There are times when you may want to share your information in a visually aesthetic manner. Young people and collectors of information today seem to spend more time on visuals than reading through a chunk of text. In order to disseminate important information, it may be useful to create an infographic. Infographics are visual summaries that capture the essence of what you want to say. I have explored three infographic editors, Easel.ly, Infogram, and Pictochart. I have created infographics with each of these using Kochhar's (2020) article on the COVID-19 recession. You can be the judge of which infographic editor allows the user to create the best infographic.
Easel.ly
Easel.ly is very basic and has easy to use templates. Free templates are limited, but a user can use a T-chart, maps, histograms, top 10, and simple diagrams. Most graphics are 2D, all colored templates seem to be preset. The text is the only one that you can color change. Graphics are limited. While there seems to be an animation option, I did not see it on the free version. Perhaps the premium version will allow you to create animated gifs. In order to download a high-resolution pic or a pdf of your work, you have to be a premium member. Another feature of Easel.ly is that users can send each other links to collaborate. Overall it is pretty straight forward, but limiting.
Infogram
Infogram has templates other than infographics. I stuck with the infographic template for the purpose of this review. There are 24 free templates to choose from ranging from t-charts, maps, diagrams, flow charts, and comparison charts. The premium version allows a user to have more options. After selecting the template, it was easy to manipulate the tables and select graphics. It was easy to change out text fonts, colors and sizes. Selecting other graphics was effortless. The animation features for the charts were user friendly. The preview feature impressed the dynamic nature of the infographic. The aesthetics of the presentation were better than a static infographic. A couple of drawbacks were that there were not many graphics to choose from. Also, in order to download the chart, a user has to upgrade and become a premium member. Infogram does allow a user to publish to a social media site. This software program also allows for collaboration, by allowing the user to send a link to potential collaborators.
Pictochart
Pictochart allows a user to access all their templates. They also have options for templates other than infographics. The infographic templates have a full range of timelines, statical charts, financial, wedding announcements, comparisons, flow charts, and resumes. Pictochart will allow a user to make up to 5 Pictocharts for free, but they must “level up” if they want to make more. Editing a template was relatively easy, changing graphics and text was uncomplicated. However, it took a little bit of work to figure out their charts initially. The charts are also customizable by color and they allow more text. In addition, a user can easily change from one chart format to another. Pictochart allows a user to save a small or medium size graphic, but to get a high-resolution png, a jpg or pdf, the user must level up. A drawback is that it does not allow for collaboration with peers.
By far the most visually pleasing, infographic editor was Infogram. The infographic editor that allowed for the most text explanation with visuals was Pictochart, this was perhaps the most easily customizable of them all. Easel.ly is probably where you would want to start with students as it is very basic and would deter students from getting distracting from the pizazz of the other editors. All the graphic editors presented the same information in very different ways. Personally, while I like the vivacity of the Infogram, Piktochart allows me to present information more accurately. It is good that all infographic editors have a free version and a paid subscription. So check them out and let me know which one you liked best.
References
Create and share visual ideas using infographics. https://www.easel.ly/.
Create engaging infographics and reports in minutes. Infogram. http://infogr.am/.
Create infographics, presentations & flyers. Piktochart. http://piktochart.com/.
Education: Daily Infographic. Daily Infographic. https://www.dailyinfographic.com/category/education-2.
WTFViz. WTF Visualizations. https://viz.wtf/.
Kochhar, A. (2020, June 11). Unemployment rose higher in three months of COVID-19 than it did in two years of the Great Recession. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/06/11/unemployment-rose-higher-in-three-months-of-covid-19-than-it-did-in-two-years-of-the-great-recession/
Malamed, C. (2019). ELC 010: How to design real (Not fake) information graphics. The Learning Coach. other. http://theelearningcoach.com/podcasts/10/.
Wow! Your infographics were impressive. Thank you for sharing all three applications and the inforgraphic for each. All three applications look doable and easy to structure information with the use of visuals and text. It sure makes information easier to understand when visuals and text are included.