SJSU Research Guides: Data Visualization: Infographics

Infographics vs. Data Visualization

While infographics and data visualizations both visually encode information, the terms aren’t necessarily interchangeable:

Infographics	Data Visualizations
Developed for a particular dataset Context-sensitive Hand-crafted Tend to be more subjective, pitching a specific point of view Well-suited for resumes, marketing content and blog posts	Existing techniques with general applications Context-free (Largely) automatically generated Tend to be more objective, positioning itself as an analytics tool Well-suited for dashboards and research reports

For example, we can consider “Women in Tech” an infographic because it introduces a clear viewpoint: although women are gaining ground in tech, they still lack representation. We notice that certain design elements, such as traditionally feminine colors, are hand-picked to enhance the storytelling. Further, the choice and order of charts would not be compatible with any other dataset.

Image credit: https://blog.prototypr.io/getting-it-right-why-infographics-are-not-the-same-as-data-visualizations-a23da7de745e

On the other hand, “The Daily Routines of Famous Creative People” is a data visualization. The graphic is not promoting a specific conclusion; rather, it allows the viewer to assess different lifestyles and draw their own conclusions. One could easily replace the dataset with lifestyle data about other groups of people, and the visualization technique would still hold. In practice, of course, the distinction between infographic and data visualization can be much more subtle.

Image credit: https://blog.prototypr.io/getting-it-right-why-infographics-are-not-the-same-as-data-visualizations-a23da7de745e

Infographics by Jason Lankow; Ross Crooks; Josh Ritchie
ISBN: 1118420063
In today's fast-paced environment, you must communicate your message in a concise and engaging way that sets it apart from the noise. Visual content--such as infographics and data visualization--can accomplish this. With DIY functionality, Infographics: The Power of Visual Storytelling will teach you how to find stories in your data, and how to visually communicate and share them with your audience for maximum impact.
Infographics for Dummies by Justin Beegel
ISBN: 1118792394
Written by the founder of Infographic World, a New York City based infographic agency, and his top designers, the book focuses on the how-to of data, design, and distribution to create stunning, shareable infographics. Step-by-step instruction allows you to handle data like a pro, while creating eye-catching graphics with programs like Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. The book walks you through the different types of infographics, explaining why they're so effective, and when they're appropriate.
Infographics Designers' Sketchbooks by Steven Heller; Rick Landers
ISBN: 1616892862
We are living in a golden age of data visualization, in which designers are responding to the information overload of our digital era with astonishing feats of visual thinking. Using a wide variety of techniques, they transform complex ideas into clear, engaging, and memorable infographics. In recent years, books and websites have been collecting the field's best. While stimulating, these finished projects offer little insight into how visual solutions were reached, making them of limited use to designers wanting to produce work of their own. In Infographic Designers' Sketchbooks, more than fifty of the world's leading graphic designers and illustrators open up their private sketchbooks to offer a rare glimpse of their creative processes. Emphasizing idea-generating methods--from doodles and drawings to three-dimensional and digital mock-ups--this revelatory collection is the first to go inside designers' studios to reveal the art and craft behind infographic design.
Visual Content Marketing by Stephen Gamble
ISBN: 1119158540
Written for business people dealing with complex offerings, this is a hands-on, in-the-trenches guide to leveraging this emerging medium to reach bottomline business goals. Uniquely, this book addresses the full range of visual solutions, with an emphasis on using these products to create real business value.
Infographics: A Journalist's Guide by James Glen Stovall
ISBN: 0205261051
Infographics is the only book to provide description and examples of the proper use of graphic forms to present information. This book presents an in-depth and straightforward approach to explaining the use of information graphics, offering coverage of a form of communication that is as important as writing. This book examines the development of information graphics in modern journalism and takes an in-depth and analytical look at all the major graphic forms that journalists use. It categorizes graphics into charts, charts without numbers, maps, type-based graphics, and illustration-based graphics and discusses the sub-categories of each. For professionals working in the field of journalism.
Cool Infographics by Randy Krum
ISBN: 1118837150
Covers online infographics used for marketing, including social media and search engine optimization (SEO). Shows how to market your skills with a visual, infographic resume. Explores the many internal business uses of infographics, including board meeting presentations, annual reports, consumer research statistics, marketing strategies, business plans, and visual explanations of products and services to your customers.

References

Chan, V. (2017, June 6). Getting it right: why infographics are not the same as data visualizations. Retrieved from https://blog.prototypr.io/getting-it-right-why-infographics-are-not-the-same-as-data-visualizations-a23da7de745e

Kosara, R. (2010, August 10). The difference between infographics and visualization. Retrieved from https://eagereyes.org/blog/2010/the-difference-between-infographics-and-visualization

Marr, B. (2017, September 16). Data visualization: The best infographic tools available today. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2017/09/16/data-visualization-the-best-infographic-tools-for-2017/#6d41097d7d24

NCSU Libraries Visualization Services Team. Resources for creating infographics. Retrieved from https://ncsu-libraries.github.io/infographics/

Pritchard, M. (2016, December 1). Data visualization vs. infographics. Retrieved from https://killervisualstrategies.com/blog/data-visualization-versus-infographics.html

Rios, J. (2017, May 9). Visualization tools. Retrieved from https://guides.library.harvard.edu/visualization#s-lg-page-section-2073186

Data Visualization

Emily Chan

Create an Infographic!

Web Tools

Downloadable Tools

Infographics vs. Data Visualization

Further Reading

References