Introduction

An infographic is a visual representation of information. You find them everywhere from the front page of major newspapers, to the back pages of edtech journals.

The process of creating an infographic includes multiple literacies-- there is the information literacy component of searching, collecting, and citing information to be used in the infographic, there is the media literacy component of deciding what type of infographic to create to best inform or convince the intended audience, there is the visual literacy component of picking the best colors and fonts to use to make the infographic compelling as well as readable, and there is the technology literacy component as the student uses computer tools to create the infographic.

I have many resources on this page that provide examples of the different types of infographics that are available for students to use to showcase their mastery of content. Eric Meyer, in his book Designing Infographics, states the important thing to remember when developing an infographic is that one needs to think of  the design as an inverted triangle. The large top of the infographic should include a catchy, but meaningful title and the most important data trying to be communicated in a pleasing, visual forman, followed by the secondary and tertiary details that support the main point. Here is a sample of what this looks like.

http://www.princeton.edu/~ina/infographics/starbucks.html

Viewers of infographics tend to skim them, so it is important to pull them in and get their attention quickly. Too many infographics supply an equal weight to the information and then turn into, what I call, "infographic-like" posters.

Here is a sample, in my opinion, of an "infographic-like" poster. There is nothing wrong with the data, but I do not consider it a true infographic. A viewer cannot tell the main or most important point the infographic is trying to communicate.

http://www.onlinecolleges.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Teacher-Guide-Social-Media-800.png

Below are two examples of  infographics that do demonstrate the "upside-down triangle" design which takes into consideration how viewers view data and learn best.

http://derekoldfield.edublogs.org/files/2013/07/Cyberbullying-Infographic-infographicsmania-2hzo71n.jpg

http://derekoldfield.edublogs.org/files/2013/07/students-like-social-media-infographic-xhjzcm.png

Apps for creating infographics with an Android device

If you have a BYOD/BYOT initiative, these apps are available for iOS, too.

iVisual Info Touch Free- this app is intended for creating infographics. Designed specifically for the tablets, this program allows you  to create an infographic with diagrams, photos and a large objects library

PicsArt Photo Studio- this app is not necessarily intended for the creation of infographics, but the ease of importing images, adding text, call outs, and library images makes it a useful tool for the creation of an infographic.

Pic Collage - this app allows the user to easily import images, re-size and move them around, and add text to the "collage". This could be a simple program for creating a basic infographic.

QuickOffice - this Google app allows the user to create (and open) Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files. Creating and infographic with the PowerPoint component allows the choice of themes as a background, importing of a library of icons or images, and the addition of text. This app could be used to create a more sophisticated infographic.

Do you have an Android app or online tool that works with Android you can recommend for the creation of infographics? If so, please share in the comments!