The Power of Infographics
What is an Infographic?
When you think of an infographic, what comes to mind? You may think of an image with graphics, statistics, facts and images. This is what an infographic consists of to relay information in a creative manner. However, this visual isn't just an image, it's an experience. According to Pola Zen, "An image invites our imagination to participate." When our brains see an image, the information displayed is processed much faster than text. An infographic combines text and visuals to create an immersive, engaging and interactive experience.
According to the Interactive Design Foundation, there are three elements to visual mapping for image visualization:
- The Spatial Substrate — The space to create the visualization.
- Graphical Elements — Points, lines surfaces and volumes
- Graphical Properties — Size, orientation, colors, textures and shapes
The Interactive Design Foundation also says common uses for information visualization include:
- Presentation (for understanding and persuasion)
- Explorative analysis, which allows viewers to see where relationships in data may exist.
- Confirmation analysis, to confirm understanding and analysis of data.
These elements and uses can also be applied to infographics.
Infographics in Science
Breaking down information in a digestible and clear format is crucial in any form of research, especially in science. Explorative analysis and confirmation analysis can be primarily found in many scientific findings. For example, an explorative analysis example used by the Interactive Design Foundation was a map of the frequency of lung cancer in the US by geographic region. Meanwhile, an analytic chart or graph can be also used in scientific research and data. According to Bill Dennison, a variety of visual information is helpful for many different types of viewers.
"Different people have different preferences or aptitudes for different visual elements. For example, a person with strong spatial orientation will appreciate maps, another person with strong analytical skills will appreciate graphs and another person with strong abstract thinking skills will appreciate a conceptual diagram."
Bill Dennison
Despite the efforts in pleasing a variety of scientists, sometimes it can be challenging to translate the visual information to a viewer who is not a scientist. For example, scientific data is important for students, teachers, journalists, researchers and the public to understand. This is why the Scientific Visualization Studio at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center creates visualization products, systems and processes to help solve this problem. They also incorporate expert scientific storytelling and data visualization. This is helpful for everyone to understand science and how it is affecting us.
The use of user-centered design is also helpful is allowing people to understand scientific data and visualization (Estrada and Davis). Since visuals are so apparent in our modern culture, it's important to create images that are to the point and easy to digest. This is why infographics play a huge rule in scientific storytelling. Infographics allow everyone to better understand what is going on in our world and see the data and numbers in a way that is simplified and easier to remember.
Creating an Infographic
Pollution is one of the top reasons for climate change in our planet. It is happening more and more everyday in realtime. Climate change has always been a topic that I'm passionate about as it has a direct affect on our health and environment, whether we realize it or not. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), one in four deaths of children under the age of five years old are caused by pollution issues.
To create a better understanding of why and how pollution is happening, I created an infographic on the top pollutants and their impact on the planet.
Infographic Resources
Common air pollutants and their health effects. Air quality. (n.d.). https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/environment/air/Pages/common-air-pollutants.aspx
Howell, B. (2023, December 5). The top 6 types of ocean pollution: Facts & Solutions. The Top 6 Types of Ocean Pollution | Facts & Solutions. https://blog.cleanhub.com/the-top-6-ocean-pollutants#:~:text=The%20top%20six%20ocean%20pollutants,synthetic%20rope%2C%20and%20fishing%20items.
Land Pollution Facts and Statistics. Rubbish Please. (2022, August 23). https://www.rubbishplease.co.uk/blog/land-pollution-facts-statistics/
Land pollution: Causes, effects, and prevention: TDS. Texas Disposal Systems. (2023, August 7). https://www.texasdisposal.com/blog/land-pollution/
Managing air quality - air pollutant types | US EPA. United States Environmental Protection Agency. (n.d.). https://www.epa.gov/air-quality-management-process/managing-air-quality-air-pollutant-types
Onlineecu. (2019, September 9). What are the causes of water pollution?. ECU Online. https://online.ecok.edu/articles/causes-of-water-pollution/
SCDHEC. Most Common Air Pollutants. (n.d.). https://scdhec.gov/environment/your-air/most-common-air-pollutants
Blog Resources
Dennison, B. (n.d.). Practical visual literacy for science communication: Blog. Integration and Application Network. https://ian.umces.edu/blog/practical-visual-literacy-for-science-communication/
Interaction Design Foundation. (2023a, December 16). Information visualization – a brief introduction. The Interaction Design Foundation. https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/information-visualization-a-brief-introduction
Interaction Design Foundation. (2023b, December 16). Visual mapping – the elements of Information Visualization. The Interaction Design Foundation. https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/visual-mapping-the-elements-of-information-visualization
Ma, K.-L., Liao, I., Frazier, J., Hauser, H., & Kostis, H.-N. (2012). Scientific storytelling using visualization. IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications, 32(1), 12–19. https://doi.org/10.1109/mcg.2012.24
Rodríguez Estrada, F. C., & Davis, L. S. (2014). Improving visual communication of science through the incorporation of graphic design theories and practices into Science Communication. Science Communication, 37(1), 140–148. https://doi.org/10.1177/1075547014562914
World Health Organization. (n.d.). The cost of a polluted environment: 1.7 million child deaths a year, says who. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/news/item/06-03-2017-the-cost-of-a-polluted-environment-1-7-million-child-deaths-a-year-says-who
Zen, P. (2023, December 12). Storytelling secrets for creating images that connect. Yotpo. https://www.yotpo.com/resources/5-visual-storytelling-secrets-to-improve-your-marketing-images/