Know Infographics

Infographics are ways of presenting information, data and knowledge using visual graphics. Nothing new, as they are quite commonly used and seen in our daily lives, like maps, news media, signs, education, etc.

But did you realise that you come across them in the net more often recently? They appear in blogs, social networking sites, publications, websites, and many more. Why?


Because they are eye-catching, easy to understand, and memorable!

Infographics translates complex information into a simpler format with the use of colourful graphics, isn’t it a great way to educate consumers?

Sample created with easel.ly: there’s no branding on the done graphic, “with easel.ly” is solely added on my own

 Few Infographics Tools Which I Think May Be Useful.

EASEL.LY the Online Infographic Creator

Currently still a Beta, but is ready to create your own infographic online. You have a choice to start your layout with an empty canvas or select from the list of vhemes (visual + themes). Designs can be done freely with their drag and drop icons, shapes, text or even upload your own. Do register in order to save your work. After completing your design, save and choose to download JPEG or copy link for usage.

PIKTOCHART the Online Infographic Creator

An online tool to help you create beautiful infographics. Easy to use with drag and drop function. After completion, you can export your work into PNG and JPEG. However, there are some limitations with the free package like only 3 basic themes to choose from, capped at 5 slots for image upload, and a Piktochart watermark logo. Pay a small fee for PRO package if you want more themes (more than 80 currently, and growing), more image slots, better customizations, and option to remove the Piktochart logo.

VISUAL.LY the Online Data Visualization Depositary

A depositary of data visualizations in the net, basically you can collect, create, collect and upload infographics here. In order to customize your own infographics, you’ll have to select from the ready templates they have. Login Twitter or Facebook to authorize access and they will use the info found in the preferred account and weave them into the chosen story. You may choose to download as a graphic or in PDF, email a link, embed in your site, share on Facebook, or tweet to Twitter.

WORDLE the Online Word Clouds Generator

Wordle is a fast and simple tool online where you just have to enter the text or URL to generate “word clouds”, a colourful image made by a group of colourful words. You can customize the cloud with a selection of fonts, layouts and colours. The images you create with Wordle are yours to use however you like. You can print your work, print on PDF with software like CutePDF Writer, take a screenshot and crop to size if you want a jpg image, or save to the Wordle Public Gallery to share on the internet.

Sample created with Wordle

GOOGLE PUBLIC DATA EXPLORER the Online Visualizations of Public Data

Launched in Mar 2010, this is a Google tool with animated charts and maps of public-interest datasets. You can use them to create visualizations, link or embed in you website. See Official Google blog post for more background.

PIXLR the Online Image Editor

Pixlr is a free online software creator of image tools and utilities. They have 3 three applications where you do not need to install on a computer. Pixlr Editor is for the advance editing, Pixlr Express for quick adjustments and Pixlr-o-matic just for fun. Nevertheless, you may want to install Pixlr Grabber if you want to capture images from websites, in parts or full.

• Pixlr Editor: Similar to Adobe Photoshop in terms of interface and tools, just that it’s web-based. Working on large images may have a little problem if you do not have a good internet connection. However, the plus point is that you can save your work online.


• Pixlr Express: Simple online image adjustment tool suitable for basic users. It has the basic tools for quick editing and visual effects.  Grab an image from your computer, website URL, or webcam to start editing. Photo collage is also possible with quite a number of layout collections. Photos have to be downloaded to be saved.


• Pixlr-o-matic: Online photo editor, simply upload an image and apply photo effects, overlays and borders. You can save the image to computer directly. They have a free and paid mobile app for this as well.

Sample created with Pixlr-o-matic: Done with Pixlr’s image with Sophia photo effect, Cyborg overlay and Web border

 ICON ARCHIVE the Online Icon Archive

This is a free online search engine with more than 330,000 icons. The icons are tagged and easy to find, you can use them to beautify your infographic.

HOHLI the Online Charts Builder

Hohli is a simple tool to generate charts online. Choose from the varieties of charts to customize, a preview  will be shown while you key in the data. Click on the preview once done, and you’ll be given an option to save the chart image to your computer, copy the embedded code or copy image link provided.

RE.VU the Online Infographic Resume

This is something interesting. Turn your resume into an online infographic. Simply sign up to get your unique URL. Then link it with your Linkedin account to import data, but that may not be enough, you probably need to add in more information, and customize the design if you want your visual resume to look more compelling. Will be better if there’s a download option.

Maybe you’d like to create one too?

Have FUN!