Typography, Headlines and Infographics

Developing an Infographic for

Your Publication

Many high school publications have started using infographics

as a service to their readers. The Ahlahasa staff at Albert Lea High in

Albert Lea, Minnesota, for example, used a list of facts about tobacco

to create an infographic for a major story on smoking. The Echo staff at

Glenbard East High School in Lombard, Illinois, included a table show-

ing the procedure for a drug test. This infographic supported a front-

page story on the random drug testing of high school athletes.

You might want to create an infographic for your school publication.

Creating an infographic involves developing the concept, devising the

question, gathering information and choosing the format.

Developing the Concept A quick glance at exchange

papers from across the country reveals a wide variety of topics used to

develop infographics. These topics include the growth of youth vio-

lence; a comparison of school, state and national ACT results; and trends

in safety, fashion and consumer purchases. Think of something you’re

genuinely curious about to investigate. Then envision an infographic

that reflects the views of your readers on that topic.

Devising the Question In a brainstorming session with

other students, identify possible survey questions that could be distrib-

uted to students chosen at random. Short answer or multiple choice

questions yield results that are most easily put in graphic form. The

graphic artist can create a visual display of the answers to the questions.

Gathering Information You can gather information

through surveys or polls. Surveys often take the form of person-on-the-

street interviews. Reporters conduct person-on-the-street interviews

by stationing themselves in a hallway and asking a single question of

people as they pass by. Because of the limited number of participants

(as few as 10 or 20), however, surveys give reporters and readers a sense

for the story but have little true statistical value. Polls, in contrast, have

(^370) PRODUCING THE NEWS
Brainstorming in teams might be
a good way to come up with ideas
for your publication’s infographics.