Creating Infographics using PowerPoint
A good infographic can help to simplify complex information in a concise and visually appealing
manner.
They are an intersection of data, text, and message, combined into one artistic representation,
and they are an excellent method of storytelling.
It can be daunting to set out to create an infographic from scratch, but there are resources
out there to help make this task simple.
If you're struggling with design ideas, there are plenty of infographic templates for PowerPoint
available online.
In this video we will dive into PowerPoint as an infographic creation tool with step-by-step
instructions.
You will find it easier to get started if you have developed your visual plan, have
some design tips in mind, and have collected your images and icons ahead of time.
PowerPoint is a tool that most of us have been familiar with for years, but it can be
so much more than just a presentation tool.
The first step is to launch PowerPoint and create a new presentation.
Many of the templates and placeholders in PowerPoint are not designed to support infographics.
Try starting from scratch by selecting Blank Presentation and removing any pre-populated
placeholders.
Placeholders work great when designing a presentation but are not helpful when creating an infographic.
To remove a slide’s placeholder, navigate to the “Home” tab select “Layout”
and then select “Blank”.
Automatically, your canvas will be sized for a normal slide show presentation.
To alter this to infographic size, under the “Design” tab select “Slide Size” and
then select “Page Setup”.
Here you are able to decide whether the orientation of your infographic will be portrait or landscape.
If you plan on printing your infographic, you can also resize your infographic, so it
aligns with standard page sizes.
We recommend anywhere from 600 –1200 px wide and 2000 –5000px long.
By default, PowerPoint measures slides in centimeters, so just make sure to type px
after your number.
Here our infographic will be 800 by 2000 pixels.
PowerPoint has various colour palettes to choose from, In the “Design” tab, select
the down arrow in the “Variants” section, and select “Colours”.
Here you will be able to select your infographic colour palette.
If you do not like any of the default options, select “Customize Colors” to create your
own.
The same goes for fonts.
To change the default font for your infographic, select “Fonts” from the “Variants”
section.
Once you’ve decided on an overall theme, you can begin to insert graphics and media.
Graphics and icons tend work better than photographs in infographics.
You can insert images from PowerPoint as well as images you found on the web or created
yourself.
More recent versions of PowerPoint now come included with a large collection of images,
icons, Cutout People, Stickers, and Illustrations.
From the “Insert” tab, tap Icons.
Here you are able to search for and choose your desired graphic.
Once you have selected your graphic, tap “Insert” to place it into your infographic.
Older versions of PowerPoint may not have a robust collection of graphics to choose
from.
As an alternative, you can insert graphics you have found online or created yourself.
From the “Insert” tab, tap “Pictures” and then select “Picture from File”.
Locate the graphic you wish to insert and tap “Insert”.
If you want to add an image to the background of the slide, consider adding it from “Design”
> “Format Background” instead.
When you’ve found a graphic that works for you, it may need to be altered to work properly
on your infographic.
To crop your graphic, select the image, select the “Format” tab located under “Picture
Tools” and select “Crop”.
Use the black corner guides to resize your graphic.
Once you are finished, select “Crop” again.
You are also able to recolour some graphics.
To recolour your graphic, select it.
Tap the “Picture Format” tab that appears when you select the graphic.
Then tap the “Color” button and select a “colour”.
If you do not see your desired colour, you will need to change the colour theme you are
using for your infographic, or select “more colours” under “more variations”
Shapes are also often used throughout infographics.
You can use them to organize your content, direct the reader’s gaze, or make your information
appear more visually interesting.
Select the “Insert” tab and then tap “Shapes”.
Select a desired shape, then click and hold the left mouse button while moving the mouse
until you have drawn your chosen shape.
SmartArt is another great tool for displaying information in a visual format.
Under the Insert tab, select “SmartArt”.
Now select the type of SmartArt that will best present the information you are trying
to visualize.
Once selected, write your information into the SmartArt’s placeholders.
To insert a graph, select the “Insert” tab and then select “Chart”.
Choose the type of chart that you wish to insert and then click.
Use the small spreadsheet that pops up from Excel to enter your information.
You are able to recolour your shapes by selecting “shape fill” under the “shape format
tab”, your SmartArt by clicking “SmartArt Design” and selecting “Change Colour”
and your charts by selecting “Change Colours” located under the “Chart Design” tab.
Lastly, to add text, go to “Insert” > “Text box” and type or paste in your content.
You can change the colour of your text or text box by selecting it and clicking “Shape
Format”, then “shape fill” or “Text Fill”.
Just like in any academic paper, citing your resources is very important.
Leave a bit of space at the bottom of your infographic for your citations.
Unless instructed differently, you can provide an abbreviated citation that credits the person
who made the resource and where you found it.
Play around with the layout and design of your infographic until you have something
that you’re happy with.
It is a good idea to frequently save your work as you build your infographic.
Use the save button to quickly save your work.
Once you have completed your infographic and have carefully reviewed it, it is time to
export it.
To make your infographic easily shareable, it is recommended that you convert your infographic
to a PDF file.
Navigate to “File” > “Save As” > PDF” and choose a location on your computer.
Congratulations!
You are done.
Double check that your infographic looks right in its final form, and that your citations
and image credits are all there.
Then share your completed infographic with the world!