Best infographics: Quick links
The best infographics can take dry data, complex information or a confusing timeline, and make a clear as crystal graphic which is a joy to look at. Infographics are almost the perfect encapsulation of what good design, illustration and animation are about: communicating a story or an idea visually, in a way that instantly connects with people, in a way that a lot of raw text can never do.
If you’re looking to create infographics yourself, then you’ll probably want to look at our visualisation tools list. But before you get started, check out our selection of the best infographics on the web today, to get inspiration, ideas and motivation.
We’ve divided these into categories, use the links to your right to jump from section to section. If you want to see each infographic in detail, then just click on the image in the post and you’ll be taken to the full infographic (some of these may appear quite small in your browser, but just click inside them or use your browser zoom controls, and they’ll soon open up to the full width of your window).
Okay, ready to get meta? We’ll start with a section of infographics that explain everything you need to know about… infographics.
Best infographics about infographics
01. What is an Infographic?
The clever use of Lego made it certain that we’d include this on our list of best infographics. It was created by Hot Butter Studio‘s Beth Kanter, a visual marketer who used it in her blog, and it explains how enforcing visual order upon data can help you and your audience to draw conclusions and use them constructively.
02. Why your Brain Craves Infographics
Why do the best infographics become so popular? This interactive infographic by NeoMam Studios explores exactly what it is about them that hits the spot. featuring some cool parallax scrolling effects along the way.
03. The Infographic of Infographics
This infographic from artist Ivan Cash unpicks the trend for data visualisation and explores the stats surrounding the best infographics. It explains what fonts are popular, how many sections are typically included, what themes tend to crop up, and more.
Best infographics: Explore a world
04. Font Psychology and Pop Culture
What effect does your font choice have on your audience, psychologically? That’s what this design, produced by Venngage, sets out to explore by reference to some of the most popular Netflix shows of recent years. From The Crown to 13 Reasons Why, what does each show’s typography say about their viewers, and what moods, genres and trends do they highlight?
05. History of Life
What better way to explore a world than by exploring our own world, and this is one of the best infographics to do so. Created by Juan Martinez, it defines each geological era of planet Earth, the changing shape of the land continents, and includes timelines, life milestones and mass extinction events.
06. A Stranger to Words
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Dyslexic Artist Meng Chih Chiang created this data visualisation graph, which explores her own world of language. The fascinatingly complex infographic expresses the curve of her personal learning experience as she encounters language in her day-to-day life.
07. 50 years of Doctor Who
Illustrator Sam Gilbey has produced some of the best pop-culture infographics over the years. And we particularly loved this design, commissioned by Virgin to mark the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who back in 2013.
There have been a number of new Doctors since, of course, including ones sneakily retro-engineered by the writers into the show’s existing canon. But for anyone new to Who, it gives a good overview of the first five decades of the show; and for die-hard fans, it’s a lovely look back at an era when Doctor Who continuity was relatively straightforward.
08. Hip Hop
Design studio Dorothy has carved some of the best infographics in poster form. Its designs often chart the many complex connections between entertainment genres and sub-genres, and are perfect for any superfan to display on their studio walls.
Stand-out examples include the ‘blueprints’ series, exploring the history of hip hop, showcased here; alternative and electronic music over the decades; the ‘colour wheel’ series, dedicated to the colour palettes of movies, books and music; and ‘star charts’, which map the relationships between seminal films, actors and directors.
09. Oddity Viz
The winner of an Information is Beautiful award, Valentina D’Efilippo‘s creative visualisation of the iconic Bowie track Space Oddity contrasts Dorothy’s expansive genre-spanning creations by opting to go narrow and deep instead.
D’Efilippo worked with researcher Miriam Quick to gather data about the track, which she then visualised as a series of ten 12-inch discs, each of which deconstructs the track in a different way: according to melodies, harmonies, lyrics, structure, story and more.
10. An Analysis of The Beatles
This interactive creation is one of the best infographics we’ve seen to analyse the Fab Four. It breaks down their career by year and by album and providing plenty of insight into who wrote what, which Beatle had the biggest vocabulary (hint: it wasn’t Ringo), what most of their songs were about, and much more.
11. SWANH.NET
The best infographics go the extra mile, but this one goes the extra light year! Swiss illustrator Martin Panchaud has adapted the original 1977 Star Wars film, A New Hope, into a 123-metre-long animated wonder. Created in Illustrator CC, using 157 pictures across 22 separate files, it took him over a year to produce.
12. Grand Taxonomy of Rap Names
This colourful infographic examines 282 famous rappers in startling detail. Our favourite section? ‘Audacious spelling’: with sub-categories of ‘Improper use of K’ (hey, OutKast) and ‘Misspelled adjectives’ (that’s you, Ludacris). This infographic was brought to you by Pop Chart Lab; a company set up by a book editor and a graphic designer who joined forces with one modest goal in mind: to render all of human experience in chart form.
13. The Magnificent Multitude of Beer
The multitude of varieties, brands and tastes of beer available can sometimes be a little overwhelming. So what better way to showcase the taxonomy of beer than with an infographic? Another one from Pop Chart Lab, this infographic ended up being so big (at 60x40in) that the team had to enlist the help of another printing firm to handle the job. After all that work, let’s hope they found time to head to the bar.
14. MeTooMomentum
This infographic from Valentina D’Efilippo focuses on the first six months of the #MeToo movement, analysing around 200,000 tweets from that time. You can read more about the project in our post.
15. The Art History Timeline
One of the best infographics showcasing a timeline, this design was created by Matthew Cobrin for an Art History class when he was an undergrad at The New England Institute of Art, Brookline, Massachusetts. We love its use of colour, bold lines, and fascinating subject matter.
16. Avengers, Assemble!
This infographic from Lemonly breaks down facts about the superheroes that feature in the classic Marvel’s Avengers Assemble. You can find out about each character’s strength, skills, brains, gadgets and heart via some cool pie charts. The results are then compiled to show the team’s greatest collective strengths.
17. Inception
The best infographics keep things simple. And given how complex Christopher Nolan’s 2010 blockbuster movie Inception was, a little bit of simplicity goes a long way here. This brilliant illustration was created by New York-based graphic designer Rick Slusher. It summarises the film by depicting each character as a coloured line, and the layers of dreams as concentric circles.
Best infographics: Illustrate a list
18. What NOT to Get a Graphic Designer for Christmas
It’s never too early start thinking about Christmas presents, and this tongue-in-cheek infographic focuses on exactly what to AVOID buying the designer in your life. Illustrated by Simon Middleweek, this fun list brilliantly illustrates the pitfalls involved in shopping for a creative professional, from cliched hipster garb to cringeworthy T-shirts.
19. 30 Life Skills Every Functioning Adult Should Master
Do you consider yourself ‘grown up’ yet? If the answer’s yes, then maybe this infographic from Business Insider will make you think again. It runs through 30 of the most important traits every adult should have under their belt, from being able to mend your own clothes to speaking a second language. If like us, you haven’t mastered all of these yet, don’t let it stress you out, but use it as a handy motivational tool to improve your life.
20. The ABC of Design
The design industry is shaped by a glossary of terms that every professional needs to know. This ABC infographic from DesignMantic runs through 26 essential words and phrases and explains their meaning through stylish graphics.
21. 10 Commandments of UI Design
One of the best infographics we’ve seen covering UI design. Created by Designmantic , it’s broken down into colour-coded themes (create a story, ensure accessibility and so on), with simple icons to convey the key rules within each category.
22. A-Z of Typography Terms
Do you know your aperture from your apex? How about the difference between a finial and a flag? If not, then this typography terms infographic acts as a handy cheatsheet that will help you get up to speed. After more information? Take a look at our roundup of the best typography tutorials.
23. 40 Little Things to Break your Creative Block
Creative droughts are the stuff of nightmares for artists, designers, photographers, and just about anyone with an imagination. But how do you reignite your creative spark? Designed by the team at Creative Market, this is one of the best infographics to inspire you at your time of need. And if these tips don’t work, have a look at our list of ways to overcome a creative rut.
24. 15 Golden Principles of Visual Hierarchy
This infographic by Designmantic explains the key rules you need to know to create all-important visual hierarchy in your data, from using the golden ratio to implementing grid theory to bring balance to your work.
25. The 10 Commandments of Typography
This infographic from Evan Brown at DesignMantic type nerd’s dream. If you’ve ever found yourself aimlessly scrolling through lists of the best free fonts, this cheatsheet will help you refocus your search by providing some key rules.
Next page: More of the best infographics