Infographics are a graphic visual representation of data, information, or knowledge. Their purpose is to present you with information quickly and clearly. In other words, infographics tell us the story behind specific data or research, and everything should be clear at first glance.

The best kinds of infographics represent data in a visually-pleasing and engaging way, and they can be as simple or as complex as you want. And in this article, we'll show you how to create a simple infographic both quickly and easily using Adobe Illustrator.

Before we get started, it's important to know what kinds of infographics you can create, and what might be best for the information that you want to represent. Here's a rundown of the main types of infographics you can create:

  • Statistical infographics: These infographics are perfect if you want to visualize survey results, back up an argument with numerical data, or present data from several different sources.
  • Informational infographics: If you want to give a simple overview of a certain topic, informational infographics are the best choice.
  • Timeline infographics: With the timeline infographic, you can easily visualize the history of something, highlight important dates, or give an overview of events.
  • Process infographics: A process infographic is the best choice if you wish to create a summary or an overview of steps that you need in order to complete a process.
  • Geographic infographics: In case you want to visualize location-based or demographic data, the geographic infographic is your best bet.
  • Comparison infographics: Whether you want to compare given options in an unbiased way, or you just want to show how one option is better than the other, the comparison infographic can do just that.
  • Hierarchical infographics: This style of infographic will organize information from the best to the worst, or from the top to bottom.
  • List infographics: To share a list of useful tips, resources, examples, or anything along those lines, you should use a list infographic.
  • Resume infographics: As the name suggests, this infographic type is perfect for making a resume. If you are searching for a new job and you want to set yourself apart, including a resume infographic in your CV is the way to go.

Related: Easy, Attractive, and Free Infographic Resume Templates

What Makes a Good Infographic?

Creating-Infographics

An infographic will tell you the story of certain research and data. Infographics may consist of pie charts, line graphs, histograms, bar graphs, and so on. A good infographic design is visually pleasing and presents data in an easy-to-understand way.

Designing an infographic is all about communicating useful information. One of the best programs for creating an infographic is Adobe Illustrator. It allows you to quickly create engaging and accurate infographics such as the graph we create below.

How to Create a Simple Infographic in Adobe Illustrator

Now that you know the basics, let's get started in Adobe Illustrator.

Related: Adobe Illustrator vs. Photoshop: What's the Difference?

To begin, you need to create a new file. You can do this by clicking on File > New, or by holding Ctrl + N on your keyboard.

Illustrator-Create-new

On the left side of the screen, you'll see all the essential tools that Adobe Illustrator has to offer. There, you have a bunch of Graph Tools that you'll want to use for your infographic.

Illustrator-graphs-tool

Making the Most Basic Graph-Based Infographic

If you do not want to create anything flashy, and you just wish to have a simple graph, then you should check out the Column Graph Tool. You can select that tool or you can click J on your keyboard.

Once you do that, simply click and drag to define the area in which you want your graph to be; after which window will pop up, where you get to define the specifics of your graph.

Column-graph-tool-1

In this window, you can write the numbers that you desire. After that, simply click on apply.

Illustrator-writing-numbers

By adding another row, you can show how the numbers are changing. The first row of numbers is on the left, while the second row of numbers is on the right.

Illustrator-adding-another-row

If you already have data in a different document, and you do not have the time to type it out manually, there is an option to import data from a couple of different document formats.

Illustrator-import-data

If you finished inputting your data, you can close the small window.

In order to make your graph stand out, it is a good idea to give it some color. Click on Direct Selection Tool on the left side, or simply press A on your keyboard, to select each graph piece individually.

Illustrator-direct-selection-tool

Once you have done that, you can select every single piece of your graph and assign a color to it. However, you will have to do this for each row of your graph, so try not to mix up the colors.

You can select two pieces at the same time by clicking on one using the Direct Selection Tool, then holding Shift and clicking on the other.

Illustrator-selecting-the-color

If you want to change the font, click on the Selection Tool or click V on your keyboard, then on the text you want to change, and choose a different font from Character.

Illustrator-choosing-font

Updating Data

In case your data has changed, and you want to alter your graph, you can do that by selecting the graph, right-clicking on the graph, and choosing the option Data.

Illustrator-data-altering

The same window from before will open, and there you can alter the numbers however you want. As you alter the numbers, press Enter, and you will immediately see the change on your graph.

Adding Text

If you want to add text to your graph, all you have to do is enter the text in the data of your graph. However, you need to enter the text first, before entering the numbers.

A simple example of a business infographic

Creating Other Types of Infographics

There are many types of infographics you can create in Adobe Illustrator, and the principle used in creating them remains similar to the method detailed above. We just started with the simplest form to help you get started creating infographics.

Related: The Adobe Illustrator Keyboard Shortcuts Cheat Sheet

Adobe Illustrator makes the process of creating Infographics quite simple; all you have to do is choose the type of infographic you want to create, and then input the data you have to hand.

With that said, Adobe Illustrator is not the only program that allows you to create infographics.