Who says that sharing information can’t be beautiful, not only useful? Aesthetics in general is a big part of our lives, and we do respond to it consciously or not. The modern age we live in is all about feeding on information – everyone has it at the tip of their fingers. It’s like we are hungry for more and more knowledge, but this ease of access also has its side-effects – we don’t accept every form of gathering knowledge. Whether you’re an educator, artist, an entrepreneur, a construction worker or a food enthusiast, you know how to tell the difference between a beautifully formed piece with lots of useful information and something that’s dry and boring.
Why Infographics?
The world of education isn’t aware of how revolutionary infographics are, and neither is the world of business. This should be used as their greatest weapon for attracting attention and sharing relevant information. The eyes are directly connected with the brain and over half of the population are visual learners, especially young people. Classrooms are in a need for information that is quickly transferable, coherent and visually interesting. As almost all sensory data will be filtered out the brain, it is fundamental to create a stunning visual impression and sometimes even using unusual details which will help students to remember the information faster.
Both teachers and students should consider using infographics, everyone who wants to raise awareness about a particular topic. It’s a green, effective and inspiring way to gather attention. There’s one more thing that we also need to mention – entertainment. The easiest and the most effective way for you to engrave a piece of information in someone’s mind is by using humor.
Start with Research
Isn’t it kind of ironic that it all comes down to homework? With infographics, it’s just has a different name – we call it research. Sounds a lot more sophisticated, doesn’t it? The difference is that you don’t have to spend hours in a library, trying to dig up relevant information, because you can find everything you need by browsing online.
This should be the part that takes the most time. No matter how much you know about a certain subject, the fact is you can learn a lot more by doing your research, check the Google, connect your topic with some trendy topics maybe. Students will love it.
Find Your Focus
If you want your infographic to be truly effective, it’s necessary for you to find your focus point. Without it, everything you implement on your page will probably be fuzzy and difficult to take in. Think carefully about your final conclusion, about that thing you want people who see your infographic to remember for all eternity, and build everything else you plan to include around your focus point.
‘’I realized if you can change a classroom, you can change a community, and if you change enough communities you can change the world.’’ – Erin Gruwell
Think like a student. Get in their minds and find out what it is they want from you. A common misconception is that it’s the other way around, but it’s really not. Everything you do depends on your their focus and their way of thinking.
Select Your Weapon
Naturally, all the pieces of information you are trying to share with the world in your infographic need to be useful, helpful and resourceful. Usually, certain points of view are controversial, you should find a way to bring everything together very carefully using different shapes, carefully selected fonts, relevant statistics, appropriate colors and photos that emphasize your point. Get straight to the point and capture the classroom’s attention.
This may seem like a lot to take in, but everyone today can create an amazing infographic without much trouble. Obviously, the first one will take more time than you’d like, but it’s quite important to have enough patience – it’s like learning any other skill, really.
The Element of Surprise
Every infographic should have that one shocking element that simply pushes you to keep on reading. It doesn’t really matter how dry your subject matter is, and this shouldn’t be an excuse, because we are sure that you’ll be able to find at least one fact that most (if not all) students will find intriguing.
So, what are you waiting for? The only thing left is to find proper motivation and finally develop this useful skill and enjoy it with your students.