This document provides instructions for a statistics course assignment to create an infographic presenting survey data on mobile phone usage. Students are asked to visualize survey results about how and where Americans use their phones through tools like Piktochart or Google Charts. They will present their infographic to the class in a 5 minute presentation for a total optional assignment worth 20% extra credit. The survey data provided concerns mobile phone usage in bathrooms and what devices people use.

1. MATH-220 Statistics
Dr Dave Powell – Intercollege, Larnaca
dave@davepowell.org
Project: Statistical Representation – Infographics
Hand-Out: December 19th 2012
Hand-In: January 9th 2013
Introduction
• Your assignment is to make an infographic from the provided statistical data.
• You will present your infographic to the rest of the class on January 9th 2013
• Your presentation will last for 5 minutes
• You will be marked for this assignment as follows:
◦ 50% for the quality of your infographic
◦ 50% for the quality of your presentation
Please read all of this handout very carefully. It contains all of the information you need to be
successful in your assignment.
Infographics
Information graphics or infographics are graphic visual representations of information, data or
knowledge. These graphics present complex information quickly and clearly, such as in signs, maps,
journalism, technical writing, and education. With an information graphic, computer scientists,
mathematicians, and statisticians develop and communicate concepts using a single symbol to process
information.
Infographics is a term for illustrations and charts that instruct people, which otherwise would be
difficult or impossible with only text. Infographics are used worldwide in every discipline from road
maps and street signs to the many technical drawings.
Infographics are an easy-to-read illustration that helps tell a story and makes data points easier to
understand. And it doesn’t hurt when infographics are not only clear and straightforward but also
beautiful and engaging. The aesthetic design draws the viewer in; the information helps the viewer
analyze and understand the data being presented.
Examples of Infographics
It would be ironic to try and explain infographics using only words. There are some examples of
infographics included with this assignment, however they are too large to fit onto a single page. They
are included on the website for download.
On the next page there is an infographic that is attempting to answer the question: “What is an
infographic?”. As you can see, it is a method of presenting information visually.

2. Figure 1: What is an Infographic? (Source: hotbutterstudio.com)

3. Critique of Example Infographics
Included in the project documentation are three example infographics:
Example-Infographic-1:
The first example infographic shows data taken from a survey about gun ownership and safety in the
USA. The survey data is presented using the statistical representations that we have learned about
during our classes – e.g. pie charts, line graphs and Pareto charts. However, the author has used
pictures, colours and fonts to great effect to get the message across to the reader in a very efficient and
pleasant way.
The first pie charts show how many guns people have in their houses in the USA. The colours have
been chosen for high contrast, and the data in the charts is supported by the words “Yes” and “No” on
the graphic. The numerical percentages are written next to the pie slices too, to enhance the
understanding of the reader.
The second line of charts uses pictures in the middle of the graphs to show the ideas “protection”,
“target shooting”, “hunting”, etc. The pictures add to the immediate understanding of what the data
means and helps the reader to gain context very quickly.
The third segment of the infographic is a line graph. But, instead of making a simple 'Excel' style line
graph, the author has used pictures of guns and bullets to show the length of the lines which represent
the data. This is very visually appealing and adds to the theme that has been developed in the graphic.
Example-Infographic-2:
The second example infographic is a visual representation of some research data, not a survey.
Although the author of this graphic has used appealing colours and a comfortable theme, the choice of
fonts in this graphic makes it difficult to read in places. The author has included a 'standard' time-series
line graph showing the number of online courses that are being offered in the world per year. This
graph uses numbers that are too small to read comfortably and the line is too thin to see properly.
The second time-series chart has labels 2008, 2011 and 2012 – this seems confusing because the time
line is not linear. Also, the choice of font size and style in the red boxes on the time line are not very
easy to read.
Finally, the thing that this author has done very well is to include the sources of the research at the
bottom. All of the data can be verified and found independently.
Example-Infographic-3:
The third example infographic is about champagne and fizzy wine. There are a lot of pictures and not
much raw numerical data. It is very easy to look at, and has some humour – for example the picture of
the “extra brut” half way down. The fonts and colours have been chosen to be easy to read and
understand. But, this infographic feels a bit confused because some of the pictures and the data cross
over each other in the middle of the page – e.g. the champagne cork.
This author has used different background colours and boxes to separate the data sections from each
other. This is clever because it guides the readers eye very well and helps to associate some pieces of
data with others.

4. The Data
Here is the data to be used when making your own infographic:
In October 2011 a survey of 1,000 Americans was performed by an online marketing agency. The
subject of the survey was "How connected are we?" and asked questions about using mobile phones in
the bathroom. Here is the data that they collected:
Do you use your phone in the bathroom?
Yes: 751
No: 249
The people that responded positively were asked what they used their phones for...
Usage men:
Make/receive work-related calls 20%
Read/write work-related emails 26%
Browsing the web 41%
Did online shopping or made an online purchase 13%
Usage women:
Make/receive work-related calls 13%
Read/write work-related emails 15%
Browsing the web 36%
Did online shopping or made an online purchase 7%
Usage for both men and women:
Answered a phone call: 63%
Initiated a phone call: 41%
Read a text: 67%
Sent a text: 59%
Read an email: 42%
Sent an email: 32%
Surfed the web: 38%
Used social networking: 29%
Used an App: 38%
Made an online purchase: 10%
Which type of phone do you have?
Android: 87%
Blackberry: 84%
iPhone: 77%
After you have used the bathroom do you:
- wash your hands: 92%
- wash your phone: 14%

5. The Assignment
Make an infographic that will visually explain the data above. You can use any graphics tools or
presentation software that you think is appropriate.
Here are some tools, ideas and web links that you may find useful:
Infographics Sites and Background Reading:
http://www.graphicnews.com/ - The news in infographics
http://www.infographicsarchive.com/ - Archive of infographics, many from before computerized data
http://www.coolinfographics.com/ - A blog about infographics
http://dailyinfographic.com/ - A new infographic every day
Free Online Infographics Tools:
http://www.visual.ly/create – infographics and social networking, good tools and good archive
http://app.piktochart.com – very useful online tool
http://infogr.am – data representation and social networking
Free Online Charting Tools:
http://charts.hohli.com
http://extra.amcharts.com/editor/
https://developers.google.com/chart/
Graphics etc.:
http://www.wordle.net/ - for making word clouds
http://www.iconarchive.com/ - free icons and pictures
http://images.google.com/ - Google image search
http://www.fontsquirrel.com/ - free fonts
http://www.colourlovers.com/ - free colour palettes and patterns
The Presentation
Once you have made your infographic, you need to plan what you will talk about for 5 minutes during
the class presentation.
The presentation will be informal and it is up to you to choose how you will present your data to the
rest of the class. You may choose from:
• bring your own laptop and plug it into the projector in the classroom
• bring a USB with the graphic on it (Powerpoint, PDF, jpeg, etc.)
• bring enough printed copies for the rest of the class to see your work as you talk about it (10
copies)
• any other suitable method

6. Finally...
This assignment is for some of the students that have joined the course later to make up extra marks. It
is optional, but it will be worth an additional 20%.
It is not possible to score more than 100% in the statistics course, so if you do this extra assignment,
and your total mark for the course adds up to more than 100%, then it will be submitted to
administration as 100% even though you have done additional work.
The assignment is to make a visually appealing graphic, and then come to the class and present it to the
others. You will be marked on HOW WELL YOU DELIVER THE INFORMATION, not on your skills
as an artist.
If you can find a visually appealing way to get the reader to understand the data shown above in about
one minute without any misunderstandings, then you have succeeded in making a great infographic.
If you have any problems or questions, then email me – do not wait for the first week of term.
Email: dave@davepowell.org
Best of luck,
Dave