Infographics are the visual presentations of information that use the element of design to
display content. In simple words, it means a visual representation of data i.e., in the form of a
chart or a diagram.
At present the use of infographics has increased much more due to its easy handling tools.
They have permeated our culture as a leading form of information display and
communication. Their use can be seen everywhere from business and news to social media
websites. The use of infographics helps us to present the data quickly, clearly, precisely and
more effective than a complete text. They help in expressing the complex messages in a
simpler way which is easily understandable. Suppose if a road sign contains a lot of written
information, then the viewer finds it difficult to read quickly. In this situation, infographics
compress the information in such a way so that people or drivers don’t miss to read or see the
message. In this way they are also unique as they combine the visualization with an impactful
way to deliver the simple and direct information to the people.
Infographics consist of three important elements: visual elements, content elements and
knowledge elements. The visual elements consist of the colour coding, graphics and reference
icons whereas the content element consists of time frames, statistics and references and also
the knowledge element which consist of the facts.
As the use of infographics is increasing and is used in many fields so they have been
classified into five different categories:
1) Cause and effect infographics
These graphics explain causal relationships between various physical or conceptual
stages.
2) Chronological infographics
These graphics explain an event or process as it happened in time.
3) Quantitative infographics
These graphics include bar graphs, charts, tables, lists and also the pie charts that
explain the statistical data to the readers in a simple and easy way.
4) Directional infographics
In this numbers, symbols, icons, diagrams, graphs, tables, arrows and bullets are used
to communicate information easily.
5) Product infographics
These graphics are used in the factories and corporate offices on the notice board
where they convey the information to the employees.
By
Chetna Sirohi