“Cool Tools: Infographics, Sidebars, and Quotes” Good journalists are never finished writing; they just run out of time… Compiled by Stephanie Gillespie Hillsboro Senior High School

Infographics There are a few basic rules - beyond which the design of effective infographics depends on the information and the graphic designer. Simple is always better. Remember, the intent is to explain something quickly Do not use too many colors or fonts - a good rule of thumb for any design project. Choose the appropriate type of infographic for the information. Always use headings, labels and legends - do not assume people will always know what they are looking at Test your infographics - have 3-5 people read the content around the infographic and view the infographic and ask them "What does it tell you?" You will find out very quickly if the message you intended to send is actually there. Using Infographics in Your Business Communications Written by Eileen Parzek, © 2004Eileen Parzek

Let’s talk headlines Leave space for headline design when you sketch the infographic. The headline must be readable and informative. Allow slight variations in design and font in order to have the best headline possible. Wait until the infographic concept is nearly finished to write and design the headline.

Let’s talk headlines A top 10 guide to writing good headlines Write in the present tense. Use active verbs. Put the key words of the story in the main head. Get the most important story element in the headline. Headlines should tell readers what happened and why the news is important to readers. Avoid puns, but be clever. Be accurate. Be interesting and inviting. Headlines should be an advertisement for the story, but they should never be so cute that they fail to instantly tell the news. Be creative. Headlines can and should creatively convey a mood or emotion when appropriate, but they must always tell the news in clear and direct fashion. You do want to make sure the headline matches the tone of the story. Rarely (almost never) use short, verb-less labels as main heads for news stories. They fail to tell the news. Avoid headlinese. Make headlines conversational. By Sue Burzynski of The Detroit News for “No Train, No Gain” on the web.

Headlines: Words have power Headlines are like poetry. Every word must be more powerful since there are so few words. Headlines must be researched in two ways: 1. old yearbooks to avoid duplicating headlines from previous years and 2. the internet or other resources to come up with a word bank of powerful, visual words that pertain to the subject.

Use the TACT test Taste-Attractiveness-Clarity-Truth (Ask these questions of each infographic): 1. Is it in good taste? Anything offensive in any way? Can anything be taken a wrong way? 2. Does it attract the reader's attention? How can it be improved without sacrificing accuracy? 3. Does it communicate clearly, quickly? Any confusion? Any odd words, double meanings? 4. Is it accurate, true? Proper words used? Is the thrust of subject-verb true? 5. A single "NO" above is a veto. One "No" vote represents thousands of readers. Start over: rethink the headline from the beginning. Adapted from “No Train, No Gain: Training for Newspaper Journalists” at nogain.org/train/res/copyd/man.asp

Infographics take content in a striking and visual direction or not…

Infographics take content in a striking and visual direction