The document discusses infographics and provides guidance on creating them. It defines infographics as visual representations of data that allow information to be seen rather than read. The document outlines best practices for infographic design, such as prioritizing data and showing rather than telling. It also discusses properly attributing images using Creative Commons licenses. Finally, it introduces four free infographic tools - Wordle, Infogr.am, Piktochart, and Easel.ly - and suggests when each might be useful.

1. image: "La tecnología de big data revolucionará la seguridad de la información“ by Infocux
Technologies is licensed under cc BY-NC 4.0
Creating Infographics
Jeanette Lundgren, January 2014

2. What is an Infographic?
in·fo·graph·ic, infōˈgrafik/
noun
1. a visual image such as a chart
or diagram used to represent
information or data.
2. a visual representation of
data, such that the data is
seen (visualized) instead of
read.
3. A concise way to interpret data.
"a good infographic is worth a
thousand words“
Image: An Infographic Is by Hot Butter Studio

3. Image: 13 Reasons why your Brain Craves Infographics by NeoMam Studios

4. Design tips to keep in mind
• Data and Information first
(accurate, easy to interpret)
• Show, don’t tell
• Visualize numeric data with
charts
• when numbers don’t fit on a
consistent scale, you might be
able to visualize them in a
diagram.
• Properly credit sources, both
data and images
image: http://media.smashingmagazine.com/wp-
content/uploads/2011/10/tweet-o-meter-uptodatenew.gif

5. Properly attributing images
• All images are subject to
copyright unless in the
public domain…
• cc = creative commons
licensing
• You can use CC-licensed
materials as long as you
follow the license
conditions. One condition of
all CC licenses is
attribution.
"Creative Commons 10th Birthday Celebration San
Francisco" by tvol is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Include:
1. Image title with source link
2. Author with link
3. CC License link
Source:
http://wiki.creativecommons.org/Best_practices_for
_attribution

6. Best places for cc images
• search.creativecommons.org
Allows you to search Google and
flickr for creative commons images,
and several other search providers.
• images.google.com
Click on "advanced image search"
and then select for the "Usage
Rights" dropdown, ALWAYS confirm
that the images you find are actually
licensed as you selected.
• commons.wikimedia.org
More than 10 million categorized,
photos, illustrations, footage, sound
bites etc.
• flickr.com/creativecommons
More than 100 million CC licensed
images from the popular photo
sharing site (15 million with the
most flexible "attribution only"
license).

7. Four free infographic tools
• Wordle
• Infogr.am
• Piktochart
• Easel.ly

8. Wordle – www.wordle.net
What is Wordle?
Turns your text into word clouds. Words that appear more frequently are weighted and appear larger.
Clouds can be formatted with different fonts, layouts, and color schemes.
When to use Wordle -
• word clouds
• concept maps
• capture themes, main ideas
• introduce a new topic
• keywords
Wordle -- http://www.wordle.net

9. Infogr.am -
http://infogr.am
What is infogr.am?
• 30 chart types
• built in spreadsheet for data
editing and importing
• Save infographics as png or pdf
• Publish online, embed into
websites, or share on social media
When to use infogr.am -
• Bar or Line charts
• Pie charts
• Area charts
• Scatter Charts
• Bubble Charts
• Pictorial Charts
• Hierarchy Charts
• Progress Charts
• Tree map
• Financial Charts
image: http://www.travelinsurance.org/oil-
spills

10. Piktochart
http://piktochart.com
What is Piktochart?
• Free version includes 7
themes or blank canvas
• Over 1000 icon images
• Allow importing of icons
and images
• Easy to use drag and drop
images
When to use Piktochart -
• Use when you have data that
isn’t easily charted

11. Easel.ly
http://www.easel.ly
What is Easel.ly?
Theme based web application for
creating infographics and data
visualization. Easl.ly uses vhemes,
(i.e. visual themes) and a drag and
drop interface.
When to use Easel.ly -
• Use themes, objects, shapes,
text, charts, or upload your
own images
• 14 sample vhemes plus a
blank canvas
• Beta version available
• Icon image objects are
organized into categories
(people, places, backgrounds,
animals, etc).

12. Questions??
Jeanette Lundgren, Systems Librarian
Becker College Libraries and Archives
Ruska Library, Worcester Campus
Phone: 508-373-9710
Email: jeanette.lundgren@becker.edu or library@becker.edu

13. References
9 awesome powerful free infographic tools. infographicsarchive.com. Retrieved from
http://www.infographicsarchive.com/create-infographics-and-data-visualization.
Anderson, Steven W. Why wordle? techlearning.com. Retrieved from
http://www.techlearning.com/default.aspx?tabid=67&entryid=698.
Balliett, Amy. (2011, Oct 14). The do’s and don’ts of infographic design. smashingmagazine.com. Retrieved from
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2011/10/14/the-dos-and-donts-of-infographic-design.
Infographics: the how and why of creating them. boselaw.com. Retrieved from
http://lawandtechnologyblog.boselaw.com/2013/09/19/infographics-the-how-and-why-of-creating-them.
Jaffe, Eric. (2013, Nov 12). The secrets of a memorable infographic: new research refutes a common perception about
what makes infographics stick in your mind. fastcodedesign.com. Retrieved from
http://www.fastcodesign.com/3021394/evidence/the-secrets-of-a-memorable-infographic.
McConnell, Chris. (2013, Jun 10). 5 tools for creating your own infographics. readwrite.com. Retrieved from
http://readwrite.com/2013/06/10/5-tools-for-creating-your-own-infographics#awesm=~olGOnYO9SZwIIP.
Mekšs, Daniels. Designing quality infographics: tips, resources and inspiration. 1stwebdesigner.com. Retrieved from
http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/inspiration/infographics-tips-resources.
Thirteen reasons why your brain craves infographics. neomam.com. Retrieved from
http://neomam.com/interactive/13reasons/
Yau, Nathan. (2011, Oct 21). The do’s and don’ts of infographic design: revisited. smashingmagazine.com. Retrieved
from http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2011/10/21/the-do%E2%80%99s-and-don%E2%80%99ts-of-
infographic-design-revisited/