By Randolf John Burton
Infographics are graphic visual representations of data intended to present complex information in a clear and brief manner. Nowadays, it is slowly finding its way to the online marketing spotlight. It is now presented with a combination of best text, images, and innovative designs. The best infographics even embed animations and user interactivity features. But, how actually did infographics come about? Do you know how it originates?
Instances of the first infographics are the cave paintings and maps made by early humans. An example is the ancient map at the Neolithic site Çatalhöyük, which dates from around 7500BC. This artefact depicts journeys of the past generations.
In 1857, an English nurse – Florence Nightingale used information graphics to persuade Queen Victoria to improve conditions in military hospitals. Her infographic consisted of a combination of stacked bar and pie charts depicting the number and causes of deaths during each month of the Crimean War.
In 1972 and 1973, respectively, the Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11 spacecraft included on their vessels the Pioneer Plaques, a pair of gold-anodized aluminium plaques, each featuring a pictorial message. The pictures included a nude male, a nude female, as well as symbols depicting the origin of the spacecraft. These graphical meanings were intended for extraterrestrial beings who don’t understand the human language.
In 2000, there was an enhancement in creating infographics. Adobe Flash-based animations on the internet were used to present various products and games. Even the television and journalism industry started incorporating infographics into their programs.
Recently, infographics are finding a home in the classroom as well. It’s a great way for teachers to facilitate better understanding of concepts. It is likewise effective in catching the attention of students, which is the most challenging task for a teacher.
With the rise of so many technological innovations, many businesses now use infographics as a tool for communicating with and attracting potential customers. It is being presented through the internet, mobile applications like in smartphones, educational materials, and other media.
Furthermore, it has become a means for internet marketers and companies to create contents that people will be initially attracted to, then read through, click on links, bookmark, follow feed updates, and eventually refer or link to in other websites. Infographics are efficient in the sense that it is a visually appealing method. Imagine having two route maps, one with coloured images representing your destinations with arrows indicating directions and a second one describing where you should go in a long number of paragraphs. Which one will you choose to read? Another great advantage is that infographics are widely used in social networking sites which are the spotlight of online businesses nowadays. Social media is being patronized by almost anyone who knows to use the internet. It is a perfect spot to expose what you can offer to a gigantic potential client base.
Having a great online presence means potentially having great traffic and eventually great back-links to your main site – the target site. Infographics are important in possibly boosting a company’s online presence and overall revenue over time.
About the Author
Randolf John Burton is a marketing professional who has passion for the latest trends and best approaches to a successful online marketing. He also writes for http://www.improveyourbrain.
