Library Guides: HLTH 315: Community Nutrition: Infographics

What are infographics?

Infographics, or information graphics, are illustrative representations of information, data, or knowledge intended to present complex information quickly and clearly. A well-crafted infographic can support learning by using graphics to enhance the human eye's ability to see patterns and trends; on the flip side, poorly done infographics can lead to misunderstanding and misinformation. This page has information for you to create your best infographics! The left column lists tools, and the right column has other resources for you.

This LibGuide page was based on the Infographics Guide from UIUC.

Online Tools

Visme
Provides a variety of infographic templates (as well as other document types). It has many options for objects, charts, images, and shapes that you can drag and drop onto your infographic.
Infogram
Infogram shines in its interactive charts, graphs, and maps; it is especially useful for infographics that have a lot of data to get across. The one drawback is that downloading your infographic is only available through a premium account (but you can screenshot your work instead).
Piktochart
Piktochart was one of the earliest infographic websites created. It is also one of the easier platforms to get used to, as well as having many attractive templates.
Canva
Canva is widely used by many nowadays, which fits into its company goal to "make graphic design more accessible to everyday users." It has many templates, fonts, colors, graphics, and photos for you to choose from.
Easel.ly
This program intentionally mirrors Microsoft Word so that it's as easy as possible for novices to use. The options are limited for this infographic creator, but it is fast and easy to use.

Online Tool Comparison Chart

	Piktochart	Easel.ly	Canva	Infogram	Visme.co
Storage	5 visuals/projects; 2 free downloads	Unlimited	1GB	10 visuals/projects	5 visuals/projects
Charts	14 types	4 types	5 types	40+ types	9 types
Data Import	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Embedded Media	Videos	Videos	Videos, gifs, audio +	Videos, gifs, audio +	Video & Audio
Download Format	PNG, PDF, PowerPoint	JPG	PNG, JPG, PDF	Upgrade to download	JPG
Alt Text	No	No	No	Yes	No
Watermark	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes
Web Publishing	Private	Public	Private	Public	Public

Other Resources

Coolors
This generator will give you complementary color schemes for your infographic; it also has a color blindness feature to help you see what it'd look like for those with colorblindness.
Color Safe
Creates color palettes based on the WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines).
Level Access Color Contrast Checker
If you've already chosen a color scheme, Level Access will check it against accessibility guidelines.
Accessible Infographics
Infographics are inherently inaccessible, but there are ways you can make an infographic more accessible. This is a guide from California State University Northridge on the subject.
Unsplash
A great source for free-to-use images. Image attribution (listing the creator) is encouraged, but not required.
Pexels
Another free stock photos website.

These are slides from a data visualization expert, Edward Tufte, that have best practices for infographics.

MCJ Edward Tufte Notes from McGarrah Jessee