Four key features that make infographics memorable and effective in promoting healthy changes have been identified by a new study published in the American Journal of Health Behavior.
Facebook and Pinterest love infographics. But what makes an infographic effective?
"Illustrating research findings can be a fun and effective way of
communicating with the non-scientific public but in order to make
infographics useful, they must be concise, clear, and actionable," says
co-author Rebecca Robbins, Postdoctoral Fellow at the NYU School of
Medicine and former Food and Brand Lab researcher.
‘An action-oriented title, short text, clear language, and an illustrated direct course of action make infographics memorable and effective in promoting healthy changes.’
Feedback was first gathered from focus groups in order to
understand what makes an infographic effective and impactful. Following
this feedback, 20 health-related infographics were presented to fifty
individuals in a slideshow format to represent what one might see while
browsing the internet.
The infographics were analyzed based on
dimensions such as whether the infographic has an action-oriented title,
a short title, simple text, color, short text, and humor. These
infographics were presented to the studied sample in a slideshow format
to represent what one might see while browsing the internet.
The researchers found that four main dimensions were significant
in determining whether an infographic was deemed successful in
persuading the viewer: an action-oriented title, short text, clear
language, and an illustrated direct course of action.
"You don't need Keith Haring or Rembrandt to create your
infographics," says lead author Brian Wansink, Cornell University
Professor, Food and Brand Lab Director and author of Slim by Design "You
simply need make a clear with what you want people to take-away and
most importantly, illustrate a clear call-to-action."
Source: Eurekalert
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