48 infographic ideas,
written as briefs.
Not a list of titles, and not a gallery of other people’s work to admire. Each idea names the data you would need and the shape that suits it, so you can tell in ten seconds whether it is something you could make this afternoon.
Marketing and content
Ideas built from things you already measure, so the research cost is zero.
- 01
The channel that actually brought the customers
Attribution by channel, ranked. The one everybody argues about in meetings.
Ranked bars - 02
What our best-performing post had in common
Take your top ten and find the three shared traits. Editorial judgement, stated as such.
List - 03
A year of the newsletter, in five numbers
Sends, open rate, best subject line, worst week, subscriber growth.
Statistics - 04
The customer journey, honestly
Every step from first touch to purchase, including the two where people leave.
Process - 05
Us versus the category average
Three metrics where you can cite a published benchmark. Include one where you lose.
Comparison - 06
What one campaign cost, line by line
Budget split as a breakdown. Rare, specific and heavily shared because so few people publish it.
Donut - 07
Twelve months of search interest
A seasonality line for your category, so everyone stops planning launches in August.
Line - 08
The five questions every prospect asks
Straight from your sales calls. The most reusable sheet on this list.
List
Business and reports
The internal sheets that stop a meeting from being a reading exercise.
- 01
The quarter in six numbers
The recurring one-pager. Same shape every quarter so it can be compared at a glance.
Statistics - 02
Where the headcount went
Team sizes and what changed, which is the question every all-hands generates.
Bars - 03
How a decision gets made here
The approval path with who signs what. Saves more time than any other internal sheet.
Process - 04
Our history, for new starters
Founding to now in seven entries. Goes in the onboarding pack and stays useful for years.
Timeline - 05
Revenue by segment, three years running
A line per segment, maximum two lines. The rest goes in the appendix.
Line - 06
What we said we would do, and what we did
Last year’s objectives against outcomes. Publish it internally and trust goes up.
Comparison - 07
The cost of one hour of downtime
A single figure with the assumptions listed beneath it.
Statistics - 08
This year’s roadmap, marked as plan
Shipped versus planned, with the boundary drawn clearly.
Timeline
Education and training
One concept per sheet. These are the ones that end up on classroom walls.
- 01
How one system works, in four steps
Photosynthesis, the water cycle, how a bill becomes law. The classic explainer.
Process - 02
A century in eight events
Any period, reduced to the eight that changed what came next.
Timeline - 03
The five terms everybody confuses
Term, plain definition, the thing it is not. Works for any subject.
List - 04
Two theories, side by side
The same six questions asked of both. Better revision material than a chapter.
Comparison - 05
Where the marks actually come from
Assessment weighting as a breakdown. Students ask for this every year.
Donut - 06
A study week that works
A schedule with the reasoning for each block, not just the blocks.
Process - 07
The numbers behind a topic
Five statistics with sources, sized for a wall and readable from the back row.
Statistics - 08
Common mistakes in this exam
From your own marking. Nothing else you make will be read as carefully.
List
Healthcare and public information
Accuracy is the design here. Cite everything, and keep the caveats on the sheet.
- 01
What to do first, in an emergency
Numbered actions in words a frightened person can follow.
Process - 02
When to see someone about this
Symptom thresholds. Enormously useful, and it must be reviewed by a clinician.
List - 03
What one appointment involves
Step by step, with how long each part takes. Cuts anxiety and no-shows.
Process - 04
A year of waiting times
Published figures, plotted honestly, with the source named.
Line - 05
The five most common questions
From your own clinic, answered in two lines each.
List - 06
Prevention, in four habits
Only claims with a citation behind them. Health sheets get screenshotted forever.
List - 07
What the numbers on this test mean
Ranges and what each one indicates, in plain words.
Comparison - 08
How the service is used across a week
Demand by day and hour, which is the sheet that changes rotas.
Bars
E-commerce and product
Sheets that answer the question a buyer is holding when they hesitate.
- 01
This product versus the two alternatives
Same rows for all three, including the row where you are not the answer.
Comparison - 02
What is actually in it
Materials or ingredients as a breakdown. Trust-building and rarely done well.
Donut - 03
Sizing, without the guesswork
The measurements that matter and how to take them. Cuts returns directly.
List - 04
From order to doorstep
What happens at each stage and how long it takes. Halves the “where is it?” emails.
Process - 05
A year of reviews, summarised
What people praise and what they complain about, both shown.
Bars - 06
The care instructions, on one card
Printable, and it goes in the box.
List - 07
Where it is made, and by whom
A supply chain as a short timeline. Increasingly the reason people choose you.
Timeline - 08
What one unit costs to make
Radical, and radically effective when the margin is defensible.
Donut
How to pick one that is worth your afternoon
Three tests. An idea that passes all three is worth making; one that fails the first is worth abandoning before you open anything.
- Test 1
Do you already have the data?
If the answer involves a week of research, the sheet will not get made. Start with what you can measure today.
- Test 2
Can you state the finding in a sentence?
If the sentence comes out as “here is some information about X”, there is no argument and there will be no sheet.
- Test 3
Would a stranger care?
Specific and slightly uncomfortable beats general and safe. The sheets that travel are the ones somebody else would not publish.
Questions about picking an idea
What is a good topic for an infographic?
One where you already hold the data and can state the finding in a sentence. That pair rules out most topics and rescues the rest: “our onboarding takes eleven days and four of them are waiting” is a topic, while “onboarding” is a category. The strongest ones tend to be specific, slightly uncomfortable and checkable — a number about your own work beats a statistic you found on somebody else’s page.
What are the most common types of infographics?
Seven cover almost everything: statistical (one figure carrying the argument), timeline (events in order), process (how something works, step by step), comparison (two options on the same rows), list (a ranked or numbered set), hierarchical (a whole broken into its parts), and geographic (values placed on a map). Five of those — statistical, timeline, process, comparison and list — have a page here explaining what each does well. Hierarchical and geographic are better served by a diagramming or mapping tool than by an infographic maker.
What are some good infographic topics for students?
The ones where a single sheet genuinely helps you learn rather than just decorating a folder: a timeline for a historical period, a process for an experiment or a method, a comparison of two theories or texts, a statistics sheet built from survey results you gathered yourself, and a numbered list for revision. One concept per sheet is the rule — a poster covering a whole module is a poster nobody revises from.
How do I come up with infographic ideas of my own?
Look at what you already measure, then ask which of those numbers would surprise somebody outside your team. Most good ideas are sitting in a dashboard, a spreadsheet or a report that nobody outside the department has read. The three tests above — do you have the data, can you state the finding, would a stranger care — will sort a long list quickly.
How many facts should one infographic idea cover?
One argument and three to six supporting facts. If a brief on this page seems to need twelve, it is two ideas that have not been separated yet. Splitting them almost always produces two sheets people finish rather than one they abandon.
Can I use these ideas commercially?
Yes. The briefs here are prompts, not content — what you make from them is yours, including for client work, marketing and anything you sell. The one thing worth carrying over is the discipline about sources: if an idea uses figures you did not gather, name where they came from on the sheet itself.
Pick one. Paste the brief. See what comes back.
Any line on this page is enough of a prompt to start with.
Make one free
Social media
Short, one-point sheets. The strongest item goes first because that is the preview crop.
One surprising number from your industry
With the source on the sheet. The single most-shared format there is.
StatisticsFive things I got wrong in my first year
Specific, dated, honest. Performs far beyond its effort.
ListThe myth versus the evidence
Two columns. Choose a myth you can actually disprove.
ComparisonA week in the life of a role
How the hours really split. Recognisable, therefore shareable.
DonutBefore and after, with the numbers
A real change with the measures at both ends and the method in one line.
ComparisonThe glossary nobody wrote
Ten terms in your niche, defined in plain words. Saved constantly.
ListHow long things actually take
Estimated versus real. Universally recognised, in every profession.
BarsOne chart, one caption, no logo
Test whether the sheet stands on its own before you brand it.
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