Infographics – Information Design

Acta Academiae Artium Vilnensis

Abstract

In the article, the rapidly developing genre of visual communication design – infographics – is discussed. With the increase of the information flow, images of infographics are more often found both in daily practical activity (e.g., user manuals, wayfinding, news infographics) and in the field of disseminating expert knowledge.

Referring to the insights of design experts and comparing images of different function and case studies, the author of the publication aims to define the features of information design practice: communication aims, creative methods, and the structure of infographic images.

Images created by means of graphic design meet various demands: to create visual identity, to define the relation of the user to a system, or to create a certain mood, while images of information design can be described as a means to facilitate educational communication, or as explanatory images revealing invisible or hardly perceivable features of objects or phenomena of reality.

The explanatory function is implemented through the use of visual elements of various nature (e.g., illustration, abstract graphics) and specific composition principles (e.g., dissection, classification). An informative layout can be created by modifying a represented object in the image (e.g., the object is represented disassembled), or abstract graphic elements can be chosen to visualize a certain phenomenon, and their compositions reflecting the features of that phenomenon can be formed in the image.

Due to specific composition methods and signification models, infographics can be considered an independent design practice creating specific – explanatory – communication through images.