Infographics – Why Researchers Should be Using Them.
There has been a lot of buzz in the twittersphere around infographics over the past year and i wanted to share some thoughts on how the research industry can make the most of this growing visual language.
- The democratisation of data
The purpose of the information graphic is to give us all a new way of helping people understand concepts, ideas and data through art. Our brains are wired for pictures, rather than than text and data, which means that infographics enable more people to engage with complex issues such as social trends, product concepts and social media research findings.
- Infographic story telling
Good infographic design when used in research debriefs enables your audience to quickly get the big picture, they can then begin to focus on the next level of data, which involves examining and interacting with the detailed information. This means that today researchers can tell complex stories in 10 minutes which in the past would have been told using 50 powerpoint slides in an hour long debrief. To make the most of infographic led debriefs you need to present it a different way, throw out the powerpoint, and get your hands on a tool like Prezi which gives you the flexibility to make debriefs and pitches interactive and fluid by zooming in and out of the detail of the infographic to tell the story. Data lives beyond the debrief It is important to keep in mind that if you want your data to have longevity – make it beautiful. By making your data aesthetically appealing you give your research project the all important pass on factor both internally and externally, which means your results are more likely to be looked at and ultimately actioned with an organisation. If you want some more inspiration take a look at some of these great infographics:
