Don't have hours to spare crafting something beautiful in Photoshop? Sarah James selects tools that won't cost you a penny...
For all the importance we place on text, it's an
indisputable fact that images are processed in the brain faster than
words. Hence the rise and rise of the infographic which, at its best,
transforms complex information into graphics that are both easy to grasp
and visually appealing. No wonder magazine readers and web visitors
love them.
The only problem is, infographics that look like they were
simple to make are often anything but. Creating something beautiful and
instantly understandable in Photoshop is often beyond the limits that
time allows. Which is why it's occasionally useful to use a quick and
dirty infographics tool to speed up the process.
We've selected our favourites here. They're all free, or offer free versions. Let us know which ones you get on best with...
01. Vizualize
After the success of our post on an infographic résumé,
it was only a matter of time before this infographic résumé generator
turned up. You can visualise your resume in one click and also take a
look at previous examples. Enabling people to express their professional
accomplishments in a simple yet compelling personal visualisation, we
think this is the start of something big.
02. Google Developers
Google chart tools are powerful, simple to use, and free.
You can choose from a variety of charts and configure an extensive set
of options to perfectly match the look and feel of your website. By
connecting your data in real time, Google Developers is the perfect
infographic generator for your website.
03. Easel.ly
This free web-based infographic tool offers you a dozen free templates to start you off, which are easily customisable.
You get access to a library of things like arrows, shapes
and connector lines, and you can customize the text with range of fonts,
colours, text styles and sizes. The tool also lets you upload your
graphics and position them with one touch.
04. Piktochart
Piktochart is an infographic and presentation tool enabling
you to turn boring data into engaging infographics with just a few
clicks. Piktochart's customizable editor lets you do things like modify
colour schemes and fonts, insert pre-loaded graphics and upload basic
shapes and images. Its grid lined templates also make it easy to align
graphical elements and resize images proportionally. There's a free
version offering three basic themes, while a pro account costs $29 per
month or $169 for a year.
05. Infogr.am
Infogr.am is a great
free tool which offers access to a wide variety of graphs, charts and
maps as well as the ability to upload pictures and videos to create cool
infographics.
Customising the data that makes up the infographic
takes place in an Excel style spreadsheet and can easily be edited,
watching the software automatically change the look of the infographic
to perfectly represent your data. When you're happy with your
infographic you can publish it to the Infogram website for all to enjoy
and even embed it in to your own website or share it via social media.
06. Visual.ly
Visual.ly is a
community platform for data visualization and infographics set up in
2011. It allows you both to create infographics and get them shared on
social media. The website is also able to match those commissioning
infographics - including brands, companies and agencies - with its
community over more than 35,000 designers.
07. InFoto Free
This one's a bit niche, but if you take a lot of photos with
your Android phone it's worth checking out. InFoto takes the EXIF data
attached to your photos and builds nice-looking infographics from it.
It's got a great interface, and the paid-for version (which comes
without ads) only costs 99 cents.
08. Venngage
Venngage is a great tool for creating and publishing
infographics because it's so simple and easy to use. You can choose from
templates, themes, and hundreds of charts and icons as well as
uploading your own images and backgrounds, or customize a theme to suit
your brand. You can animate them too!
09. Dipity
Dipity is a great way to create, share, embed, and
collaborate on interactive, visually engaging timelines that integrate
video, audio, images, text, links, social media, location, and time
stamps. You can join for free but premium plans offer custom branding
and backgrounds, analytics, and custom iPhone apps.
10. Get About
This free Windows app lets you monitor your social media
activity and generate infographics that help you visualize how you
connect and share with your network.
Source - Creating Infographics
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