The Art of Information
Information design is a fast-growing discipline. Using graphic design as the medium, information design – or infographics –
represents complex information with visuals, making it easier to understand. The lexicon of information design has not yet
found its way into the mainstream, but it is indeed everywhere.
Why so popular? Most of us are power-Googlers; we’re involved in a 24-hour news cycle that brings incredibly complex information
to the forefront (think health care reform, the global financial crisis, foreign relations). Unfortunately, there’s a sort of
inverse relationship between the amount of information available to us and the time we have to digest it.
Infographics aim to solve that problem, helping us understand complex issues like the
U.S.-China trade relationship,
the global impact of Starbucks and McDonald's and
drug use in the U.S.
Mind Games
In general terms, you would probably say that infographics are “simpler”; information presented using color coding, charts or
graphs is just easier to understand than reading a page or two of text. It’s a recognizable truth, and there’s a lot of science
to support it. Although most of us will never attempt to understand the biological/neurological mechanisms involved, a few
oversimplified examples do offer some insight.
Infographics take advantage of color and shape, which our brains recognize and process relatively quickly. In fact, the human
brain actually needs very little information to recognize an object (i.e., we can identify a familiar object right away, even
without its distinct color or any significant details). For example, when you look at this infographic
you probably understand its message very quickly. Recognition of the coffee cup feels almost instantaneous, and the colors used allow
us to quickly differentiate between one ingredient and the other.
We also tend to “chunk” information based on similarity and proximity, and infographics give our brains another advantage in
this respect. This infographic designed by Brady Communications was a helpful guide for
American Eagle Outfitters’employees to use after the corporation moved to a new location. A simple map like this caters to the way our minds
process information; you can quickly relate a color on the building to its matching color in the key.
More Infographics In Action
Infographics are not only practical; their aesthetics also make understanding a complex idea a lot more exciting. CGI, for example,
needed to communicate the process of federal stimulus funding to
smaller government entities who benefitted from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The Brady Communications solution provided a simple
graphic representation of new federal reporting requirements and the ways CGI could help that effort.
Brady Communications produced another information design solution for Tucor, Inc., a national leader in irrigation solutions.
While Tucor’s business is highly specialized and technical, the company needed a better way to communicate their
total-cycle management system to potential customers and
distributors of their irrigation products. The infographic explained Tucor's approach to three different audience segments and
was used on their Web site, as well as in brochures and trade show exhibits.
These examples are just scratching the surface when it comes to information design and the breadth of topics it covers. And
from a marketer's perspective, it offers some great creative solutions for presenting complicated information in a way that’s
easy to understand.