What Is an Infographic?

Whether you notice it or not, you probably see infographics every day. Infographics are all around us — maps, posters, textbook diagrams, even the directions that came with your IKEA Kallax shelving unit.

Merriam-Webster defines an infographic as "a chart, diagram, or illustration (as in a book or magazine, or on a website) that uses graphic elements to present information in a visually striking way.” Lemonly’s definition is pretty similar: 

Basically, infographics are visual representations that make information easier to understand. Breaking the word down, we have “info-” and “-graphic.”

• The "info-" is your content — the story you’re telling.
• The "-graphic" includes the visual elements like charts, graphs, icons, illustrations, photos, and even layout choices that make the information more understandable and meaningful.

Let’s get a few basic questions out of the way: 

• Do infographics have to have charts and graphs? No! 
• Do infographics have to have icons or illustrations? No!
• Do infographics have to be static images? Absolutely not!

Welcome to Infographic 101! Let’s dive in to cover more of the essentials: what infographics are, why they’re effective, and how you can put them to work for your brand.

Infographics come in any shape, size, and story type

Static or animated, vertical or horizontal, large or small, illustrated or photo-based, data-driven or narrative — you name it. Infographics don’t have any set format, size, style, or story type.

Size and format

Some infographics are small enough to fit in an Instagram post. Some are as big as entire web pages or even ebooks. They can be static, animated, interactive, or a combination of these. The sizing and formats are flexible. Some are as brief as a headline and chart, while others are fully interactive landing pages. An animated explainer video can also be considered an infographic. It’s about the purpose — making information easy to understand with visuals — not the form factor.

No matter how large or small an infographic is, it is great at grabbing and keeping an audience's attention. An infographic's vibrant, well-organized visuals help audiences understand and retain your message.

Quantitative or qualitative data (and beyond)

Infographics can be based on quantitative or qualitative data. In fact, most infographics combine both quantitative and qualitative elements.

• Quantitative data includes numbers and quantities. Infographics heavy on quantitative data use data visualization, charts, graphs, and large number callouts to help the audience understand what the numbers mean.
• Qualitative data includes insights, term definitions, process descriptions, and customer testimonials. Infographics that focus more on qualitative stories might include icons, illustrations, timelines, comparisons, or maps. 

Story types

With all the various shapes and sizes infographics can take, you have infinite options for stories to tell. It’s not all pie charts and paragraphs. 

If you have numbers and stats that will resonate with your audience, lean on charts, graphs, and other data visualizations. If you need to quickly and effectively communicate your organization's capabilities or benefits, you might want to include some icons. A timeline infographic is a good choice for showing milestones in your industry's history.

Here are some common infographic story types we use with our clients:

• Timeline
• Comparison
• Flowchart
• Problem-solution-action
• Process/how-to
• Report summary
• Innovation
• Announcement
• Data visualization

Branded or editorial

Some infographics are branded, meaning they lead with your company name and established brand style. They can help explain the benefits of using your product or service, share results from a case study, communicate your company’s pricing structure, and more. Much, much more.

Other infographics are editorial, focusing more on general thought leadership or industry trends rather than your specific brand and offerings (though you might include your logo and some boilerplate text at the bottom). Editorial infographics are great if you’re looking for engaging, shareable, top-of-funnel content for your audience.

As long as you keep your topic focused, relevant, and concise, you can tell any story you want with an infographic. And our team is pretty good at helping our clients figure out what kinds of stories they should be telling with sweet visuals.

What makes a good infographic?

So, we’ve covered what an infographic is and why someone might want to use them. But what makes a good infographic? It comes down to the story, design, and call-to-action — and how they work together to create a beautiful and functional piece of content.

Clear, compelling story

A good infographic starts with a compelling story. Infographics explain things. What are you explaining? Maybe it’s a new feature announcement. Or how your product solves a specific customer problem. Or a timeline of company expansion. Having a clear, focused narrative grounds your infographic, gives it purpose, and keeps your audience engaged. When in doubt, try to narrow down your topic rather than making it more broad.

Once you've nailed your thesis and goal, start thinking about structure. Think of it like an essay outline: you've got your main idea, supporting points, and evidence. As you go, make sure every detail ties directly back to your main message.

Use subpoints to organize your ideas, headings and bulleted lists to make the information easy to navigate, and write with design in mind. That doesn’t mean you have to suck all the personality out of your writing, but just remember the design can also show off your unique voice and attitude toward your content.

Delightful, intentional design

The next element that makes a good infographic is intentional design. The best infographic design goes beyond standard best practices like hierarchy and consistency. It visually reinforces your message and makes your content easier to scan, understand, and remember. A great infographic is both beautiful and functional.

Call-to-action

Beyond the intentional story and design, another element of a good infographic is a strong call-to-action. Infographics are great resources, but they usually aren't self-contained. A strong call-to-action tells the audience exactly what to do next, whether it's to learn more about a topic, request a demo, make a purchase, contact a sales rep, or simply reconsider a previously held opinion. 

This wide range of CTAs means infographics can inspire your audience to do almost anything, making them excellent tools for marketing and communication.

Infographics make great marketing tools

Infographics can effectively educate customers, generate leads, or provide a clear, engaging leave-behind for in-person sales opportunities. Virtually any story a brand needs to tell can be made more compelling and effective with an infographic — even stories you’re already telling in other ways.

Engage your audience and get results

We’ve talked about how infographics are perfect for turning complex ideas and data into clear, engaging visuals that people actually want to read and share. And isn’t that the eternal struggle with branded content? Making things people actually want to engage with? Creating content that drives results for your business?

Visuals are super effective at communicating information and keeping audiences engaged. Effective infographics catch and keep your readers' attention, make information more digestible, and help your message stick.

Create divisible content to get more mileage from your marketing efforts

You can get even more out of your marketing or promotional infographics when they’re part of a larger content strategy. We call this approach divisible content, and the possibilities are endless!

If you have an amazing explainer video for your company or product, you can build on that resource with an infographic overview of the content. It’s another opportunity for your audience to encounter that important information, and the infographic can drive traffic back to the larger video. Heck, you can break the infographic down into social media-friendly microcontent, use that to drive traffic to the infographic, then use the infographic to drive traffic to the video.

You can do the same with any large piece of content (sometimes called a pillar piece of content). Webinar? Make an accompanying infographic! Comprehensive ebook or report? That could be a whole series of infographics. Interactive landing page? Show off some of the highlights with an infographic!

With an efficient content strategy and strong calls-to-action linking the pieces together, infographics are a versatile tool in your marketing and communication toolbox.

The formula for a great infographic

So back to our original question: What is an infographic? It's basically a visual way to make information easier to understand and more fun to look at. The magic formula? Good story + smart design + clear call-to-action.

Whether you're breaking down data, walking through a process, or just trying to get people excited about something, infographics can totally transform how your audience connects with your content. Got a story to tell? There's probably an awesome infographic just waiting to happen.

Learn more about infographics and check out more infographic examples we’ve created for our clients.