This document summarizes Carolyn Jo Starkey's presentation on creating eye-catching infographics for advocacy using library data. It begins with Carolyn's biography and then covers key topics like the definition of infographics, why they are useful, different types of infographics, what makes a good infographic, tutorials for creating them, and a step-by-step process for making infographics for advocacy. The goal is to explore online tools and techniques for conveying advocacy messages through colorful, easy to understand visualizations.

1. Bring Your Own Device Hands-On Session:
Using Your Library’s Data to
Create Eye-Catching Infographics for
Advocacy
Carolyn Jo Starkey
Librarian
Shades Valley HS
Jefferson County IB School
Shades Valley Technical Academies
Irondale, AL
cstarkey@jefcoed.com
ALLA Annual Convention 2013
Montgomery, AL
April 22-25, 2013

2. Carolyn Jo
Starkey
School Librarian,
Shades Valley High School
Jefferson County IB School
Shades Valley Technical
Academies
Irondale, AL
Carolyn Starkey has been in education for 24 years, the last 14 related to school library
media. She served as the library media specialist at Sloman Primary School for seven
years, obtaining her certification by the National Board of Professional Teaching
Standards in library media in 2003 while there. After a 4 ½ year stint as Assistant
Professor of Library Education Media at Alabama State University, Carolyn is currently
serving as a school librarian alongside Carla Crews at Shades Valley High School,
Jefferson County IB School, and the Shades Valley Technical Academies. Her other
professional commitments include positions as Chair of the Children's and School Library
Division of the Alabama Library Association, Editor of the ALLA Communicator, and
President-Elect of the Alabama School Library Association (ASLA). She also serves as a
member of American Association of School Librarians' Publications Committee, Co-
Manager of the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) blog, and as a
Councilor-at-Large for the American Library Association (ALA). Carolyn is a frequent
conference and professional development presenter on a wide range of topics in school
librarianship, technology, and online learning.
Biography

3. Session Description
• This BYOD session is a hands-on
exploration of online tools and easy
artistic techniques that can be utilized
to create colorful infographics to
convey advocacy messages. Topics
under discussion will include types of
infographics, characteristics of good
infographics, sources of infographics,
and tools for creating infographics.

4. Session Resources
http://www.livebinders.com/play/play_or_edit?id=143539
http://www.piktochart.com http://www.slideshare.net/cjstarkey

5. Section 1:
Introduction to Infographics

6. Definition: Infographics

7. Definition: Infographics
• An umbrella term for illustrations and
charts that instruct people, which
otherwise would be difficult or impossible
with only text. --PC.com
Encyclopedia
http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia_term/0,2542,t=infographics&i=59903,00.asp
• A representation of information in a
graphic format designed to make the data
easily understandable at a glance.
--whatis.com IT Encyclopedia
http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/infographics.html

8. Why Use Infographics?
• They make information
easy to digest.
– Large amounts of
information can be
presented.
– Easier to see
relationships and
patterns.
• They make information
easy to share.
– Rapid communication
of ideas.

9. Why Use Infographics?
Visualizing Information
for Advocacy: An
Introduction to
Information Design
http://backspace.com/infodesign.p
The manual was written and designed by
John Emerson, Principal at Apperceptive
LLC.
http://backspace.com,
http://apperceptive.com

10. Types of Infographics
• Status
• Comparison
• Resource
• Evolution

11. Status Infographics
• These infographics visualize the
current status or ‘state of’ an
industry, trend or idea. They
often show change over time by
means of timelines.

12. Status Infographics

13. Status Infographics

14. Comparison Infographics
• These infographics provide a
visualization of a comparison of
two or more things.

15. Comparison Infographics

16. Comparison Infographics

17. Resource Infographics
• These infographics are
informational and provide readers
with facts or how-to about a topic.

18. Resource Infographics

19. Resource Infographics

20. Resource Infographics

21. Evolution Infographics
• These infographics are meant to
be thought-provoking. They are
intended generally to encourage
deep discussion and analysis.

22. Evolution Infographics

23. What Makes a Good Infographic?
The Anatomy of an Infographic: 5 Steps to
Create a Powerful Visual
http://spyrestudios.com/the-anatomy-of-an-infog

24. What Makes a Good Infographic?
The core of an
infographic is
composed of 3
important parts:
1.Visual
2.Content
3.Knowledge
The Anatomy of an Infographic: 5 Steps to Create a Powerful Visual
http://spyrestudios.com/the-anatomy-of-an-infographic-5-steps-to-create-a-powerful-v

25. What Makes a Good Infographic?
Visual
1.Color Coding
2.Graphics
3.Reference Icons
The Anatomy of an Infographic: 5
Steps to Create a Powerful Visual
http://spyrestudios.com/the-
anatomy-of-an-infographic-5-
steps-to-create-a-powerful-visual/

26. What Makes a Good Infographic?
Content
1.Time Frames
2.Statistics
3.References
The Anatomy of an Infographic: 5
Steps to Create a Powerful Visual
http://spyrestudios.com/the-
anatomy-of-an-infographic-5-
steps-to-create-a-powerful-visual/

27. What Makes a Good Infographic?
Knowledge
1.Facts
2.Deductions
The Anatomy of an Infographic: 5
Steps to Create a Powerful Visual
http://spyrestudios.com/the-
anatomy-of-an-infographic-5-
steps-to-create-a-powerful-visual/

28. Tutorials
Kathy
Schrock: A
Picture is
Worth a
Thousand
Words—
Infographics
as a Creative
Assessment http://thejournal.com/articles/2012/03/26/5-
ways-to-visualize-information.aspx

29. Tutorials
http://www.schrockguide.net/infographics-
as-an-assessment.html

30. Tutorials
How To Create Outstanding
Modern Infographics
http://vector.tutsplus.com/tutorials/d
esigning/how-to-create-
outstanding-modern-infographics/

31. Tutorials
Tutorial: Create cool infographics
http://www.digitalartsonline.co.uk/tu
torials/?featureid=1823&pn=1

32. Tutorials
5 Unbeatable Types of Infographic
+ Free Tools to Create Them
http://www.searchenginejournal.co
m/5-unbeatable-types-of-
infographic-free-tools-to-create-
them/27010/

33. Section 2:
A Great FREE Online Tool
for Creating Infographics

34. Piktochart
http://www.piktochart.com

35. Section 3:
Creating Infographics
for Advocacy

36. A Step-by-Step Process

37. Step 1
• What are your goals? Planning or
advocacy? Are you trying to tell a specific
story? Or are you trying to create a more
neutral map to guide a process of
discovery? Represent a statistic in a
visually and/or emotionally striking way.
This increases the chances of your
engaging a wider base of potential
supporters.
Credit: movements.org

38. Step 2
• Try putting yourself in the role of your
audiences. What are they looking for?
What is their point of view? What do they
already know about the issue? In what
context will they read your graphics? Distill
this information into profiles of “typical”
users.
Credit: movements.org

39. Step 3
• What information should you collect?
Where will you obtain it? Don’t forget the
importance of context in understanding
the meaning and importance of facts. It’s
often easier to remember a story than to
remember raw data.
Credit: movements.org

40. Step 4
• Sort your information. One method that
you can try is card sorting. To start, put
notes on a wall describing aspects of your
information. Arrange these notes freely
into shapes and clusters that make sense.
Rearranging these clusters should help
you start to form an organizing scheme
that you can use as the basis for your
initial designs.
Credit: movements.org

41. Step 5
• Sketch your information out on paper or
on a white board. Think in broad strokes at
first, saving detail for later. Sketching out
your ideas first will help you think outside
the confines of the page or the screen. It
will free your ideas from the limitations of
your design program and tools.
Credit: movements.org

42. Step 6
• Decide on the format that you will
disseminate the visualization in: Paper?
Screen?
Credit: movements.org

43. Step 7
• Design your graphics. Innovative design
ideas come from embracing your
constraints. Being obliged to adjust your
graphics to your medium of publication,
budget, and technology of reproduction
may lead you to discover unexpected
opportunities.
Credit: movements.org

44. Step 8
• Structure: The way information is
presented and organized is as important
as the content. What information is
presented first? How will your reader’s eye
move across the design? Structure your
design so that the most important
information is the most prominent.
Credit: movements.org

45. Step 9
• Elements: The style of your elements can
convey meaning. Objects can be
differentiated by size, color, pattern, and
placement. However, too many styles may
clutter the page. Thin lines are generally
preferable to thick lines, which may
compete with text and other information.
Credit: movements.org