It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. The phrase was first used in 1911 but is still true. Recently there has been more emphasis on visualization and its ability to put a complex thought onto a single picture.

Have you ever heard of “infographics?” The term infographics is a combined word of “information” and “graphics.” It is a new concept that was created to aid viewers in comprehending large amounts of data at just one glance. Visual devices such as charts, diagrams, graphs, and lists are used to effectively deliver information in an intuitive manner. This is now being commonly used in various fields including maps, journalism, and education.

A Thousand Hearings Are Not Worth One Seeing

▲ Infographics explaining the recycling process.Provided by Edy Infographics

Take a look at the graph ic on the left. The graphic is titled “Trash rehashed.” It explains how trash is being recycled. Instead of explaining all the concepts in complex words and theories, it shows the readers how different trash goes to different assembly operations using arrows and images.
Think about how this concept might have been verbalized through words. The readers would have had a hard time understanding the differences between the recycling process of plastic and glass. They might also have had trouble grasping what each process actually entails. Thanks to pictures and images, anyone can get the idea just by looking carefully. This is an example of infographics acting as an organized informative source.
There is more to the purpose for infographics than effectively presenting information. “Providing an abundance of correct information in detail through an easier way leads the viewers to think objectively; basing their opinion on facts,” says Professor lee Ji Sun (Visual and multimedia Design, Sookmyung Women’s University). Also, the graphics catch the eyes of the readers and make them more interested to read and know the facts.

Infographics in Korea

Although the word “infographics” might not sound familiar, it is slowly receiving more recognition. Professor lee Ji Sun comments that “Inforgraphics are at the beginning stages now, but diverse projects are being introduced.” For instance, there is a separate news category in Chosun.com dedicated to delivering news only through infographics. “Viewers now want to read selected and reliable information,” says Kim Mi-Sun (38, Seoul), the head of the infographics team in Chosun.com. She added “We created the infographic news to respond to those needs.” Chosun.com is currently “playing the frontier role” in Korea’s growing infographics market. Professor Lee explained that, “The tendency to combine statistics and story-telling graphics to compose infographics and use it in journalism is quickly growing.”
The Korean government also recognizes the capability of infographics to successfully show data. There is a distinguished section of infographics in the government’s Internet portal page. An official in the government’s infographics department says, “These user-oriented contents have shown more than 100 times the utilization rate compared to former texts.” Using fancy and eye-catching graphs and pictures, its content covers safety tips for hiking to information on tap water and its purifying process.
“Public institutions are obligated to notify the public of the data that they have, and infographics play a part when it comes to making it easier for people to be provided with details and to understand data efficiently,” says Professor Lee. Thus, the government has implemented infographics to catch the interest of people and get them to easily understand facts and be informed.

▲ Starting page of Chosun.com onlince infographic news section. Provided by Chosun.com

It Is All About the Visuals

“Infographics will be utilized in all fields,” says Professor Lee. At first, infographics were most commonly used in maps or played second fiddle to pieces of writing. After playing the supportive role for some time, infographics were accepted to be a message deliverer themselves. It was then used for informative purposes such as explaining scientific terms and comparing complicated processes and statistics. Its ability to project information exactly and objectively has been valued also in journalism. Nowadays, graphics are being used in marketing as well. Kim from Chosun.com explains that “Infographics have an ‘interactive’ component in them that facilitates communication with the readers. Readers feel more interested about a subject.” This capability to draw the reader’s interests has led infographics to be used in other places. Does “Visual Marketing” ring any bells?
Infographics allow companies to emphasize certain contexts. Hence, many companies use this opportunity to highlight their selling point of a product. In the Facebook infographic, one notices the numbers first. The purpose of this image is to accentuate how much people use Facebook. Currently, infographics like this are being commonly used in on-line advertisements.

Is It Really?

▲ Starting page of Chosun.com onlince infographic news section. Provided by Chosun.com

Infographics were invented to represent data clearly. It is known to be effective in rousing interests for readers and providing them with clear and accurate information. Like any other new concepts, we should be asking this question; are they really doing their job?

Kim Dong Yeob (’12, Geography Education) speaks of the time that infographics had been a useful tool when obtaining knowledge. “My major is geography education, so my studies require a lot of infographics. Otherwise, I would not be able to understand the difficult scientific theories; it is hard to explain just with words. I need diagrams to show how the general circulation works in the whole globe size scale.”

Jeong Euiyeon (’12, Liberal Arts) casts a different opinion saying that some works are not serving their purpose completely. “Although I know that infographics can assist in portraying information clearly, some infographics I saw had too much graphics which just made it more confusing. Thus, it did not intrigue me to know more about the subject.”

The keys to infographics are facts and designs. It needs to make the readers feel like reading and acquiring knowledge about subjects fun rather than boring or confusing. Also, it needs to convey precise and accurate information. With the right images and the correct data, designing an infographic is not very hard. It may come in handy during research, presentations or advertisements. Pay attention to these infographics because it may be the most efficient teacher for you and the one thing that could set you or your product apart from the rest.