I love infographics!

They are an extremely visual way of presenting facts that could otherwise be boring. Not to mention they are a great marketing tool.

So, I decided now was the time to learn how to make one on my own and what better way to talk about it then in an infographic!

OK, lets break this down a bit more.

Before you even begin to construct your infographic you need to do the following:

Brainstorm

• Have a solid idea that is not only relevant to your audience but covers a topic that is in demand or trending.
• Do some research. Once you have your idea, gather as much info on the subject that you can and then check to see if anyone else has made an infographic about it.
• If someone has, don’t worry. You can still make yours, just make sure your infographic offers something that the others did not and that it catches the eye better.
• Decide how you want to present this idea. Do you want to be informal or educational? You need to decide if you want to include trusted facts and/or statistics or if you just want to give your opinion on it.
• Figure out from your research on other infographics how you want your infographic to look, what the layout and colors should be and the best size for how you are going to share it.

Now it’s time for the fun part!

Designing

Step 1 – Sign up with Canva. It’s a program that is free and offers an extremely user-friendly way to create amazing designs for the following:

• Album/Podcast Cover
• Social Media
• Presentation
• Poster
• Facebook Cover
• Facebook Post
• Blog Graphic
• Document
• Card
• Twitter Post
• Invitation
• Business Card
• Twitter Header
• Pinterest
• Real Estate Flyer
• Google+ Cover
• Kindle Cover
• Photo Collage
• Facebook Ad
• Facebook App

Step 2 – Click “Custom Designs” and enter the exact dimensions you need. A good size for an infographic is 600 x 1,800. For more detailed information that mentions which sizes work with which social media site check out this article from InfoGraphicDesignTeam, “Even Infographics Have Size Standards“.

Step 3 – Click the “BKGROUND” tab to select the background color of your infographic. There are free and paid backgrounds to choose from. Every graphic and image that requires payment to use cost only $1.

*Tip: If you are stuck on what color palettes to use you can go to the Canva Blog and do a search for color palettes. 

Step 4 – Click the “Layout” tab to select a layout to use or you can design freely on the blank template. Remember that while designing you can zoom in or out as much as you need.

Step 5 – Click the “Search” tab to select images and graphics to add to your infographic. When you are in the search column don’t enter anything in the search field. Scroll down to see the categories they have. Each category offers free and paid images and graphics. If you don’t see what you are looking for you can enter the term in the search field and see what comes up or upload your own. All graphics can be easily customized with your color palette and preferred font.

*Tip: If you want to make sure everything is symmetrical and you want to save time, copy any graphics and bodies of text that repeat. 

Step 6 – Make sure everything flows on the chart and catches the eye. The colors need to be appealing, the font needs to be readable and the graphics need to enhance the piece, not clutter it up.

Step 7 – Proofread everything and recheck any facts or statistics. Canva has a great feature where it will spellcheck as you go along in the design process and it also automatically saves each and ever change made to the infographic.

Step 8 – Don’t forget to include your name and website address. That way everyone knows who made the infographic and hopefully it will help drive traffic to your website. Also, remember to include any resources you used while gathering data on the topic.

*Tip: You can improve your infographic’s reach even more if you let your resources know that you used them for the infographic and linked back to there website or social media account. 

Step 9 – Click the “Download” tab and embed the infographic in a blog post to promote it. Then, share it across all your social media sites.

*Tip: Google reads an infographic like an image. Therefore, you can’t just have an infographic as a blog post, you need to add relevant keywords in the body of the post.

If you learn better by seeing instead of reading, check out Kimberly Ann Jimenez’s YouTube video where she walks you through the process of creating an infographic on Canva:

How To Create Infographics (The Ultra-Simple & Easy Way)

Information about my Infographic:

• This infographic was the first one I made. EVER. Canva.com is just that easy and user-friendly.
• I used the color combination called “Modern California” as recommended by the Canva blog. The color codes are F16A70 , FFE5BC, DDF9D9 , ADD9FE
• I used fonts; ALEGREYA SMALL CAPS sz12, Alike sz8, Exo Thin sz8.