Jason Lankow | @jasonlankowbit.ly/infographicsbook

Column Fivecolumnfivemedia.com | @columnfive

Designers + Geeks@DesignersGeeks

THE FUTURE OF INFOGRAPHICS (#dplusg)

ABOUT ME

JASON LANKOWCo-founder and CEO of Column Five Media

Co-author of Infographics: The Power of Visual Storytelling (Wiley 2012):

Column Five is a creative agency based inNewport Beach, California, specializing in information design and data visualization.

Instructor of Visualization of Information at Columbia University.

CLIENTS

VALUE OF DATA VISUALIZATION

STATIC INFOGRAPHICS | INTERACTIVE GRAPHICS | MOTION GRAPHICS

INFOGRAPHICS PROVIDE

Appeal

Comprehension

Retention

They are visually stimulating, attractive,

and sleek. This piques interest before any

information is synthesized.

Our brains are pre-wired to automatically

interpret visual cues, allowing for almost

instant comprehension with minimal

effort.

Visualizations trigger us to pull

information from our long-term memory,

allowing for rapid connections to already

stored information, which cement the

concept in the brain.

VITRUVIAN PRINCIPLES

Design, shape, form (Is the graphic attractive? Does it appeal

to the viewer aesthetically?)

Messaging, story, relevancy (How useful is the visualization?

Does it benefit viewers by clarifying a complex concept?)

Research, data, visualization (Is the graphic format befitting of

the content? Does it display the information accurately?)

Utility

Beauty

Soundness

Characteristics of a good infographic:

OUR PROCESS

Effective data visualization requires collaboration between various roles, including writers,

researchers, designers, PR, etc. The major phases include:

The Creative Brief

Ideation

Research and Data Analysis

Content Creation

Design and Data Visualization Best Practices

Distribution

To identify your objective, ask yourself the following :

What is the desired outcome you hope to achieve from the graphic?

How do you hope to affect your audience?

How will you measure your success?

What purpose do you want this graphic to serve?

IDENTIFYING YOUR OBJECTIVES

Is this information intended

to be shared with others?

If so, how should it be shared?

1 3 5

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1

2

3

Is your audience broad or targeted?

What is their level of knowledge?

Is your audience already familiar

with certain types of content?

4 How do you want them to respond?

IDENTIFYING YOUR AUDIENCE

THE VISUAL STORYTELLING SPECTRUM

Editorial

Brand

BroadTargeted

EDITORIAL GRAPHIC FOR BROAD AUDIENCE

EDITORIAL GRAPHIC FOR TARGETED AUDIENCE

BRAND-CENTRIC GRAPHIC FOR BROAD AUDIENCE

BRAND-CENTRIC GRAPHIC FOR TARGETED AUDIENCE

EXPLORATIVE TO NARRATIVE SPECTRUM

There are two approaches that can be taken to an infographic:

E X P L O R A T I V E N A R R A T I V E

C H A R A C T E R I S T I C S

A P P L I C A T I O N S

ILLUSTRATIVE

PUBLICATIONS

MINIMALIST

ACADEMIC RESEARCH

BLOGS

ONLY INCLUDES ELEMENTS THAT REPRESENT DATA

SCIENCE

DESIGN-FOCUSED

CONTENT MARKETING

SEEKS TO COMMUNICATE INFORMATION

BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE

DATA ANALYSIS

SEEKS TO APPEAL TO VIEWER WITH ENGAGING VISUALS

SALES AND MARKETING MATERIALS

IN THE MOST CLEAR, CONCISE MANNER INFORMS AND ENTERTAINS

NARRATIVE GRAPHIC

EXPLORATIVEGRAPHIC

EXPLORATIVEGRAPHIC

DESIGN TOOLS: ILLUSTRATION

DESIGN TOOLS: PHOTOGRAPHY

DESIGN TOOLS: ICONOGRAPHY

DESIGN TOOLS: TYPOGRAPHY

DESIGN TOOLS: DATA VISUALIZATION

THE FUTURE OF INFOGRAPHICS

Democratization of creation tools

Socially generative visualizations

Real problem-solving

DEMOCRATIZATION OFCREATION TOOLS

USA TODAY VISUAL LANGUAGE

ADVANTAGES

Everyone can create

Less time designing allows for

more time researching

Increased familiarity leads to

better understanding and critique

USE ACCURATE VISUALIZATIONS

6%

96%

SPRINKLES

MAPLE BAR

16%JAM FILLED

48%

34%

OLD FASHIONED

BEAR CLAW

24%

20%

32%

SPRINKLES

JAM FILLED

MAPLE B AR

8%

16%

O LD FASHIONED

BEAR CLAW

CONCERNS

Diminished quality

Saturation can tire audiences

Decreased potency of the medium

UNDERSTANDING LITERACY HIGHER STANDARDS

AUTOMATION SPEED ACCURACY

SOCIALLY GENERATIVEVISUALIZATIONS

Audience becomes the content

Real-time visualization

Unique experience

Living

VISUAL NEWS “SGV: MONEY”

MASHABLE “MEDIA LITERACY” SGV

MASHABLE “MEDIA LITERACY” SGV

REAL PROBLEM-SOLVING

Align with goals

Functional

Clear call to action

Answer the “So what?” and“Now what?” questions

Look for opportunities to automate.

Use socially generative visualization to make your audience part of real-time, living content.

Identify your organization’s biggest communication problems (and opportunities).

Make sure your visual content is aligned to your goals.

HOW CONTENT CREATORS CAN TAKEADVANTAGE OF THESE TRENDS:

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Jason Lankow | @jasonlankowbit.ly/infographicsbook

Column Fivecolumnfivemedia.com | @columnfive

Designers + Geeks@DesignersGeeks

THE FUTURE OF INFOGRAPHICS (#dplusg)