ABSTRACT
Infographics are designed graphic visual representations of information, data or knowledge that combine symbols, visual imagery, text, and data in innovative ways in order to quickly and clearly convey complex information to viewers. Increasingly infographics are being used on the web yet little systematic investigation has been undertaken on the most effective design guidelines. Based on an analysis of previous research 5 design categories were selected for study: Annotated Graphic, Poster Style, Flow Chart, Chosen Path, and Icon-grid. It was hypothesized that order will increase readability, guided sight-paths will aid narrative flow, and visual synthesis of text and graphic will improve user-perceived quality. The present study used a sophisticated eye movement tracking system to investigate how various graphic elements, layouts and organizational schemes influence a user’s viewing times, their interest in and comprehension of the information, and their ratings of overall quality of these electronic infographics.
