Five Essential Items for an Animated Infographic
Animated infographics are everywhere. Some good, some bad. They are a great way to get a message across and, if done well, can make a complicated subject easily palatable. But what’s the formula that goes into creating a good one? Here are the five most important things I think a compelling, animated infographic should contain.
1. Narrative
You’re asking your viewer to give you 1-2 minutes of their attention, so you’d better have a good story to tell them. Give your information context, don’t just list the facts. If you say something interesting, people will want to listen. Open with a bang. An emotive idea or a challenging statement, something to grab your viewer's attention right from the start. Write a script and get your colleagues to critique it. Keep the sentences short and the tone light. Pick an emotional angle. Funny, shocking, exciting. Anything but boring.
2. A Distinctive Voiceover
There are some voices that could hold your attention no matter what they're saying. Think John Hurt, Morgan Freeman, Maxine Peake or Judy Dench. Obviously these are the big budget options, but there are plenty lesser known voices out there just as gravelly, authoritative, distinctive or wise. Whatever tone you require for your script, there's the perfect VO artist to deliver it.
3. Pace
Keep your script succinct and have it read with some pace. Not necessarily 'fast', but a combination of lively music, constantly moving animation and a dynamic voiceover will create energy. Your aim is to remove any moment that your viewer might think you're taking too long to explain something.
4. Good design
Now you've got your story, your voice and your energy, you need to make it look good. The whole point of an infographic is to express information pictorially and make it simple to understand and interesting to look at. Numbers, icons and charts beat words and sentences every time, and a unique graphic style will set your animation apart from the thousands of others out there at the moment.
5. Life
If you find a good animator, they'll know what I mean. In the 1930s, a few Walt Disney animators developed 12 basic principles of animation, which they called, ‘The Illusion of Life’. By following these principles http://the12principles.tumblr.com/ you can breathe life into anything from a white square to the Pixar desk lamp. Give your graphics life and people will enjoy watching them whilst digesting your information in the process.
I suppose you want see some examples? Well here are a few of my favourites:
The Anatomy of a Computer Virus: https://vimeo.com/25118844
BBC Knowledge: https://vimeo.com/23304772
Network: Your Digital Identity: https://vimeo.com/34750078
Google Now: https://vimeo.com/46853664