Are you looking to make an infographic but have no idea where to start? Or maybe, you have a few ideas up your sleeve, but it’s not flowing onto your screen. In the end, you always end up with a blank slate— hoping that a fantastic idea will suddenly appear in front of you.
Although inspiration can strike anytime, it’s often hard to come up with creative ideas on the spot unless you are feeling inspired. You’ve probably read every article for inspiration, and every article always tells you to explore, get outside, and all that jazz.
Most of the time, we can’t just get up and go on a trip to get inspiration. When it comes to something as complex as infographics, you’re going to need more than a little bit of inspiration. You would need to put in some work in research as well.
The good news is that we can find inspiration and ideas with a simple search thanks to the Internet. In this article, we’re going to help you get creative ideas for your upcoming infographic.
Explore the World of Infographics
The key to getting creative design ideas for your infographic is to explore and learn from different examples. This means that you should expose yourself to as many other infographics as possible.
Luckily, infographics are everywhere these days. You don’t need to search all over the Internet to find a good infographic. Today, many content marketers love using infographics to share content and encourage engagement.
Infographics have grown in popularity due to the perks and benefits they carry. For example, they’re great for SEO and link-building because they are easy to share, convey information effectively and efficiently, and are fun to read.
As a result, they’ve been used in a lot of link-building campaigns. They have also been used on various social media platforms to help brands communicate and connect with their audience.
Other than offering engaging design, they also provide the reader with valuable information in a concise and easy-to-digest format— making it a favorite for many content marketers.
How to Get Inspiration
Finding inspiration can either be super easy or extremely difficult. Sometimes you get inspiration from the most random things, but sometimes you need to work hard and do a lot of research to find an idea worth pursuing.
Creating an infographic isn’t an easy task. You need to put a lot of work and energy into it. The most tedious part of the process is ideation. It’s also the most essential part of infographic creation.
Without a solid idea, your infographic won’t be as effective as it can be. So, it’s essential to set aside time and effort for the ideation process in the beginning. It can be challenging to find inspiration, so we did our research for you and compiled these six tips to help you come up with creative infographic ideas.
Find inspiration on social media
Social media platforms tend to get a bad rep. They can be addictive and fun to scroll through. It’s not often that you are told to use social media to look for inspiration. If you’re not on any social media platforms, it’s time to create an account and dive into a new world.
The reality is, social media is an excellent source of inspiration. It’s filled with user-generated content, and it’s easy to access. All you need is your phone and your thumb to scroll through the screen.
Many artists and designers are also on social media platforms. So, if you’re looking for some inspiration and examples from infographic experts, you might want to give Instagram or Twitter a try.
Every platform has its quirks. So, try signing up to a few platforms you like and start collecting some inspiring infographic ideas!
Read magazines
Magazines are fantastic sources of inspiration. Whether you want to buy a physical copy from the store or download them online, they provide the same value either way.
If you’re feeling a bit lost and are looking for a new way to get inspired, try flipping through a magazine. Of course, we don’t recommend any magazine. Try getting yourself some design-related magazines.
While you flip through the glossy pages, absorb the color palette, layout, words, and how everything is shown. Give yourself mental notes for certain things you like in a magazine. Or, you could keep a scrapbook and collect pages you find exciting and refer to them when you’re in dire need of inspiration.
Get on Pinterest
Pinterest is any designer or artist’s haven. If you’re looking for references, illustrations, or anything to inspire you, Pinterest is your best bet.
Think of Pinterest as a digital scrapbook. Not only is it easy to use, but you can also use Pinterest as a vision board to keep your research on track and organized. You can manage your thoughts and ideas into boards and refer to them to explore an idea.
Creating a collection of images is a great way to capture things you like online. Similar to flipping through magazines and scrapbooking, Pinterest can help you do the same minus the cutting and pasting. You can access your boards of visual inspiration through any device.
Play with color
What makes infographics appealing is their graphics. Without vivid colors or compelling imagery, an infographic is as good as boring. So, if you have extra time on your hands, try experimenting with different color palettes.
Today, you can search online for all kinds of color palettes and get some ideas for what colors to use for your infographic. Colors play a significant role in how your infographic will look. Colors that are too muted might make your infographic look dull. Whereas colors that are too high contrast might make your infographic overwhelming.
So, make time to experiment and research which color combinations will work best for your infographic.
Explore the outside world
Set aside some time to take your eyes off the screen and spend some time outside. You could go on a short trip to the park to get some fresh air. If you’re staying home, then you can get some inspiration by doing some creative activities.
For example, you could pick up writing, drawing, playing music, or even designing. The creative activity could be anything as long as it gives you a sense of inspiration. If it’s possible, set this time either before work or during an afternoon break. While doing this, switch off any screens and indulge in some creativity.
Read a lot
Reading might sound boring, but it can be a great way to come up with ideas and inspiration. Most infographic ideas stem from studies, data, articles, or even books. A sure way to come up with infographic ideas is to read studies.
You could also check out statistics from websites such as Tableau to get your fill of data and statistics for your following infographic. Another thing you can do is refer to interesting articles you’ve read. The options are limitless.
So, next time you come across an interesting article or study, don’t forget to bookmark it. Keep it in a folder of references in case you run out of ideas and need a boost of creativity.
Look at trends
Time travel to the past or forecast the future. Look at the trends from 50 years ago and see what you like about them. Sometimes, the past can be a great place to start looking for inspiration. A way to do this is to look at designs and advertisements from a specific period. This is a fun way to give yourself a new perspective and get some ideas on what worked in the past.
If you’re looking to figure out what will work in the future, try paying attention to what trends are growing in popularity today. You can use tools such as Google Trends to see what’s currently trending worldwide or in certain areas. Alternatively, reading the news and keeping up with current events is another excellent way to figure out what trends are now widespread and what to expect in the future.
Wrapping Up
Creative ideas don’t always come naturally, and it might take several ideas before you find one that fits. When ideas don’t come easy, you shouldn’t give up. There are some things you can do to help you get some inspiration. Although they won’t be instantaneous, it’s better than sitting and waiting for ideas to strike.
Doing thorough research, collecting references, exploring different types of designs on various platforms, and making time for yourself to create can help you come up with ideas and make the ideation process of infographic creation slightly easier.
If you’re ever stuck and would like to get some inspiration, give these tips a try and get ready to be inspired and filled with new ideas.
Did these tips help you get out of your rut? If it did, don’t forget to share this article with your friends and anyone who needs a bit of creative inspiration to get through their day.
