Humans are visual creatures. We organize our thoughts into lists, bullet points, drawings and formats, act them out, or even sing them to the starry skies above. For centuries, we’ve looked up to the night sky, let our imaginations run wild, and asked ourselves the age-old question… What else is out there in the vast emptiness of space? Are we truly alone?
While it’s unlikely to catch a speeding UFO on the way to work, visualization is an essential aspect of our lives. Learning how to capitalize on that can give your business an edge. Infographics kick our brains into hyperdrive, they help us translate drill-down information in a way that makes sense. But what separates a close encounter from the real deal? How do you make an infographic that hits its mark?
Adjust Your Telescope
A successful infographic is always relevant to the target demographic and concise enough to deliver the information effectively. After all, you wouldn’t head to the inner city to look for crop circles. If your business is large enough to have specific divisions, you should consider designing infographics for each rather than handing them one general sheet. Even if there are hints of important info, if the majority of the graphic is irrelevant to you or your job, why would you pay it any attention?
For purposes outside your team, such as marketing or collateral, really consider your audience. Who are you speaking to? For instance, in healthcare industries, patients in your clinic are always curious about how a procedure is done. Still, they may not know the proper terminology, so shoot for simple, easy-to-read messaging and bold statistics. Conversely, marketing collateral for lawyers should be knowledgeable in appropriate acronyms and up-to-date on relevant statutes to establish credibility.
An impactful infographic should always have a specific and singular call to action (CTA), something to urge the reader into doing, not just looking—Visit our website! Schedule an appointment! Review the handbook!
I Want to Believe
We earthlings have a curious mind but a discerning eye. We want to believe something is true at a glance, but we’ll pour over every detail and review every case. Your eye-catching infographics should also be accurate, clear, and include links and sources.
Accuracy is key to keeping your audience engaged. They’ll be the first to notice when something is out of place, which may negatively impact the perception of you or your brand. 42% of the population likes to make up 17% of all silly, bogus statistics. Don’t believe us? Well, you should!
The point of an infographic is to relay information in a visual format; as such, your brand needs to establish credibility before your audience reads it. You aren’t just trying to sound like an expert in your field. You are one! Rock Paper Simple wants you to succeed, and our branding services leverage everything you produce. You are awesome at what you do, you provide only the best for your team and your clients, and everything down to a simple visual aid reinforces that.
Not Just Stellar, but Interstellar
So your infographic is precise, focused, and accurate…but is it clear enough to be read from space? The most important thing to remember is legibility; how can an infographic be successful if no one can read it? Keeping the content top-level, laying out only the bare-bones basics, helps determine what exactly needs to be said. Your images need to be strategically placed, helping break up text blocks and emphasize key phrases. Use graphs and charts to condense everything into something that can be caught at a glance in a hallway. Manage positive and negative spaces to highlight exactly what you want viewers to see first.
Crafting collateral is not just an art but a science! Everything has its place in the orbit of your brand. When you shoot for the moon, you need a rocket scientist at your side. Our design services keep your collateral in line with your brand image. We tweak the fonts for ease of reading, reshape the layout to best fit the purpose and target demographic, and utilize quality images, photos, and icons to make it pop. You want an infographic to be memorable and get your audience thinking, asking questions, and turning the gears in their heads.
Find yourself in need of digital marketing, copywriting, and website design? Contact the branding and design experts here at Rock Paper Simple. We want to push your collateral past the stratosphere and empower you to achieve your goals.
