Are infographics worth a thousand words?

In our fast-paced world of social media and mass communication, the old adage of a picture being worth a thousand words may never be truer, as the use of infographics continues to provide effective, engaging tools to communicate messages.

So, what are they? In a nutshell, ‘infographics’ are images containing graphics and text that present information, data or knowledge in an interesting and creative way, delivering a clear message quickly and clearly. Road signs, such as the slippery when wet or falling rocks signs, are basically infographics, giving drivers simple and instant messages about oncoming road conditions.

Offering a great way to tell a story, an effective infographic grabs your attention just long enough to deliver an important message, and then makes it easy to share. And this process helps develop emotional connections between organisations and their digital communities.

Although infographics have been around for many years, there has been steady growth in their usage, as people and organisations (often marketers) work out ways to cleverly and concisely present information.

Why infographics work

Apparently our brain is ‘visually wired’ to receive and make sense of the increasing amount of information we are presented with all the time. In our busy, fast-paced lives, infographics present digestible and engaging bites of information, which we remember.  And because images have the ability to affect us cognitively and emotionally at the same time, it adds to the power of the message you are presenting. Coupled with social media’s capacity to share these infographics with a wide, engaged audience, in an instant, it can be a very powerful tool to communicate to your audience.

Although some critics suggest the infographic is a buzzword that may have had its day, we think that given the ability to tell/show information in such an engaging way, that suits social media, infographics will be around a good while longer. [Aside: here’s an interesting infographic about buzzwords!]

Here are some of the info graphics we produced for Community Child Care Co-operative (NSW):

Contact the ARMEDIA team if you’d like to find out more about how we can create infographics to tell your story.