Infographics are a valuable tool that any marketer, designer, research agency, and business should have in their inventory. However, it is critical to remember that while designing great infographics, there must be a perfect balance between the content and the images used to represent it. The usage of infographic icons is one excellent technique to create this balance. Icons are an excellent method to visually represent text since they are simple while still providing enough visual balance to counteract the text.
There is one design feature that all of the finest infographics have in common, and it may help you create a professional infographic that makes your message through while also looking nice. Icons are some secret tools that designers use to guide your attention from one point to another so that all of the information is presented to you in the correct sequence.
Why Are Infographic Icons Necessary?
When explaining a complicated topic to a new audience, infographics may be a valuable source of information. People enjoy sharing infographics because they can convey a large amount of information in an attractive, easy-to-understand manner.
However, it is all too simple to produce an infographic that is too complicated or just falls flat. Icons help to ease the infographic creation process and guarantee that it properly communicates the information it is supposed to offer.
Infographic icons help to structure your infographic and may be used to emphasize important information. They may also clarify what happens at critical points throughout the process without using words. An infographic has a limited amount of space, and icons allow you to communicate more with fewer words.
Let’s Talk About 6 Important Aspects to Use Icons in Infographics:
1. They make data more understandable:
Graphs showing complicated information might be difficult for many people to understand at first, but a simple icon can prepare your audience to know the statistics and why it matters to them.
Numerous icons can break down particular sections of complicated graphs and allow the audience to gain more value from it, increasing the probability that it will be shared with their networks. You may also use icons to represent amounts in a graph rather than raw numbers to make them more accessible for your audience to understand.
2. They help your audience focus:
Your audience may find it difficult to concentrate on just one aspect of an infographic at a time since a good infographic is a visual feast. The material in your infographic benefits greatly from the structure that icons add since they give the reader a directional experience. The navigation of your infographic will be easier for your audience to understand if the icons are placed correctly.
The creator of an infographic that spans the whole history of money from 9000 BC to the present utilizes icons to denote significant events and inject interest into what could otherwise have been a dry timeline. The infographic is an excerpt from Infographic Journal. The timeline also includes small (but significant) arrow indicators to help the reader move along.
3. They increase the importance of the words you utilize:
Want to make your text pop out on your infographic? Try it with an icon. It’s easy for your text to get confused in the images of your infographic. Icons may draw the viewer’s attention to certain text or charts, allowing them to leave with better, more lasting takeaways. They can also provide the reader a heads up on what to anticipate from each segment, allowing them to focus on the topics that are most interesting to them first.
In this example of an infographic from Futurism.com, complicated concepts (that may have individually required a lot of text to explain) are complemented with customized images that assist highlight the titles of each segment with fewer words. You may not instantly understand what “ingestible robots” mean, but whenever you see the image of the robot coming out of a pill capsule, you immediately understand.
4. They can assist you in saying more with less:
Icons are an excellent medium for expressing a simple story that relates to the primary topic of your infographic. This might result in a unified message that helps your target audience to engage with the content offered. The data in your infographic tells a narrative, and icons may reveal it to your viewers right away. Icons may be utilized to tell compelling, captivating stories using the simplest of shapes, from cave paintings to fire escape signs.
In the example of an infographic on the science of classroom design from USC Rossier, you can get a sense of how icons may successfully communicate complicated bits of information. Each of these classroom setups would have required a lengthy description that would have required a lot of text, but using icons, a lot of information can be summarized in a quick picture.
5. They tap into shared meanings:
The greatest thing about icons is that they frequently represent the same thing in every situation in which they are employed. This allows you to incorporate information into your infographic without having to directly explain it to your viewers (and take up important space in your design). As a result, your viewers will have a simpler time understanding and accessing your infographic.
6. They add to the personality and voice of your brand:
The icons you select may add individuality to your infographics and are a great way to highlight your logo. What do attractive, entertaining, or hand-drawn icons say about your business or even the information you offer? What about ones that are sleek and polished?
The design of your icons is just as crucial as any other bit of information you provide in our infographic. In the case of a company that specializes in printing and design, it seems logical that the author chooses a clean, consistent icon style that fits in well with the branding of the business website.
Where to get free icons?
Here’s our list of the greatest icon sites for discovering free and paid infographic icons:
1. Iconfinder:
Iconfinder makes it simple to locate design icons. This website gives access to over 500,000 free and paid icons. This site is not just one of the most important icon markets in the world, but it also has entries from renowned designers. Downloads are simple, and they are available in a number of file formats and sizes.
2. Icons8:
Icons8 is a one-stop-shop for free infographic icons, UX graphics, video and picture soundtracks, and more. Each icon is produced separately by a designer and is of uniform quality. This website makes it simple to select icon packs to help you remain on topic with all of your infographic creations.
3. Iamvector:
IamVector is a website that provides free vector icons to users. Its services are available to UI/UX designers, visual artists, and graphic designers. Iamvector is an outstanding online resource that provides a wide range of options in addition to icons. They provide a large variety of free SVG icons as well as a large library of vector graphics.
4. Flaticon:
Flaticon is owned by the same guys that operate one of the largest collections of free vector icons. However, Flat Icon is unusual in that it allows you to turn icons into downloadable fonts. While this website provides free infographic icons, they do demand attribution. However, selecting and storing design icons in your collection with Flat Icon is straightforward.
5. Iconscout:
If looking for icon packs, Iconscout is a wonderful resource. They provide all of their icons in vector format, and the greatest thing is that they are completely free to use in digital format. Whether you need Powerpoint icons, advertising icons, or productivity icons, they have you prepared!
6. Iconshock:
Iconshock provides hundreds of free icons for personal use. And you can’t go wrong with a slogan like “freebies that don’t stink.” So, if you’re working on a business project and want to utilize icons, you’ll have to pay a one-time price. They feature a lot of generic flat icons in various forms, such as people and various items.
7. Freepik:
Check out Freepik if you’re seeking free infographic icons and more. There are many different kinds of beautiful icons available, including human icons, infographic icons for Presentation, infographic icon PNGs, and many others. Although using this website is free, don’t forget to provide credit for each icon you use.
Final words:
In conclusion, design icons are a useful commodity that should be used by every designer while developing infographics. The essential lesson is to understand some important aspects of using icons in infographics. When you’re ready to put them to use, don’t forget to visit some of the websites in our list of the greatest places to discover free and paid infographic icons!
