Data is imperfect

Let’s just stop thinking data is perfect. Data is primarily human-made. “Data-driven” doesn’t mean “unmistakably true,” and it never did. That’s why working with data and communication data requires an even greater sense of responsibility. Treat data with respect and remember that it’s not perfect.

Dig deep to identify the essence

The pile of information on your subject may be extensive and you need to dig a lot before actually finding what you’re looking for. This dirty work includes everything from arranging and researching to identifying and prioritizing the information. All this work can be time-consuming, but necessary in order to extract just the information you need for making concise and powerful information design.

Design hierarchy

Some information is more important than other information. First you need to prioritize your content, and secondly you need to implement this hierarchy into your design. Design what should stand out and what the viewer should pay most attention to. Use order, size, composition, styling etc. to achieve the right hierarchy.

The context defines the shape of your content

Your content won’t work in just any given context. The context is the channel, the media, the audience, the time and the place. The context will determine how you should approach and build your visuals. If the context is already fixed, you need to build content that’s suitable for the given context and tailored to it. 

Test early and test often

Testing your visuals is crucial when it comes to ensuring that your message comes across and is understood correctly. You may get it, but the only way you can be sure others do, is by testing. 
Get feedback from independent, unbiased users. If people don’t get it, it is probably too complicated or unfocused, or it is failing for other reasons. Get feedback and learn how your information is perceived and understood. Iterate and adjust accordingly or even start all over if necessary.

Balance the rational with the emotional

Though information design may be based on cold numbers and facts, it shouldn’t be dry. In fact, it needs to evoke emotions in order to resonate with an audience.
The best information design strikes a balance between the rational information that needs to be conveyed and the emotional attachment an audience has to the visual depiction.

Hire a copywriter – or become one

In information design, good copywriting can’t be overestimated. Good copywriting is just as important to information design as the actual design. Copy should be sharp, catchy, inspiring, convincing and persuasive. Ideally you should include a copywriter in your team, or at least incorporate the skill set of a copywriter into the process.

Simple ≠ simplistic

We aim to make complex information simple and easy to understand. That’s simplicity: when you can identify what’s essential and eliminate the rest. Simplistic on the other hand is when you treat complex issues as if they were much simpler than they are. There’s a clear distinction. Complexity is never eliminated but can only be reduced or concealed. Or in the words of Albert Einstein: 

“Everything should be as simple as possible, but not simpler”.

Visual content has no fixed reading order

When you interact with text, you mainly read it in the same order from upper left to down right. With visual content, there’s no predetermined order – you simply go wherever your eyes take you, and you spend more time on some parts than on others.
Design a flow that helps your audience navigate efficiently. The end goal isn’t to force chronology, but to support the reading experience in a meaningful way.

Trim, trim, trim

The constant struggle for any project in information design is to trim your content, so we’re left with only the essential information, and everything redundant is left out. Keep asking: Is it essential to the story? If not, leave it out. A perfectly trimmed story will be sharper and more powerful.