Thread by @iamscicomm

Hey, #SciComm-ers!

Coming up in a bit, how to deal with that pesky art side of making infographics! 😂

What do you think is the most important part of this?

I agree with you all. Knowing basic principles is, to me, the important part of doing almost anything.

So let's talk about some principles that will help you with your infographic designs OR for giving constructive criticism of other's designs.

Just like science, art comes more easily to some people than others, but with time and practice and learning, you can become better and better.

First, let's talk about typography. You obvs want your text to be readable, right? The best advice I can give you is to keep text simple. Reserve fancy fonts for special use cases only, or never use them at all.

Use sans serif fonts (like Arial) for headings and text. And if you just adore serif fonts (like times new roman), only use them in the text.

Exceptions exist, of course, especially if you're doing a highly themed piece.

Also, don't justify or center your text unless you have a good reason for doing so.

What are good reasons to justify? Check this out. monkeyslunch.com/to-justify-or-…

I mainly center titles, and often not even that. I typically use centering as a type of emphasis.

What about color?
I'll tell you a secret. You can find color palettes online. I have a Pinterest board full of color palettes. Some work better for some projects than others.

pinterest.com/gaiusdivifiliu…

In general, I try to pick colors that are around the same shade + an accent color.

For example, on my website, I went with bright blue-greens and an accent of orange.

And I always keep white and black around for contrast.

There are enough principles of design to keep you here all night (day?), so I'm going to point you to a set of 3 videos that I think highlight some of the most important ones.




all by @echoechoR

@echoechoR I'm also a firm believer that you can get started with infographics by using simple shapes.

Think outside the box. EG, Powerpoint has all these shapes available! You can use them or combine them to create interesting art.

@echoechoR Here's an example from my own library. This was done with Adobe Illustrator, but using only rectangles, circles, lines, and rounded rectangles. The lung shape? It's just an altered circle!

@echoechoR @gaiusdivifilius You can do this, too! It's just a matter of playing around with it.

I'm working on a series of blog posts to teach these methods in Adobe Illustrator. If you're interested, you can sign up for my newsletter to find out abt new blog posts, or just check it every once in a while.

@echoechoR @gaiusdivifilius Sorry the posts aren't available yet! I'm working on them slowly.

I'm also planning to do the same w free/less expensive tools! You shouldn't have to be rich to get started!

And if there's interest, I could do an online workshop. 🤷‍♂️ We'll see. I'm still figuring it all out.

@echoechoR @gaiusdivifilius The real message:
Just like science, you can find tools and gain skills. But learning some basic principles can take you far!

I'll stop here for the night. If you have questions, I'm happy to answer!