Visual Data for Visual Thinking

Visual thinking has become a way of life and infographics are the perfect tool for this new trend. They simplify complex information and help nonprofit and government organizations to engage, educate, and inform the public of the great work they do in their communities!

Our software, Community OS, helps nonprofits and government organizations capture large amounts of complex human service data. To help demonstrate some of the ways our software can operate, we developed the Community OS Customer Snapshot Infographic (shown to the right––click to download).

Last week, we attended a Tech4Good forum in Denver, CO to learn even more about infographics. Brian Clark from the Colorado Health Institute provided three key tips that we wanted to share with you!

1. Identify your goal

We often have loads of information we want to share. It can sometimes be difficult choosing exactly what your organization wants to communicate. Before you start identify a specific goal.

2. Tell a story

The key to telling a story in your infographic is to present important information in a way that is both interesting and engaging. Do not just throw facts out. Retain audience attention by making the information lively, accessible, understandable, clear, compelling, and useful.

3. Keep it simple

Cut through the noise and do not overload your audience with data. You can create a simple infographic by doing such things as using minimal colors and making simple charts. Summarize your infographic with an attention grabbing picture in case your audience does not read the bulk of the information.

If your nonprofit or government organization wants to tap into the modern day trend of visual thinking, creating an infographic is a good place to start. There are lots of free infographic creation tools out there so give it a try and start engaging supporters using visual data!