Infographic tools
There are many tools available to help you create an infographic. If you have the design skills, you can create an infographic from scratch. But don’t worry if you don’t have graphic design skills – there are some great tools available for free which allow you to use templates to quickly and easily create high quality infographics.
Canva allows you to make beautiful and easy to digest infographics. Canva has an extensive range of templates and thousands of illustrations which you can use.
Canva also allows you to create a team and collaborate on your infographic design in real-time, making it a great tool for group assessment. Change colours, add graphics, leave comments, and resolve suggestions all within the Canva editor.
Cost: Free to create infographics. Some of the images within Canva are free to use and others must be paid for.
Attribution: The free content technically does not need to be attributed but you still should do so. If you have imported content into Canva, you should attribute that as appropriate as well.
Venngage allows you to create infographics via a simple 3 step process. It contains over 100 infographic templates which can be customised in font and colour as well as hundreds of charts, maps and icons to help you visualise your data.
Venngage has library of icons and images and also has an Image Library Search which allows you to search for public domain and royalty free images directly in the Venngage platform and add them to your infographic.
Cost: Free license with the option of a paid license for more features, images and icons
Attribution: No need to attribute templates or images that are free within the Venngage editor. Always attribute your content if you have taken it from elsewhere.
Piktochart allows you to create infographics easily with no design experience. Pick a template, easily change the colour scheme and choose from a large library of icons and images inside the infographics editor, or upload your own.
Piktochart also allows you to create fully customizable interactive charts and maps. Just import your numbers, pick a chart or map and customize it.
Cost: Free license with the option of a paid license for more features.
Attribution: No need to attribute templates or images from within the Piktochart editor. Always attribute your content if you have taken it from elsewhere.
Microsoft Power Point is also an option for creating an infographic. If you don't already have Power Point, you can download the Microsoft Office Suite via the Deakin Software Library.
Power Point contains some of it's own infographic templates or you can download free templates online, such as those by HubSpot. While it isn't as easy to change colour schemes or customise templates in Power Point compared to some of the other infographic tools, using Power Point could save you time if you are already skilled in using it.
Cost: Free for Deakin staff and students via the Deakin Software Library. Templates from HubSpot are also free, though you must provide some basic personal details in order to access.
Attribution: No need to attribute templates and images in Power Point or HubSpot. Always attribute your content if you have taken it from elsewhere.
Finding images and graphics
While the infographic tools listed above all contain a selection of images and graphics for you to use, you may need to look further afield to find something just right for your topic.
If you are artistic or have graphic design skills you may even like to create your own images. But if not, there are loads of great, high quality images and icons you can find online that are considered Public Domain. This means that the creator is happy for you to use them without paying for them or asking their permission. Attribution is not needed, but it’s still good to credit the creator by including their details.
Here are some reliable websites to search for free images:
- Pixabay - photos, illustrations, vector graphics
- Undraw - illustrations, easily change colour scheme prior to downloading
- Freerange – photos, illustrations
- Freepik – photos, vector graphics
- Stocksnap – high resolution photos
- Unsplash - high resolution photos
We've chosen an example illustration from Undraw to show the quality of some of these resources.
Using and attributing content
It's ok to use small portions of content for research or study, without requiring permission or a licence. You need to attribute or reference the content you use to create your infographic so that it's clear where your ideas and images came from.
Some images, such as those listed above, do not require attribution but it's still a good idea to cite your image sources along with all your other sources at the bottom of your infographic or in your reference list.
If you want to know whether you can use something or not, check out the module on Copyright for your Studies.