2 Creative Process
Table 1 shows the elements of infographic creation.10-14 Learners creating infographics for projects might need to complete some of those phases but not all. For example, they might stop after the design phase but describe external review, dissemination and evaluation in their project reports. Learners without the resources to engage audience informants could comment on that issue in their reports. Providers planning public release will want to consider all phases.
Table 1. Infographic creation.
| Identify the topic | What is the problem you are trying to address with an infographic? |
|---|---|
| Understand the audience | Health care provider group, patients, family members, administrators, policy analysts, general public or others? Young, old or elderly? Mix of cultures or certain sub-groups? Specific accessibility requirements? |
| Assemble development team | Identify who will participate in development of the infographic. If resources permit, engage early participation by members of the intended audience. |
| Do needs analysis | Identify what the audience wants, needs and should know. Clarify the purpose of the infographic. |
| Find existing tools | Find out what tools already exist. Identify opportunities for improvement over existing tools. |
| Identify content, assess the evidence | Gather evidence using literature searches, expert opinion and team consensus. Assess the evidence. Think about the story the infographic will tell the audience. |
| Choose format and plan distribution | Decide on the format, for example paper handout or electronic file. Consider accessibility. Plan how the infographic will be distributed, stored and revised. |
| Design phase | Design and test prototypes: see Chapter 2. |
| External review | Consider external review of the infographic for content and accessibility by experts and intended audience prior to finalizing the design and distributing the infographic. |
| Distribution | Distribute the infographic. |
| Evaluation | Assess the effectiveness of the infographic. |
| Revision | Revise and re-issue new versions as required. |
1- Identify the Topic
The first step is to identify the topic. For learners, it might be a subject they have an interest in or want to learn more about. Other learners and practitioners pick topics based on an identified need in a particular audience. Infographics typically address only 1 to 3 main points, so highly nuanced, complex topics might not be suitable.10 In those cases, infographics can be used to attract audiences to more detailed information sources. To refine the topic, write drafts of the topic statement while considering desired outcomes (objectives).
2- Understand the Audience
The topic step goes hand-in-hand with identifying and understanding the target audience. For the general population, consider differences in age, ethnicity, gender, culture, education level, societal roles and accessibility requirements.15-18 Consider engaging members of the intended audience early in development to understand their priorities and preferences. Lived experience participation especially important in the design phase, to get a feel for what design elements would work best to enable comprehension and actionability.
Stones and Gent (2015) suggested writing out a “persona” to describe the audience, considering:11
- Their literacy in health terminology, numbers and imagery;
- Life experiences, behaviours and opinions;
- Health experiences and opinions;
- How they interpret colours;
- Their preferred go-to places for information;
- Their time available for learning;
- Their needs with respect to the chosen topic.; and
- Their accessibility needs.
Keep the persona in mind during the design phase.
3 – Assemble the Development Team
Learners might work alone on projects, but some might wish to identify collaborators, including intended audience members with lived experience. Intended audience participation is valuable in shaping the design and all other development phases.12,14,19 They can advise on need, format, content, distribution and evaluation. Collaboration with health system managers and practicing providers helps to make infographics more relevant and practical, and facilitates dissemination. Practitioners creating infographics also need to consider their institution’s perspective. Finally, it is best to consult a design expert, but that might not be practical for many.
4 – Do a Needs Analysis
What are you trying to achieve? Needs analysis considers the topic, objectives and audience to clarify what is needed to achieve desired outcomes. Consultation with experts and the intended audience can be very helpful by identifying factors one might otherwise not have considered. What you think the audience needs might be quite different from what they are looking for. For example, lived-experience participants who are very familiar with the topic of interest might not remember what it was like to be a newly diagnosed person.14 Or a helpful infographic designer in one health profession might not understand the needs of an intended audience who are learners in another health profession, or even the same profession but practising in a different setting.
5 – Find Existing Tools
Search for existing infographics and other types of tools intended to mobilize information on the topic. Identify opportunities to improve on existing tools. An older infographic might need updating or refining. Access to a complex online patient education system can be eased with an infographic that helps audience members to get started. Infographics in a related area for the intended audience can help to inspire your design.
6 – Identify Evidence-Based and Accessible Content
Considering the story you intend to tell, identify evidence-based content from the perspectives of both you, your audience and your organization.12,15 Infographics can contain only very limited information. The trick is to decide on just enough: not too little but not too much.4
- Start by conducting literature searches using tools like PubMed and Google Scholar and consulting a professional librarian. Librarians are available at universities, hospitals and professional associations.
- Evaluate the strength of evidence and certainty of conclusions for information that will be included in the infographic.20 At its simplest, evidence evaluation for management of health issues considers the quality, quantity and consistency of pieces of evidence, including attention to bias. There are other criteria for assessing evidence for causality, conducting program evaluation, and evidence in the form of expert opinion. Evidence evaluation is beyond the scope of this manual.
- When evidence is very limited, consider ethical pitfalls in infographic design such as the risks of misinformation, miscommunication and bias.22,23
- External review by content experts prior to distribution can help to mitigate communication risks such as bias, inaccuracy or information gaps.
- Consider how to accurately and succinctly reference sources in the infographic.
- Guidance is emerging for selecting the content of infographics for specific tasks, such as the RIVA-C checklist for summarizing the findings of comparative studies of health interventions.20
Accessibility is a key consideration in the development of infographics.17,18,21 Think about accessibility to ensure that all users, including those with disabilities or impairments can access and understand the information. Accessibility starts with content: the content must be appropriate to the objective and audience, and easy to understand. See Chapter 2 (Designing the Infographic) and Chapter 3 (Software) for more tips.
7 – Choose Format and Plan Distribution
The format of the infographic and how it will be distributed informs the design phase: a paper handout, brochure or poster might look different from an electronic version intended for viewing on a cellphone, for example.11 Consider accessibility of different formats, for example whether the format is compatible with screen reader technology that verbalizes for readers with impaired vision.
8 – Design Phase
The main focus of this manual is the design phase: putting text, imagery and white space together to create your infographic: see Chapter 2 (Designing the Infographic) for things to consider.
9 – External Review
Consider external review of the infographic by experts and the intended audience for content and accessibility prior to finalizing and distributing it. Ideally, use external review throughout development, including prior to starting the design phase. External review can reduce risks of misinformation, bias, inaccuracy, information gaps, weak utility and inaccessibility.
10 – Distribution
Once the infographic design is finalized, it needs to be distributed to the intended audience. Learners might only describe how the infographic could be distributed. Distribution is part of the larger process of disseminating evidence-based information to achieve a desired outcome.8
Planning for distribution should begin early in the development process. There are many physical and electronic options for distributing infographics to audiences, commonly printed handouts, emailing, or posting on websites.11 There is at least anecdotal evidence that wall posters about clinical matters can be stressful for patients compared to more neutral and comforting wall hangings.
11 – Maintenance: Evaluation and Revision
The infographic should be evaluated after initial distribution and could need revision depending on how it is received by the intended audience. Like distribution, planning for maintenance should begin early in the development process. Evaluations assess factors like reach, appeal, comprehension, recall, and effectiveness in achieving the objectives.2,11 Evaluation planning considers what information will be collected and how; how the information will be analyzed; and how the findings will be used to revise the infographic or further dissemination. End-user evaluation can be done with surveys, focus groups or even laboratory tests (e.g. eye tracking), for example.12 Based on the findings, revise the design or distribution plans. Consider how new evidence will be incorporated, and how end-users will be informed of revisions.