As a university-based person, I spend a lot of time writing articles – sometimes really long pieces. While there is a place for lengthy works (and an important one, I think), people need information in many other ways. I have found a general rule when working with secondary schools that, “If content does not fit on to one page, people will not read it.”
Image from Flickr Creative Commons https://flic.kr/p/9AcngU
There have to be other ways to communicate valuable information to people that also respects their time. That leads us to the infographic. I recently surveyed my blog audience and found that many people would appreciate receiving information in infographic format. While I am not an expert on information graphics (I hope to play one on television at some point), I am going to share with you what I have learned so far about developing them.
According to Venngage, an infographic is “a collection of imagery, charts, and minimal text that gives an easy-to-understand overview of a topic.” Infographics, according to Venngage, must excite and engage the reader. These graphics also must help us to understand and remember content. Their websites suggest that infographics are helpful to:
- Provide brief overviews of content
- Clearly explain a complete process
- Share data
- Summarize information
- Make comparisons across ideas
- Increase awareness of important ideas
For a more detailed explanation of infographics, please see this link
So..here is my first attempt at creating an infographic..called Two Steps for Creating an Infographic for Educators
This is the first time I used Venngage software to create an infographic. I may try other options in my next attempt for content creation in my next attempt. Thanks for Jessica Brown and David Kamerer at Loyola University of Chicago for their coaching on the development of infographics.
I wonder what information you have that would lend itself for infographic format? What platforms have you used to create infographics? Please leave your comments below.