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We are an infographic agency doing visual storytelling.
We transform data and information into captivating visuals and makes it easier to understand and remember.
We are visual storytellers that inform and inspires your audience.
Hard-earned lessons from our notebook about information design and infographics. Hands-on, honest and condensed.
Hard-earned lessons from our notebook about information design and infographics. Hands-on, honest and condensed.
An illustration can easily be too complex or realistic for communicating a message concisely. On the other hand, it can also be too simple and abstract to understand. Cristoph Niemann introduced The Abstract-O-Meter as a scale to demonstrate how illustrations need to have this perfect balance, in which there’s just the right amount of information to be perceived effectively.
Often your story will be used for different media. The story should be communicated differently to fit both the possibilities and the limitations of the media. There’s simply no such thing as one-fits-all. Therefore trim, add, edit, divide, adjust or redesign for the best results.
Be extremely ambitious about your visual communication. Always try other solutions and challenge your initial idea. There’s never just one way. And the aim is always to find the best, clearest visual explanation.
Data without context leaves the reader wondering. Is it a high number? Is it low? Good? Bad? The context will tell your audience whether the sales figures shown should be perceived in a positive or negative light. Everything’s relative, so we always need some kind of context in order to understand a number.
Don’t be afraid of the spreadsheet. It can be just as much of a playground as your Adobe Suite. This is where you find patterns, organize your content and discover great stories. You might not be a data analyst, but data curiosity and an analytic way of thinking are key when it comes to creating great information design.
Information design includes both text and visuals. These are closely intertwined and can’t be separated from each other. The copywriter and designer need to collaborate closely as a unit in order to make successful communication – both in the early and in the final stages. The writer needs to think visually and the designer needs to think textually.
Information design is a complex and very multidisciplinary process. Although you might not have all the specialists on your team, you do need the skill sets of a wide range of specialists in order to make succesful high-end infographics.
We often try to describe and visualize the design process in one simple, clear diagram. But the truth is, there’s no such thing. Projects vary a lot in terms of content, medium, industry, size, team etc., so the process will as well. Sure, there’s best practice to stick to throughout the process, but insisting that a “one-fits-all” model should be applied to every project is simply pie in the sky, as far as we’re concerned.
Some designers tend to create designs that other designers will appreciate and applaud or design with their own taste and preferences in mind. With this approach your design risks being exclusive and, in the worst case scenario, disliked or misunderstood. Target your design for your main audience, who are most likely non-designers. Understand what works and appeals to your audience and ignore your designer friends.
Decoding an icon should not be a challenge for the reader. If you want the reader to recognize easily what your icon or illustration represents, follow the conventions and common comprehension. Design a wheel everyone immediately recognizes as a wheel.
