to misinterpretation. "Can it be misconstrued as something else? Does it suggest something different in different cultures or contexts?" These are important questions to consider.

And lastly, the infographic must be evocative of the desired response, says Asher. "This could be positive, like "friendly" or "appetizing," or negative, like "danger" or "poisonous" -- but it should create the intended reaction," he says.

"[Infographics] are very effective tools for engaging people because they are fun to look at," says Hollander. "Sometimes they even feel a bit like a puzzle -- the headline pulls you in, and then you have to find out how the story is told."

"Charts have always been an effective way of displaying data," Hollander continues. "But infographics take it one step further by telling a story."

Scheffler agrees: "The key to a successful infographic is a strong story and the right graphic visualizations that represent that story in a compelling way. The data has to tell a story, otherwise the infographic is not an infographic at all, but rather a list of data and facts or a jumble of random graphs and charts."

So make sure your information adds up, says Hollander. "For example, telling us that 50 percent of busses run on electricity is fine, but there must be a reason that is important."

Ross Crooks, co-founder of Column Five Media, a creative marketing agency specializing in data visualization and social media strategy, suggests using typical journalistic research methods to pull together information for infographics, particularly by tapping into public and government resources for general topics, and companies' proprietary data for industry or consumer-specific insight.

"Eliminating bias is important in telling any story with integrity," Crooks reminds us. "That is not to say that a good infographic doesn't include a thesis or some element of opinion. The data shapes that story we are telling, and it is important that proper attention is given to that which is interesting."

Boosting Clicks and Social Sharing

"The right graphics can boost clicks, drive more shares and attract more comments than traditional content," says Scheffler.

Bloggers and writers on the Web will take ideas and reproduce them in text, but images, video and infographics are tough to reproduce, says John Cass, director of marketing at Newlogic, a strategic R&D consulting company. "Instead, writers want to embed the infographic into their website, so if you provide an infographics embed code, and make sure the code contains text and a link, you just helped with your SEO efforts."

"If you include text in your embed code as well as the infographic, then you will also have the opportunity to place text, the infographic and a link on other people's websites," he continues. "The more links you get, the better for your rankings."

He also suggests including a variety of keywords in the link itself, also to boost clicks.

Following is an example of a link to an embedded infographic, created by Voltier Creative and suggested by William J. Ward, social media professor at Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. The infographic is actually about how to create infographics, and the link includes keywords, which will help drive SEO traffic.

Here is an example of the embedded infographic, which was reposted from Voltier Creative's website onto Ward's website.

And here is an example of the inforgraphic with the link for embedding, which you can find at the bottom of the page underneath the infographic, in the box labeled "Use the Image on Your Site." Note the keywords in the link like "Infographic Marketing."

"One way to tell if infographics are successful is how often people discuss them, share them with their social networks, and embed them on their blogs.  You can run analytics to see how many likes, +1's, clicks, RTs, mentions, etc., have been shared," says Ward.

Infographic Styles and Visual Content

"Infographics come in many shapes and sizes and can be serious, fun, comic or even whimsical depending on your strategy or audience," says Ward.

"Part of the beauty and excitement around infographics is that they don't have to look a certain way or include certain types of information," agrees Hollander. "There is no hard-and-fast rule."

In general though, there are two main approaches: literal and metaphorical, says Brian Compton, digital media manager at Lewis PR.

"Literal infographics visualize the data in a report-like manner," he says. So the data is presented in a straightforward way. This style is better for serious subjects or topics with complex data.

Metaphorical infographics use themes to carry a message and offer interesting visual twists, says Compton. For example, using an hourglass or stopwatch to communicate urgency.

It's also important to present the data with the right kind of graph, chart or visual representation, says Scheffler.

Infographics might include flow charts, graphs, maps, timelines, illustrations (with size representing data amount and color representing data type), lists, diagrams or more, says Compton. "Some infographics use facts and figures accompanied by imagery only."

"The most basic forms of data visualization are standard bar charts, pie charts and line graphs," says Crooks. "These are valuable tools because people are familiar with the format, and they are instantly understood."

"If you are showing change over time, a bar chart or line graph may be useful, whereas if you are comparing quantities, a pie chart may be the way to go," Scheffler recommends.

But some trends and patterns are better displayed in other formats, like the scatterplot, Crooks explains.

Design Elements

When creating an infographic, start with the story you want to tell, says Hollander. "Outline the story so you are clear on what points you want to communicate, in what order." Make sure the data adds up.

"It is a very collaborative process and you should work closely with a graphic designer who knows how to interpret information into visuals," he says.

A short introduction is useful, as well as key quotes or bullets, says Scheffler. "Too much copy will take away from the compact, visual message and turn your infographic into an article accompanied by graphics." So the less text, the better.

"Too much of anything isn't a good thing," says Hollander. "Text, graphics, icons and colors need to be well balanced." But the text should support the graphics -- not the other way around.

Use color in a strategic way, says Scheffler. "Often times, designers are constrained by specific brand colors and graphic styles. While it is important to color within the lines, color can also be used as a key design tool to symbolize or highlight specific data."

"Color translates an enormous amount of personality wherever it's applied," says Paul Templeman-Holmes, director of branding and business development for Baltus, a high-end furniture company. For example:

• Dark colors can imply status, prestige and even mystique; in contrast, they can also seem aloof and imposing.
• Light blue can be calming and relaxing, but also unfriendly and cold depending on the context.
• Yellow is warm, outgoing and confident, but rarely conveys sophistication.

Ultimately, color is subjective, says Templeman-Holmes, and will affect different audiences in different ways.

"So be aware of how you use color," says Scheffler.

A good layout design is also vital, Scheffler continues. "The way you organize your data will impact the way a viewer understands it. Take into consideration in what order the visual story should be read. Think about how the viewer’s eye will travel around the page."

There's also no need for embellished decorative design, she continues. "People are viewing your infographic to understand or learn something, not just to view your design abilities." So make sure the design is clear and clutter-free, and let the data speak for itself.

Remember, infographics are about information first, says Hollander. Graphics play the supporting role as the vehicle to communicate the information.

Evaluate your infographic by getting a bystander to look at it for only five to 10 seconds before turning away, says Hollander. Did they get the point of the story? Were they engaged enough to want to learn more? "If you can tell the story clearly and efficiently to someone who is not in the know, then you know it's working."

So essentially, infographics are a mix of journalism, analysis and design, says Scheffler. She sums up infographics with this easy equation:

Story + Data + Design = Infographic!

Gracie