Infographics Assignment 10% of Final Grade

What are infographics? Infographics are defined as being a “visualization of data or ideas that tries to convey complex information to an audience in a manner that can be quickly consumed and easily understood.” (Smiciklas, 2012, p. 3). For public relations professionals, infographics not only serve as a great tool to communicate and share data externally, but also for their internal audiences.

Assignment Overview You will be asked to create an infographic explaining a concept or topic of interest within strategic communications (ex. advertising, public relations, etc). Infographics are based on research and data, so you will need to make sure to find reports and statistics to support these points and make sure to cite them in APA format. The focus of the infographic can be trend, industry, consumer, or even brand focused. Examples of topics can include:

• Role of social media within public relations • Growth of public relations as a field • Angry Birds addiction and consumers • The growth of social media in Super Bowl Advertising • College students and smartphones • Evolution of mobile technologies • Sports public relations and teams • Health issues or cause related marketing initiatives

Components for Infographic Assignment 1. Infographic Social Media Strategy Brief: Write one page max discussing the overall purpose

and goals of the infographic for the client. Make sure to provide the following information: a brief bio of the client (3-4 sentences), goal of the infographic, SMART objectives for infographic, audience targeting (ex. employees, customers, social media bloggers, etc), strategies on how to share this infographic (Section 8), and metrics for evaluating the success of this infographic (Section 10 from The Power of Infographics).

2. Client Infographic: You will be creating an infographic for your client and focus on covering the basic business information in a visual and professional manner. You will need to make sure to cover one of the following groups of information for your infographic:

• Statistics (ex. sales, revenues, market research, surveys). Statistics help tell a story visually like engagement across social media platforms for the client.

• Process (ex. manufacturing, customer service, PR). Discuss the various steps the client goes through internally as well as the process for customer relations internally for online communications / social media practices.

• Timeline (ex. company history, major campaigns, products and services launched) • Ideas (ex. concepts, theories, vision statement)

• Geography (locations, metrics by region and cities) • Relationships (ex. audiences internally and externally, products and services)

Components in an effective infographic: Make sure to focus on 1) color scheme that is related to the brand and client focused in this project; 2) use of graphics and visuals to illustrate data and information; 3) strategic use of charts and graphs; 4) type of font used 3. Research: For your infographic, you will need to provide additional research to support your

points. References and citations to research reports from Pew Research Center, Nielson, Altimeter Group, CDC, Edelman Trust Barometer, etc are examples to use and cite in your infographic. You will need to make sure to have these listed in APA style at the end of your infographic (bottom of the page).

Grading Rubric Points

Infographic Social Media Strategy Brief 40 Infographic 40 Research 20 Total 100

Tips to remember

• Review Section 11 “Infographic Resources” in the Power of Infographics. • Determine the overall purpose and rationale for the infographic for your client. Think

about what this infographic will do to communicate data/research/ additional information for target audiences.

• Mix the use of visuals and symbols into your infographic: Think about symbols to illustrate some of your data (ex. maps, gender, products, etc) to help convey your story about your client visually.

• Think about the target audience. Who are you targeting on the behalf of the client with this infographic? How will you market this strategically for this particular audience? Where will you share this (ex. Facebook, Twitter, Visual.ly, Pinterest, etc).

• Strategize on what data you want to use: Will this be data and research come from? Good resources include Pew Research Center, PRSA, IABC, and Altimeter Group are just a few examples.

• Make sure to reference statistics, facts, and additional research used in the infographic. This will be presented at the bottom of the infographic page as footnotes.

• For design purposes, look for inspiration: Visual.ly, Coolinfographics.com, and other infographic data bases are good resources to look for ideas on what you can do with your client infographic. However, you have to create an original infographic and cite the resources appropriately.

Resources on how to create infographics (click on the links to go to articles)

• How to Create Outstanding Modern Infographics – Vectortuts+ • Infographic: Do-It-Yourself Guide to Infographics – Marketing Tech Blog • A Few Rules for Making Homemade Infographics – The Atlantic Wire • The Do’s and Don’ts of Infographic Design – Smashing Magazine • How to Create a Great Infographics (Slideshow) – The Content Lab • Design a Magazine Infographic – Digital Arts • Create an Infographic Typography Animation – aetuts+ • How to Create Great Infographics – .net magazine • The Anatomy of an Infographic – SpyreStudios • How to Strike a Balance Between Data and Visualization – The Daily Egg • 7 Steps to Make Your Infographic a Success – SEOmoz