Look at the infographics from dailyinfographic.com (Links to an external site.). There are a few ways to browse the selection, though in the upper left corner of the website is a “Categories” pull down menu that might help you find a broader category.TASK: Choose an infographic that has a persuasive purpose (versus a strictly informative one.) This might be hard to determine for some, but do your best. Here are examples of what I would consider persuasive infographics looking to support claim, though you do not have to choose one of these:https://www.dailyinfographic.com/everyone-should-green-roof (Links to an external site.)https://www.dailyinfographic.com/bottled-water-facts (Links to an external site.)https://www.dailyinfographic.com/yes-french-is-still-an-important-language-2 (Links to an external site.)Submit to your group discussion a link to the infographic you chose, followed by a minimum 200 word analysis of the piece based on the prompts below. Keep in mind that, in my opinion, many of the infographics posted on the site aren’t very good!What is the claim and who is the audience? Why do you think so?How effective is the information provided in support of the claim? Does it provide enough information? Too much? Why?How accurate and credible are the cited facts and sources used to support sub-claims?How is the infographic organized? Are subtopics presented in concise, “digestible” chunks of information? Are they ordered coherently? Does the infographic accomplish its task in 1-2 minutes? If not, how could this be fixed?How effectively does the infographic use the design strategies discussed in Chapter 29 (and listed below)? Elements like fonts, headings, color, visuals, proximity, contrast, spacing, alignment. Break down the design for us—what’s there, what works, and what doesn’t work.Overall, how persuasive is the infographic to its audience? Why? Discuss the content, organization, imagery, and overall design in relation to its appeals to logos, ethos, pathos.Design Elements:Contrast: achieve contrast through the use of color, icons, boldface or large type size, headings, and so on.Alignment: refers to the way visuals and text on a page are lined up, both horizontally and vertically.Repetition: Use a consistent design throughout your document for such elements as color, typeface, and images.Proximity: position related points, text, and visuals near one another and to use clear headings to identify these clusters.Consistency: creates the appropriate overall impression or mood for your text.White space: Use white space, or negative space, to emphasize and direct readers to parts of the page.Color: colors can evoke powerful responses, so take care that the colors you use match the message you are sending.Font: typefaces help you create the tone of a document, so consider your audience and purpose when selecting type.Headings: position each level of informative heading consistently throughout the text.Visuals: choose visuals that will enhance your credibility, allow you to make your point more emphatically, and clarify your overall text.Mike Markel’s GUIDELINES Creating Effective InfographicsMake a claim. A good infographic states—or at least implies—a claim and then presents evidence to support it. For instance, the claim might be that the number of people accessing the Internet in a language other than English is increasing at an accelerating rate, that the pace at which new drugs are coming onto the market is slowing, or that the cost of waging a campaign for a U.S. Senate seat has increased tenfold in the last twenty years. The claim you present will suggest the theme of your graphics: you might consider maps, flowcharts, or statistics.Use accurate data. Once you have settled on your claim, find facts to support it. Use reputable sources, and then check and re-check them. Be sure to cite your sources on the infographic itself.Follow the guidelines for the type of graphic you are creating. Although you want to express your creativity when you create graphics, abide by the guidelines for that type of graphic. For instance, if you use a bar graph to present data on the number of zebras born in captivity, your first obligation is to make the length of each bar reflect the quantity it represents; don’t manipulate the lengths of the bars to make the graph look like a zebra.Write concisely. If you need more than a paragraph to introduce a graphic, try revising the text to get the word count down or see if you can break the idea into several smaller ones.Don’t present too much information. It’s natural to want to include all the data you have found, but if the infographic is too tightly packed with text and graphics, readers will be intimidated. Use white space to let the graphics breathe.Don’t go on forever. Your readers will want to spend a minute or two on the infographic. They won’t want to spend 15 minutes.Test the infographic. As with any kind of technical document, the more you revise, evaluate, and test the infographic, the better it will be.
