Why Content Research Is Important for Effective Infographics?

So where do you start your research content process?
There is no standard answer to the question but there are a few questions/points you need to clarify before diving into research. In fact the entire research content process is about asking questions, gathering all the facts and keeping your eyes and ears open.
#1 What is the objective of the infographic? Are you trying to inform, persuade your audience or have other target in mind?
#2 What content is available? Have you just released a product/process/service that your audience must know about? Or perhaps, you have a story in mind that needs development from scratch.
#3 How much time, financial & human resources do you have available?
Data research for infographics takes time, is expensive and requires the right skills. Being cheap or going for the "multi-tasking" approach at this level, will compromise the entire process/efforts and is not worth it.
Most organisations opt for professional support in an effort to avoid bias in their content. Having an external team of people working on your infographic will provide a fresh perspective on your content. Who knows? They might come up with questions that you have not thought about yet.

View content research as a pool of knowledge
During the research process you are gathering all the information. You are not analyzing the facts nor building your narrative. The research process needs to answer the basic what/why/where/who/how questions. The more you research, the more questions you will have.
You will come across ideas & facts not so favorable for your side of story. The amount of information discovered can be overwhelming and distracting from the original objective of the infographic.
Content research covers everything: facts, concepts and statistical data. The best infographics provide a balanced amount of facts & statistical data. Break this balance and you will end up with an illustration or junk charts rather than great infographics.
Plus, do not forget researching official sources and give credit where needed!
4 reasons content research makes or breaks your infographic
There is no doubt about the benefits of conducting professional research to create infographics that brings value to your organization. If done right from the start, it avoids headaches in the long run.
#1 Connection to the whole picture. You think you have the best content (story to tell), so does your competitor, so who is right?
#2 Solid arguments to build the narrative.
#3 Balanced visualization between statistical data & concepts and ideas.
#4 Supports the creative process of the infographic.

Article originally published via DotInfographics (www.dotinfographics.com)

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