creating compelling infographics

Creating Compelling

Infographics

Digital Scholar Training Series, Workshop 2, Spring 2015

Katja Reuter, PhD

Director of Digital Strategy and the electronic Home (eHome)

Southern California Clinical and Translational Science Institute (SC CTSI)

University of Southern California, Children's Hospital Los Angeles

The Challenge

1 Collect data

3 Select most important data points

4 Develop a story

Analyze data2

5 Develop your infographic

Defining Information Graphics,

aka Infographics

Graphic visual representations of information,

data or knowledge intended to present complex

information quickly and clearly.

Doug Newsom and Jim Haynes (2004). Public Relations Writing: Form and Style. p.236.;

Mark Smiciklas (2012). The Power of Infographics: Using Pictures to Communicate and

Connect with Your Audience.

Why Infographics?

They “can be more precise and revealing than

conventional statistical computations.”

Tufte, Edward (1983). The Visual Display of Quantitative Information. Cheshire,

Connecticut: Graphics Press. ISBN 0961392142

Make information easier to understand, digest, and recall80% of what we see and do vs. 20% of what we read and 10% of what we hear - Lester, P. M.

(2006). Syntactic Theory of Visual Communication

http://neomam.com/infographics/13reasons

Why Infographics?

More persuasive67% of the audience were persuaded by verbal presentations + accompanying visuals vs.

50% by purely verbal presentations – Wharton School of Business. Effectiveness of Visual Language

http://neomam.com/infographics/13reasons

Why Infographics?

Characteristics of Successful Infographics

Makes a point, and makes it clearly without overwhelming the target audience (e.g., clear takeaway message, call-to-action)

Highlights reliable, interesting data but avoids oversimplifying and distorting what the data have to say

Highlights relationships between facts, context, connections that make information meaningful; encourages the eye to compare different pieces of data

Visualizes data and information creatively

Uses visuals and colors effectively that fit with the subject area

Serves a clear purpose: description, exploration, tabulation or decoration; provides value

Cites sources Adapted from: Tufte, Edward (1983). The Visual Display of Quantitative Information. Cheshire,

Connecticut: Graphics Press; David McCandless (2009). The Visual Miscellaneum: A Colorful

Guide to the World's Most Consequential Trivia; Hubspot:

http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/28436/10-Traits-of-Amazingly-Awesome-

Infographics.aspx

What’s your verdict?

A Visual Definition of Disability Adjusted

Life Year

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disability-adjusted_life_year

Worldbank,

http://media.creativebloq.futurecdn.net/sites/creativebl

oq.com/files/images/2012/08/infographic45a.jpg

Consequences of Current Trajectory and

Benefits of Green Technologies

Developing an Infographic

An Example

Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention (CDC), Ebola, and Twitter

Collect and Analyze the Data

Symlur: http://www.symplur.com/

Define the Target Audience

The leadership at the Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention (CDC).

Their goal is to “protect America from health, safety and

security threats, both foreign and in the U.S.”

Define the Communication Goals

After reading the infographic, we want CDC leadership to:

Invest in a robust Social Media Outreach Program

at the CDC.

Understand the value, effectiveness, and efficiency

of tailored social media outreach using a tweet chat, and

Define the Story You Want to Tell

Develop content outline of the main and sub

content themes

Include the key findings/data points that support

the communication goals of the infographic

Draw a Sketch

Design: Using Easel.ly

Demo video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VHyKgdbUhU

Please See the Digital Scholar Page for

More Information and Helpsheets

Workshop 2: http://sc-ctsi.org/digital-scholar/#spring-2015

Let’s develop your

infographics…

Group Work

Katja Reuter, PhDDirector of the electronic Home (eHome) program

and Digital Strategies

Southern California Clinical and Translational

Science Institute (SC CTSI)

University of Southern California, Children's

Hospital Los Angeles

Email: katja.reuter@usc.edu

Twitter: @dmsci #DigiScholar14

Questions

For more support,

request a free

consultation on

www.sc-ctsi.org

Contact SC CTSI

SC CTSI | www.sc-ctsi.org Phone: (323) 442-4032 Email: info@sc-ctsi.org Twitter: @SoCalCTSI