The 10 Types of Infographics (Uses, Examples, and Best Practices) 

As you start making informational and statistical infographics, you’ll realize that certain types of infographics do a great job of communicating specific types of data or information. 

For example, process infographics work well with step-by-step guides, while historical data stands out if you present it using timeline infographics. 

This resource will walk you through the different types of infographics, the attributes of each infographic format, and when to use them.  

We’ll also touch on best practices for creating an infographic, examples, and downloadable templates for different statistical infographic types. 

After reading this guide, you’ll be more confident and knowledgeable in choosing the most effective infographic type for your visual storytelling goals. 

You can also follow along by creating a free account to access Piktochart’s infographic maker, which has a vast gallery of pre-made infographic templates.

The way humans consume and retain information has evolved over the centuries.  

But one thing remains the same, according to Colin Ware, Director of the Data Visualization Research Lab at the University of New Hampshire—we acquire more information through vision than through all of the other senses combined.

It’s not a surprise that informational infographics are 30 times more likely to be read in their entirety than plain text posts. 

For this reason, a well-designed statistical infographic remains a top choice in simplifying complex information while boosting shareability at the same time. 

The great news is that anyone can create different types of infographics, an use them for much more than just digital marketing!

Before you get started, you have to do your homework and understand the basics of how to make an infographic.

For instance,  it pays to know which format will work well with a specific type of content and complement specific data visualizations. 

Scroll down to learn about the 10 different styles that you can use the next time you’re about to make a presentation, make an email newsletter more impressive, design a blog post, craft a report, or plan for your social media content. 

If you prefer watching over reading, here is a handy video summary of this blog post:

Let’s get started!

1. Timeline infographic
2. Process infographic
3. Informational infographic
4. Map infographic
5. Resume infographic
6. List infographic
7. Data visualization infographic
8. Comparison infographic
9. Flowchart infographic
10. Interactive infographic

A timeline infographic is ideal if your goal is to:

• Show historical development through timelines.
• Plan for an event. 
• Highlight a sequence of events.
• Take your audience on a journey.
• Share a story in chronological order.
• Set the audience’s expectations on how long a process will take.
• Share milestones across different social media platforms.

From sharing the origins of dessert to presenting an overview of key statistics of your work history, a timeline infographic allows you to demonstrate how an idea, project, or story came to be in visual content.  

Make your timeline infographics stand out and be easy to understand for your audience with the best practices below.

Use Piktochart’s timeline infographic maker by signing up for a free account.

• Use simple icons to illustrate significant points in your timeline.
• Emphasize each major point by contrasting colors and adjusting font sizes.
• Connect different points in time with a line (using line graphs as inspiration).
• Label major points appropriately and write a short description if necessary, like in the timeline infographic template below.
• Have someone else look at your finalized content and ask for feedback. An extra pair of eyes from a team member or coworker will help ensure that your visual content is free of errors. This best practice also applies to the rest of the infographic types listed below.

Process infographics are one of the best infographic formats if your goal is to: 

• Break down a complex process into easy-to-digest pieces of information.
• Provide a summary of steps in a process.
• Visualize a procedure. 

Use process infographics if you want your audience to retain the details of a process or procedure quickly. 

The process infographic template below does an excellent job of explaining a complex concept for the layperson—the different phases of a clinical trial. 

Whether it’s your family’s well-guarded recipe or an onboarding sequence for new clients in your agency, an effective process infographic is the result of the following best practices for information design: 

• Assign a color for each step in your infographic. 
• Use directional cues like arrows, numbers, or lines to direct readers to the next step.
• Save space with the S-shape format as illustrated in the process infographic example below. 

As a popular type of infographics, the informational infographic format is perfect if you want to:

• Share an overview of a specific topic 
• Introduce a new idea or concept
• Make a plain blog post or article more engaging for your readers

An informational infographic is a suitable format if you’re about to present a highly technical subject to an audience who is not familiar with the topic. 

For example, anyone who’s new to SWOT analysis would be able to grasp the concept right away by looking at the infographic below. Unlike other types of infographics, informational infographics are mainly composed of texts or words rather than visuals. 

Drive the message home with informational infographics through the following best practices: 

• Introduce the main points of your infographics through illustrative icons and descriptive headers for better engagement. 
• Use numbers (when appropriate) for each section in your infographic. Numbers help with readability and reading comprehension. 
• Limit your infographic color palette to three to five colors, as illustrated in the example below. It makes your infographics look more cohesive. 

A map or location infographic is your best bet if you want to present demographic data or share location-based information. These infographics are an easy way to:

• Illustrate trends on a specific location — global, national, state, cities, towns, and even your neighborhood.
• Share visual stories of a particular place.
• Communicate regional and global statistics based on location.

From analyzing global supply chain patterns to tracking COVID-19 recovery in your city, help your audience understand data and information in the context of a geographical location through a map or location infographic.

Here are some best practices for this infographic format: 

• Be mindful of map color conventions. For example, blue stands for bodies of water like rivers, oceans, and lakes. Meanwhile, the color red is for areas of particular interest like military sites. It also helps to use darker colors for comparing regional areas or places that you want to highlight. 
• Do not overlook important details such as your map legend, scale bar, and data source. These details help your audience understand your map infographics better. 
• Avoid clutter by putting more thought into your labels, like in the map infographic example below.

Resume infographics, also known as the visual resume, help job seekers put their best foot forward by visualizing their plain CV.  

Use the visual resume format if you want to: 

• Set yourself apart from other candidates and get the hiring manager to call you for an interview.
• Catch the eye of recruiters, leave a remarkable impression, and compel them to learn more about you.
• Showcase specific sections and relative advantages in your resume like certain skills, projects, and teams you’ve worked with.

Whether you’re after your dream job or you’re looking for a way to make your freelancing website pop up with a visual CV,  here are some resume infographics tips and tricks you should know about: 

• Choose an attractive color scheme, fonts, and icons that reflect your personality and the role you’re after. For example, if you’re in the food and beverage industry, use food icons and images. 
• Visualize your career history and skills through timelines, pictograms, and charts. 
• Put the most crucial info at the top of your infographic resume. It could be your most recent work experience or a project you’ve done that’s relevant to the position you’re applying for. 

Learn more – How to Create an Infographic Resume That’ll Get You Hired (+10 Inspiring Examples)

You can also use your own fonts and brand assets with Pro. Collaborate with your team to create visuals together. With Piktochart, you can access a template for all your visual communication requirements ranging from presentations, posters, brochures, and more. Get started for free.

The human brain adores lists, which explains the popularity of list infographics. From checklists to to-do lists,  list infographics are an excellent choice if you want to:

• Share a collection of tips. 
• Support an idea or topic with major points.
• Summarize your presentation.

Make your list easy to remember for your audience through the following best practices: 

• Keep your list short and on point in a list infographic. 
• Use borders, numbers, or boxes to group elements together. 
• Replace bullet points with icons to make significant points stand out. 

Of all the infographic chart types, data visualization infographics are best used for communicating data using charts and graphs. This type of infographic is similar to bar graphs and pie charts, but its key function is to go beyond reporting statistics with visual elements.

This type of infographic summarizes:

• A case for an argument, opinion, or perspective.
• impactful statistics.

Data visualization infographics let the numbers speak for themselves. They are quite versatile — from students who want to share the results of their thesis to nonprofit organizations who aim to raise more funds by proving their impact.  Follow these best practices: 

• Focus attention where you want through colors, icons, and pictograms that match the text or number. For example, use transportation icons and images if you’re presenting data about the transportation industry. 
• Choose the correct graph or chart for your data. Learn more in The 10 Essential Types of Graphs and When to Use Them. 
• Label your charts and graphs clearly.
• Find the central theme in your statistics and tell a story using this theme. Your data visualization infographic should answer: why should I pay attention to these statistics? 

Before you get to work with your data visualization infographic, we reviewed the best data visualization tools for you. 

The comparison infographic or versus infographic falls into the category of popular different types of infographics using the style you see in blogs, social media, and emails. It’s commonly used for a reason — it helps provide clarity when deciding between two or more objects, places, ideas, or concepts. 

Use comparison infographics if you want to: 

• Encourage your audience to see two or multiple perspectives.
• Compare pros and cons.
• Show similarities and/or differences.

Help your audience make informed decisions through the following best practices for comparison infographics: 

• Use colors strategically. For example, assign a specific color for each topic or idea in this type of infographic. The cryptocurrency infographic below uses yellow for its pros, while the cons are written in red. 
• Divide your infographic horizontally or vertically. You can also use borders and tables if you want to compare multiple options.
• Group similar topics together through boxes or bubble charts. 

Create a free Piktochart account to get access to Piktochart’s comparison chart maker and download customizable comparison infographic templates. 

The flowchart infographic is a powerful type of infographic format to: 

• Simplify workflows. 
• Present solutions.
• Brainstorm ideas.
• Visualize the chain of command.
• Share possible scenarios or consequences.
• Describe processes with multiple paths clearly and concisely.

Here are some ways to make your flowchart more engaging and easy to understand: 

• While there are exceptions, most flowcharts are read from left to right and top to bottom. For this reason, start your flow chart at the top left corner of your statistical infographic. 
• Use flowchart symbols like arrows, numbers, dots, or lines to create an organizational chart and encourage readers to follow along. 

It only takes minutes to make a process flowchart in Piktochart. Watch the tutorial below: 

An interactive infographic combines traditional design, motion, and interactive elements. This infographic style is often used in data visualization for complex ideas and content that employs gamification. 

• Allow audiences to uncover new information.
• Explore the type of infographic based on their interest.
• Increase the time spent by your audiences on your infographic.

• Have an end goal in mind for audiences who will interact with your infographic. Use this end goal in your infographic’s call-to-action. What are your desired audience engagement criteria? Do you want them to sign up for a newsletter to check out the quiz results in your infographic? Or would you like them to visit your main sales page to learn more about the products you highlighted in your interactive infographic?
• Keep the interaction short. No one wants to spend a lot of time engaging with your infographic. It also leaves the viewer wanting more as you lead them to the next course of action. Consider this when designing infographics.

Ultimately, the format you choose has to help you achieve your visual storytelling goal with as little fuss as possible to present data on a relevant subject. Whatever your infographic goals, from showing complex data, marketing campaigns, or global statistics, Piktochart helps you design various types of infographics even if you’re not the “artsy” type through compelling visuals and other graphic elements. 

From statistical infographics, and timeline infographics, to location infographics and more; Start with an end goal in mind, the information you want to share, and where you’ll be sharing it. 

For example, if you want to compare two choices, a comparison infographic is your obvious choice. If you’re mainly sharing data and numbers, a data visualization infographic is your strongest bet to visually communicate trends.

Finally, if you want readers to engage with your infographic and stay longer on a page, an interactive infographic should be your priority. 

At Piktochart, our mission is to empower people around the globe to tell powerful stories in a visual format that matters to their target audience, through different graphic elements. We hope this guide helps people like you create infographics and data visualizations!

Create a free account and get access to Piktochart’s online infographic maker to share your stories through visual elements and graphic design. 

Alternatively, improve your storytelling by presenting statistics in visually appealing ways with this free course on the fundamentals of visual storytelling.