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Power of Infographics, The: Using Pictures to Communicate and Connect With Your Audiences
- By Mark Smiciklas
- Published Jun 15, 2012 by Que. Part of the Que Biz-Tech series.
- Register your product - get bonus material or coupon.
- Book
- ISBN-10: 0-7897-4949-1
- ISBN-13: 978-0-7897-4949-9
Need to overcome information overload and get your message across? Infographics are your secret weapon. Using them, you can deliver knowledge and ideas visually, so your audiences can understand them quickly - and take action. In The Power of Infographics, Mark Smiciklas helps you understand how to leverage the use of powerful infographics: visual representations capable of transforming complex data or concepts into intuitive, instant knowledge. Writing from a business perspective, Smiciklas reveals how to use infographics both inside and outside the organization: to build brands, make sales, serve clients, align teams behind new strategies, and more. This straightforward, visual, common-sense based book explains: * What infographics are, and why they work so well * How to visualize statistical data, business processes, time, geography, lists, relationships, and concepts * How to communicate the "personal" through infographics * Best practices for observation, processing ideas, creating highly effective infographics, and publishing them * How to plan for and measure the ROI of infographics * And much more...
Author's Site
Link to Author's website here and Twitter at https://twitter.com/intersection1g.
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23 of 26 people found the following review helpful
No one likes to write a bad review, even less to read it. With that said..., By
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This review is from: The Power of Infographics: Using Pictures to Communicate and Connect With Your Audiences (Que Biz-Tech) (Kindle Edition)
Caveat: No one likes to write a bad review, even less to read it. With that said...In the course of tediously wading through the book I was shocked by how often and badly the author's example graphics violated the principles described in the text, and not merely "just over the speed limit" violations, we're talking capital offenses. In fairness, his intro and graphical resume (Figs. 1.1 & 4.2) are quite good; I will post examples of good and bad in product photos, but suffice to say that virtually all the infographics contain distractions from the core idea or story point which need to be eliminated. Happy colors are fine and can help communicate, but swirls of randomly colored icons and arrows indicating nothing of import (Fig 3.13) are not "compelling" rather: they indicate the presenter's reach exceeds their grasp and undermine their credibility. One feels sympathy for clients using some of these consultants. In contrast: the work in... Read more
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Found it Very Useful, By
This review is from: The Power of Infographics: Using Pictures to Communicate and Connect With Your Audiences (Que Biz-Tech) (Paperback)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
One of my job responsibilities is to make data quickly and easily understandable for an audience that includes clinical staff, students, and doctors. This book has a mix of trite Powepoint level graphs and interesting, innovative approaches to data display.I wasn't particularly impressed with Content Burger which displayed data in the form of a hamburger but the Stairway to Brand Heaven and Hell was clever and memorable. Much of the internet already uses the Price Visualization charts so that was nothing new but the Customer Front Line makes a strong point immediately when discussing issues related to who in an organization actually knows what's going on. If I hadn't just seen the resume infographics the week before, I would have thought this guy was a genius. But it was useful for the book to tell you where to go to find software to create these graphics. We already use project management software at work for major construction projects... Read more
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Good Starting Point, By
This review is from: The Power of Infographics: Using Pictures to Communicate and Connect With Your Audiences (Que Biz-Tech) (Paperback)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
With the explosion of social media, people are leveraging information graphics to visually communicate complex information more than ever. If you are curious about the how, the what and the why of information graphics, Mr. Smiciklas's book is a good starting point. There are lots of examples showcasing different ways of organizing information to communicate a point visually. The book's strength is the focus on helping people understand why they are creating an information graphic and what they'll do with it and how it will be used after it is finished. Too often I've seen presentations with great graphics that don't support the overall purpose of a meeting - this book will help prevent future mismatches between content and goals.My biggest quibble with the book is that the most useful chapter came at the end of the book. I would have liked to see the chapter listing various information graphics resources and reference images near the beginning of the book to help build a... Read more |
Online Sample Chapter
Infographics 101: Using Pictures to Communicate and Connect With Your Audiences
Table of Contents
Foreword by Guy Kawasaki xiii
SECTION I: VISUAL COMMUNICATION
Chapter 1 Infographics 101 3
What Are Infographics? 3
Infographics Defined 3
Infographic History 6
The Science of Visualization 7
Hardwiring 7
Easy on the Mind 7
Visual Learning 11
Why Infographics Work for Business 12
Easy to Digest 12
Shareability 15
The “Cool” Factor 16
Endnotes 16
SECTION II: BUSINESS INFORMATION NEEDS
Chapter 2 Visualizing Numbers and Concepts 21
Statistics 21
Using Data to Tell a Story 22
The Benefits of Visualizing Research 24
Understanding the Risks 25
Ideas and Concepts 26
Using Visual Metaphors 27
Using Cartoons to Communicate Your Ideas 30
Case Study: The Kronos “Time Well Spent” Cartoon Series 33
Endnotes 34
Chapter 3 Visualizing How Things Work and Are Connected 35
Process 35
The Jargon Dilemma 37
Infographics Help Explain What You Do 38
Hierarchy 42
Business Hierarchies 42
Relationships 47
Simplified Systems Thinking 49
Business Models 49
Endnotes 55
Chapter 4 Visualizing Who, When, and Where 57
Personality 57
Brand Humanization 58
Infographic Resumes 60
Chronology 65
Business Timelines 65
Geography 69
Business Maps 69
Endnotes 72
SECTION III: CREATING INFOGRAPHICS
Chapter 5 Infographic Prep Work 75
Purpose 77
Understanding Your Audiences’ Information Needs 77
Audience Analysis 77
Setting Infographic Objectives 79
The Art of Observation 82
Seeing 82
Listening 83
Endnotes 86
Chapter 6 Processing Your Ideas 87
Recording Your Thoughts 87
I’m Not an Artist 87
Different Ways to Document 88
Info-Synthesis 90
The Five W’s (and One H) of Infographics . 94
Endnotes 98
Chapter 7 Designing Your Infographics 99
The Critics 99
Infographic DIY 100
An Infographic Rant 100
The DIY Infographic Formula 103
Outsourcing 108
Going Pro 109
Working with Students 114
Endnotes 118
Chapter 8 Publishing Your Infographics 119
Audience Research 119
Online Publishing Channels 120
Infographic Home Base 122
Infographic Outposts 126
Offline Publishing Opportunities 133
Endnotes 133
SECTION IV: BUSINESS VALUE
Chapter 9 Infographics as an Internal and External Communication Tool . . . . 137
Using Infographics to Build Your Brand 137
The Business of Infographics 138
Content Marketing 139
Promoting Your Infographics 148
Infographics Inside the Organization 153
Internal Adoption of Infographics 153
Internal Communication Opportunities 154
Endnotes 155
Chapter 10 Infographic ROI 157
Measuring the VOI (Value of Infographics) 159
Tangible Metrics 160
Intangible Benefits 163
Chapter 11 Infographic Resources 165
Guide to Visual Elements 165
Infographic Tools . 175
Visualization Tools 175
Design Elements 178
Further Reading 179
Information Designers, Consultants, and Agencies 181
Agencies 182
Freelance Designers 184
Consultants 187
Index 189
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