How to Create Stunning Infographics in Microsoft Word

Infographics are an incredibly useful and popular way to present information visually. An effective infographic can communicate complex ideas and large amounts of data in a format that is easy to understand and memorable.

Creating an infographic from scratch requires design skills and specialized software. Fortunately, Microsoft Word provides built-in tools that make it simple for anyone to create powerful infographics. In this guide, I’ll walk you through the step-by-step process for making professional infographics in Word.

Why Create Infographics in Word?

Here are some of the key benefits of using Word to make infographics:

• No specialized design skills needed – Word’s infographic templates and SmartArt tools allow you to create infographics through simple clicking and dragging. No graphic design experience required!

• Visualize complex data – Infographics are ideal for communicating statistics, trends, hierarchies, processes, and other complex data in a visually engaging way

• Grab attention – Infographics pop off the page and grab reader attention They are far more likely to be read and shared than dense text

• Tell a story – Use an infographic’s flow and organization to craft a compelling story or explanation.

• Built right into Word – No need to purchase expensive infographic software. The tools are built right into Microsoft Word.

• Easy to update and edit – Infographics created in Word are easy to tweak and update on the fly. Simply edit the text, swap images, or add new elements.

Step-by-Step Guide to Making an Infographic in Word

Follow these steps to create a powerful, professional infographic using only Microsoft Word:

1. Plan Out the Infographic

Like any good project, start by planning out your infographic. Here are some key steps in the planning process:

• Define the purpose – What exactly do you want to communicate with the infographic? Is it meant to tell a story, argue a point, explain a process, showcase data, etc? Your infographic needs a clear purpose

• Identify key information – What specific information, statistics, facts, quotes, examples, data, etc. will you need to include to fulfill the infographic’s purpose? Gather all the key information you want to communicate visually.

• Outline a logical flow – Organize the information in a logical flow or sequence that tells a story or makes your point clearly. This provides the framework for your infographic’s layout and design.

• Pick visualizations – For each piece of information, data point, statistic or fact, think about what type of visual – charts, graphs, icons, symbols etc. – would best represent it visually.

With the purpose defined, key information gathered, logical outline created, and visualizations mapped out, you’re ready start building your infographic in Word.

2. Add a Template

Word provides numerous pre-designed infographic templates to make it easy to get started. Here’s how to add one:

• Go to the Insert tab in the Word ribbon.

• Click Online Infographics in the Illustrations section.

• Browse the available infographic templates and double-click one to add it.

The template will be inserted into the document with placeholder text and imagery. Now you can customize it with your own content.

3. Customize the Layout

The infographic template provides a pre-made layout, but you’ll want to customize it to match the structure of your content. Here are some tips:

• Resize sections – Click and drag a section’s borders to enlarge or shrink it as needed.

• Add/delete sections – Copy and paste sections to add more. Delete sections you don’t need.

• Rearrange sections – Click and drag sections to rearrange them into your desired order and flow.

• Adjust column widths – For multi-column layouts, adjust the width of columns.

• Add dividing lines – Insert shapes from the Insert tab to divide sections visually.

Tweak the template until the layout aligns with the structure you outlined in the planning phase.

4. Input Your Content

With the layout set, it’s time to replace the placeholder text and images with your own content:

• Replace text – Click inside a text box and type in your information, statistics, quotes, titles, etc.

• Swap graphics and icons – Select a placeholder visual and hit Delete to remove it. Then insert your own image or icon.

• Insert charts/graphs – Use Word’s graph tools to construct visualizations for your data points.

• Add more elements – Insert additional text boxes, shapes, and graphics as needed.

Populate the infographic framework with all the visual content you gathered during planning.

5. Refine the Design

To make your infographic look professional, creatively apply design elements like:

• Color scheme – Select a color palette that aligns with your brand or enhances the visual theme.

• Typography – Format text with different fonts, sizes, colors and alignment to create visual hierarchy.

• Graphics – Insert illustrations, icons and shapes to visually reinforce concepts.

• Layout – Adjust spacing, divisions, size and arrangement of sections for optimal flow.

• Emphasis – Make key statistics, facts, quotes, or findings stand out through color, size, style etc.

Get creative with design choices that make your infographic more visually compelling. But don’t go overboard – maintain simplicity.

6. Finalize and Share Your Infographic

With your infographic complete, finalize it with these steps:

• Proofread – Double check all text for typos and accuracy.

• Export – Save or export the infographic as an image file type like .jpg or .png for easy sharing.

• Share online – Post your infographic image on websites, social media, presentations etc.

• Print copies – Print infographic handouts for meetings, conferences and classes.

Now unleash your professionally designed infographic! Be sure to optimize it for your distribution channels, whether digital sharing or print copies.

Infographic Design Tips and Ideas

Here are some additional tips for crafting compelling infographics in Word:

• Keep it simple – Don’t clutter the infographic or overwhelm the reader. Maintain plenty of white space.

• Establish visual hierarchy – Guide the reader’s eyes through clear and consistent fonts, sizes, colors, and arrangement.

• Use popular chart types – Column, bar, pie and line charts are commonly used because they are easily digestible.

• Mind the fonts – Limit to just one or two complementary fonts. Avoid fancy or distracting fonts.

• Highlight key points – Draw attention to the most important statistics, facts, insights, or findings.

• Write concise text – Text should be minimal and straight to the point. Let the visuals do the heavy lifting.

• Cite sources – If using external data or quotes, make sure to cite your sources appropriately.

• Color code – Use color strategically to group related concepts or establish numerical relationships.

Infographic Inspiration

Need a little inspiration for your next infographic? Here are some great examples across different topics and styles:

• “A Brief History of Artificial Intelligence” by LiveChat – Traces AI milestones on a color-coded timeline.

• “The State of Remote Work in 2022” by Buffer – Stats on remote work trends in simple yet engaging graphics.

• “The Evolution of National Geographic Magazine Covers” by Nacional Geographic – Analizes covers to reveal changes in visual styles.

• “The World’s Most Valuable Brands of 2022” by Forbes – Colorful and visual comparisons of top company brands.

• “The Periodic Table of SEO Factors” by Ahrefs – Categorizes search engine optimization factors into a fun periodic table.

• “How a Car Engine Works” by CarThrottle – Uses graphics to simply illustrate complex mechanics.

Study these and other top-notch infographics to get ideas for your own visualizations.

Unleash Your Inner Designer with Word

As you can see, Microsoft Word empowers anyone to create professional-grade infographics – no design expertise required.

Follow the steps in this guide to plan, build, refine and share compelling infographics that help you communicate concepts, data and ideas in a highly visual format.

Infographics allow you to unleash your inner designer. So next time you need to present information in a way that grabs attention, turns on lightbulbs, and drives home your message, reach for Word’s infographic tools. Turn your insights into visual stories that inform, educate, engage and inspire.