I came across this Whiteboard video below with Rand Fishkin from Moz in which he basically says most infographics are poorly designed and overused, and don’t have the impact that good visuals should have. He says “savvy” marketers are abandoning their use, and advocates using other types of graphics, or what he calls “visual assets,” to illustrate an idea. To me, infographics are a visually interesting way to get important information across without taxing a reader too much. They can be used alone with a short introduction, or can further illustrate a blog post’s message.
Fishkin says he dislikes them because many times they are of poor quality, with too much information and images stuffed into a relatively small space. I agree that poor design is a turnoff, but that goes for any graphic design for any purpose. A well-designed infographic can get across key information in an easy-to-digest format.
Here’s an example of what I think is a great infographic from Digital Information World . It gives a easy breakdown on how to create posts on different social platforms. The layout is clean and simple. Boxes with explanatory sidebars clearly and concisely show where information should go when creating a post (click on image to see entire zoomable image):
As far as the overuse of infographics, Fishkin may be right on that point, but the same can be applied to the number of blogs published, the millions of social media posts shared per day, and the general sharing of media/information overall. We live in a world of digital information overload. This is why it is more important than ever to create high quality graphics and posts that will grab a person’s attention and keep it.
No matter what you share--whether it be an infographic, a custom visual, a blog article, video, etc., make sure it has impact. Blogs should be well thought out and edited thoroughly. Visuals, including infographics, not only need to be pleasing to the eye and attract attention, but also should support or add to the statement or information shared in a post.
Fishkin speaks of a couple good design elements in the video, but as to what makes great design, this is what Dutch graphic designer Wim Crouwel said in an interview with visual arts book publisher Phaidon:
“It must be an eye-catching, original and straightforward visualisation of a given subject.”
Check out my blog Best Social Apps to Create and Manage Content for a couple of tools to help you create different types of graphics for blogs, social media and other uses.
