Are your infographics feeling a little “stuck?” Are they begging to have a little more motion?
If you’ve ever been scrolling through the seemingly endless amount of design content out there, you realize that there’s a lot to compete with. But in our designers’ experience, when a design moves, it really ‘pops.’
Our content team has 40 designers on staff, and we create world-class animated infographics several times a month. We know a good infographic when we see it, and that’s why we curated the following 20 examples for your viewing pleasure.
How Subways Are Built
One beauty of animated infographics is their ability can take a process that happens very slowly, like construction of a tunnel, and speed it up so the audience comprehends them quickly.
Orchestrate a Solid ABM Team
Sometimes a subject needs a more inventive visual representation. In this case, adding musicians instead of office workers creates the opportunity to showcase some fun movement.
How to Use Augmented Reality
Some step-by-step guides greatly benefit from the use of animation through simple, easily-understood visuals.
Mobile App Design Tips for a World-Class UX
Animated infographics provide opportunities to craft better examples for your content. If you need to showcase a mobile app’s interactive features, show it with movement!
The PPC Attribution Carnival
Whenever utilizing a theme of an infographic, see if it calls for movement to help create a sense of energy and make it stand out!
The Internet of Things
Using movement can call attention to important data points and direct viewers’ eyes through a dense infographic.
What To Know About Blood Transfusion
Animation is an especially good way to give people and characters illustrations movement and action that brings them to life!
How Google Works
In some cases, animation provides the opportunity to show things more accurately than static images. In this example, animating how each one of Google’s programs analyze the word “Rabbit” helps viewers better understand and differentiate each program’s function.
Parked Car Temperatures
Showing before-and-after images can be an effective way to tell a story. In this example, the addition of animation seamlessly shows how rising temperatures bring objects and temperatures from point A to point B.
Resolving Co-Founder Conflicts
Animation can even benefit standalone images and give illustrations more pop!
How Skyscrapers Are Built
Cross-sections can be aided with the addition of movement to display what exactly is happening inside of them.
What Is Cryptojacking?
Whenever a subject matter isn’t physical or entirely tangible, like bitcoin, animation gives the opportunity to play with the subject matter as if it were something physical in order to better illustrate your message.
The Anatomy of a Green Home
A single one can have a lot of movement happening at once to optimize time. Numbering can help bring attention to important pieces then explained elsewhere in the article.
How Speakers Make Sound
Animation allows something to be broken apart and placed back together again, allowing the viewer to dissect each component individually and see how they fit together.
Are You SLAcking Off?
There’s a lot that can happen inside an animated infographic. Some examples make you just stop and search for all the little things going on.
Road Sign Survey
Animation can also keep your audience’s attention by holding back information then revealing it later. In this example, showing the street sign without any text and then showing the answer makes it a kind of guessing game for viewers.
What Is the Gig Economy?
Going the extra mile to add movement in your designs can also make your content look more professional, making your company seen with more expertise and legitimacy.
Behind the Restoration of a Painting
Showing how certain equipment and tools are used in a process can be better understood with the addition of animation.
What Is the Glass Cliff?
Animated components don’t have to be big and expressive. Sometimes a single, subtle movement like the blink of an eye or objects floating up-and-down can add visual interest.
Anatomy Of A Coupon
However subtle, movement can make an infographic stand out! Don’t be afraid to see where your infographics could benefit from animation!
How to Utilize Animation Successfully
Think About Animation First
Make animation part of the conversation during the conception phase so that everyone understands what needs to be accomplished. Shoehorning animation into an infographic after it’s been designed is a less effective way to make a captivating infographic and tends to create an infographic that just “moves” rather than an infographic that actually “elevates.”
Prioritize Story
Much like video game graphics or french fries, “more” doesn’t necessarily mean “better.” A video game is only as good as its gameplay and french fries are only as good as their taste. Similarly, infographics are only as good as the information they deliver, so when creating an infographic, look for ideas that will make more sense through the addition of motion and tell a better story.
Know What You’re Going to Animate
When a designer or animator knows that a project will require motion, they’ll likely plan their design concepts around this. You wouldn’t buy baking ingredients first and then find out what you’re baking later! Giving designers the heads up about animation will ensure they know what they’re making and maximize their potential to deliver an awesome infographic.
Design First, Then Animate
Making changes during the design phase is much easier than during the animation phase. To save headaches and time, approve the static design before animation takes place.
Move It or Lose It, People
Animated infographics are a great way to elevate your designs, explain abstract ideas, contextualize data and keep your audience engaged with your content. When planned in advance and used intentionally, animation will give your infographics the optimal lift they need to serve your infographic needs.
If you want to take your infographics even further you can learn more about some amazing interactive infographics designed to take data and audience engagement to the next level.
