It’s not always easy to tell if an infographic is good or bad.  But with all the “you can do it” make-your-own-infographic cheerleading websites and blog posts, infographics are being churned out at a breakneck pace.  The problem is, most of them are useless and rarely, if ever, see the light of day.  But how can you tell if the infographic someone just sent you is worthy of being posted to your blog?  Here are a few questions to ask yourself:

1. Is it visually appealing or a visual train wreck?

There are a lot of tools and web articles out there that claim that making an infographic is easy.  Anyone can do it.  The problem with that is anyone can do it, and not everyone is a graphic designer.  If an infographic is visually chaotic, most people aren’t going to take the time to read through it.  The effort has been wasted.

2. Does it tell a story or is it just a collection of pie charts and graphs?

Pie charts and graphs are great, but they’re not infographics.  A successful infographic will tell a story or contain a narrative.  There may be graphs and pie charts in a successful infographic, but they are part of the narrative rather than standalone pieces of information.

3. Is the narrative honest?

It’s also important that the information in the infographic is germane to the narrative and isn’t woven into a story that is intentionally misleading to the readers.  This happens a lot more than you might care to believe.

4. Where are the sources?

If an infographic doesn’t list sources, chances are the information isn’t all that reliable.  Similarly, if the references are questionable, the infographic may be questionable as well.  Research matters, and using and citing proper sources is a critical step toward making a successful infographic.

5. What’s the topic?

You can have the best design, research, and narrative in the world, but if your infographic is about gym socks probably no one outside of an environment that is heavily dependent on gym socks will care.  Infographics should always try to appeal to a wider audience.

The Conclusion

Infographics can be a slam dunk for your marketing department if they are done correctly.  That’s why it is so important to work with the professionals.  Check out our portfolio as well as our services to learn more.