This document provides guidance on creating effective infographics to engage readers. It discusses the challenges of too much unfiltered information and consumers who skim rather than read deeply. Good infographics require curating meaningful data, following influencers, reading intentionally, and knowing where to find related information. When popularizing complex concepts, simplicity through idea chunks, understandable visuals, and accessible, actionable information is key. Infographics must show, not tell, balance design and content, and ensure the visuals accurately represent the data without adding confusion or changing the meaning. The process involves identifying impactful data insights, packaging them compellingly, adding a hook, and developing a cohesive visual narrative and structure that is easy to follow and share.

1. How to Engage Your
Readers
With Powerful Infographics

3. The Challenge of
Too Much Information
• Data is everywhere
• Data doesn’t always agree neatly
• Data can be used manipulatively
• Data can be too specific to a particular situation

4. Living in a
Post-Literate World
• A failure to screen – we let it all in!
• Skimming not reading – a book in 10 minutes
• Consuming without applying - NEXT
• Sharing without thinking – Joe or Jane will love this

6. Little Progress Past Comprehension

7. Key Skills in a
Post-Literate World
• Curating content
• Following Influencers
• Reading Intentionally
• Knowing Where to Find Everything Else

8. Are People Reading?

9. Making Good
Infographics?

10. Popularizing Complex
Concepts
• Things naturally get complex
• Modernity taught us push for knowledge
• Simplicity takes radical discipline
• Simplicity is at the heart of popularization

11. To popularize is to…
• Make data
• understandable
• accessible
• actionable

12. Design to Be Understood
• Don’t be too creative
• Think in “idea chunks”
• Think where your infographic might end up
• Balance of content to design

15. Key Points
• Show don’t tell – fewer words! (Hard for researchers.)
• Do you have the right data?
• Is there a reason to share it – next step.
• Does your text, data and visual work together or are
you fighting yourself?
• Are you adding confusion/changing meaning?

17. How to Move Data To
Narrative
1. What about this data will make a difference in
your context?
2. How could you package that in a compelling
way?
3. What is the hook?
4. What are the key pieces of the story
5. What is the visual theme that will hold it together
6. Is it easy to navigate and follow
7. Is it easy to share and curate

20. What We Have
Learned So Far
1. Find the gems – data that really says something
2. Create and defend your basic idea
3. Write a script – just like you would for a radio
show
4. Validate the script with those who understand the
data
5. Hire designers who get data (there is a growing
group of them)
6. Validate the design to make sure that the
visualization has stayed true to the data

21. The Great Responsibility
• So much data with so little analysis leads to
assumptions
• How can we represent data accurately while still
making it compelling?
• What is our responsibility when we know our reader
may not go beyond the graphic?

22. General Infographic
Examples

30. Applications for
Publishers

31. Using
Books as
Resources

32. Sharing
Data about
Reading
Trends

33. Visual
Book Info

34. Creating
Visual
Books

35. Join us in Visualizing the Kingdom
www.missiographics.com
Jon.hirst@gmi.org / @JonHirstGMI / www.gmi.org