Infographics

Help present data visually can help ‘tell a story’ or make data more insightful and understandable.

This can often be in the form of a chart or graph, accompanied by brief text to give users information quickly and easily. 

Getting started 

See Flickr or Pinterest for different styles of infographics 

Look at the useful reading section below

Suggested tools 

Canva

A graphic design tool website aimed at all users with varying degrees of experience in creating infographics.

ISimple to use with lots of features such as drag and drop.

Cost: There are various packages available. The free package gives limited storage and the ability to upload your own images.

Find out more at Canva 

Examples 

• Natasha Craigs, Mid Yorks NHS, have created this useful guide with some examples A Guide to Canva
• Tracy Owen, North West Boroughs Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust KLS survey 2018 infographic
• HEE Knowledge and Library Leads National Statistics Returns Infographics

Contact [email protected] for any of the examples in an accessible format.

Training and support

• Canva contains a ‘Learn’ section which even drills down to specialist support for the type of user (student, teacher etc).
• There are also general design tutorials 

Articles

• De Ford, Katherin et al, (2017) Canva: a practical accessible design tool. Marketing Libraries Journal.

Blog posts

• University of Sussex –Technology Enhanced Learning Blog (2016) Introducing Canva: an accessible graphic design tool.
• The Inspired Librarian (2016) Canva: An amazing time saving, free Poster/Infographic creator.
• The Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust Staff Library (2016) Using Canva because it’s: FREE and useful.

Microsoft Office/Adobe

• The Microsoft Office Suite (PowerPoint/Publisher/Excel/Word) has a range of software which can be used in the creation and for the promotion of infographics.
• The Adobe package (Adobe Photoshop/Illustrator) tends to be aimed at those with some experience in creating images and documents/files.
• One example of how you can use Microsoft Publisher is using Publisher and then converting it via a free pdf creator
• Cost: MS Office Suite is freely available on NHS networks.
• Adobe access can vary by teams and trusts. Please see your IT department for further advice.

Examples:

• University of Huddersfield Library – using Adobe Illustrator University of Huddersfield
• Blended approach: Karen Holmden, Surrey and Sussex Healthcare used canva and free digital photos to source the images and graphics, and then Microsoft Publisher and PowerPoint to create it.
• SaSH infographic
• Blended Approach: Paul Edwards, Cheshire and Wirral Partnership Knowledge and Library Service used a combination of Microsoft Publisher and Pixabay.
• Infographic – Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

Contact [email protected] for any of the examples in an accessible format.

Training and support:

• Microsoft Office Support
• Adobe Support

Other resources

• These are from various sectors and include UK and international examples.
• Libraries Matter: 18 fantastic library infographics and charts

Piktochart

• Piktochart is a web-based infographic application which allows users with little experience as graphic designers to easily create infographics and visuals using themed templates.
• Cost: There are various packages available. You can even sign up for a free trial.
• The free package gives you unlimited storage and the ability to download your piktocharts as JPG or PNG images.

• See an example created by Sian Aynsley, Lewisham & Greenwich NHS Trust. 

• There is a FAQ section and a range of video tutorials

To submit an example of an infographic you have created, contact Heather Steele ([email protected]) 

Useful reading 

Books 

For some inspiring examples of high-quality infographics and data visualisations on a variety of topics, including health.

Consider adding them to stock for your library users.

1. Krum, Randy (2013) Cool Infographics: Effective Communication with Data Visualization and Design. Hoboken. NJ, Wiley.
   You can download a free chapter and there are links to the online figures in the book. 
2. McCandless, David (2012) Information is Beautiful. London, Collins. 
3. McCandless, David (2014) Knowledge is Beautiful. London, Collins. 

Tech guides 

1. Elsevier Connect (2014) Infographic: Librarians and Research Impact
   Discussion of the creation of an infographic by Library Connect which shows how librarians are helping researchers measure the impact of research 
2. Infographics Design Team (2018) Top 12 Tools For Creating Infographics
   Lists free and paid for tools for creating infographics. 
3.  Potter, Ned (2014) So you want to make in infographic? 4 useful options. 
   Ned’s article gives a useful tech guide to the infographic products on the market and is aimed at information professionals. 

The value of infographics 

1. Mashable UK (2012) How to Create an Awesome Infographic
   The thinking process behind how to create an awesome infographic. 
2. Neomam (no date). 13 reasons why your brain craves infographics
   Discusses the science behind infographics.
3. Potter, Ned (2015) Library use compared with other things: a snapshot in 2015
   Contains some good examples of statistical infographics and demonstrates the use of statistics to tell a story using various platforms such as Microsoft Sway.
4. Potter, Ned (2012) The Library Marketing Toolkit. London. Facet.
   Discusses the value of impact and advocacy in libraries.
5. Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (2016) CLAHRC Oxford Infographic Gets Awards Honourable Mention
   Details an award winning infographic produced by CLAHRC. 

Examples of library infographics 

• HEE Knowledge and Library Services Leads (2020) National Statistics Return Infographics
• Librarian Design Share is a community of creativity for librarians, people who work in libraries, and library students. …an open online repository of interesting library-related design

Other examples

• librarians and research impact from Elsevier
• infographics resources from the US Library research service